OpenAI's first influencer brand trip sparks online backlash

OpenAI’s first-ever influencer brand trip is sparking online backlash as tensions over the use of AI continue.

Over the weekend, OpenAI took what appears to be a handful of influencers to a luxury retreat in upstate New York for what was called “Summer Club.” There, the creators were treated to farm-to-table dinners, wellness activities like beekeeping, and classes on how to better use OpenAI products. One creator posted about making a website, while another took a photo of a brochure that said “painting workshop” on it.

The videos were aesthetic and lighthearted, but many of the comments were not. One influencer, for example, who posted about going on the trip on her TikTok and Instagram had comments from people insinuating she sold her soul “for a nice hotel room,” or asking if she could do a video reconciling her trip with AI data centers’ environmental impact.

Another influencer who posted about the trip was asked if she was going to do a get-ready-with-me (the popular video format where influencers record their process of getting ready) about touring a data center. When TechCrunch reached out to a third influencer about her time on the trip, she appeared to have deleted the video she made about her time there, although she retained others that don’t explicitly reference that they were part of the OpenAI brand trip.

When reached for comment, OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said that OpenAI works with a range of creators as part of a broader marketing effort to help people understand more practical ways to use ChatGPT. One purpose of the trip was to teach creators how to use the newly released ChatGPT Work, which can help users with tasks like drafting documents and presentations. Pusateri said the event was education-led and sought to give creators hands-on experience with the AI tools so that they could then show their followers how to use them.

“Creators are an important part of our community and how people get information and learn about our products today,” Pusateri said. “We welcome healthy debate as AI becomes more prevalent, and we value creators who choose to engage with us, attend our events, ask tough questions, and learn alongside everyone else. We’ll continue to value them, just as we do traditional media and other marketing partners.”

It’s not surprising that OpenAI is enlisting influencers by offering luxury brand trips. In February, Vanity Fair reported that the company hired “celebrity whisperer” Charles Porch as its first VP of global creative partnerships. Porch was coming from Instagram, where he was VP of global partnerships. In announcing the hire, Porch said that his job was going to be talking to creative communities “to figure out how we build the best products to serve them,” and he planned to do a “listening tour” to learn more about the relationship people have with AI tools.

It’s important to note that OpenAI is not the only AI lab that has worked with influencers. Anthropic reportedly hosted an influencer brand dinner for Claude, and back in February, Microsoft Copilot hosted an influencer brand trip to the Super Bowl, the tech newsletter Sarah and Kate reported.

None of those other AI trips seem to have struck as big of a nerve as this OpenAI brand trip. One influencer took to LinkedIn to write that she thought people “would be interested in the behind-the-scenes tips and tricks” of using OpenAI technology, but didn’t realize how many people were anti-AI. “I didn’t for one second consider it would be controversial,” she wrote.

TechCrunch spoke to a person who left a negative comment on a video posted by an influencer attending the OpenAI Summer Camp.

The commenter pointed out that many Americans have a negative view of AI and that there needs to be a conversation about how to use the technology more responsibly. “These posh influencers’ events are, again, giving people ammunition to have negative opinions,” she told TechCrunch. “The world is on fire. It’s not a great time to brag about your $5,000-a-night suite.”

There is also more to the timing of the trip that struck people. OpenAI is set to strike a $500 billion deal to build a data center in Ohio, during a time when the socio-ecological impact of AI data centers has taken center stage. The irony was not lost on some commenters that OpenAI held a brand retreat in a luxury resort nestled in nature.

Other commenters also noted OpenAI’s $200 million contract with the Department of Defense as a reason the brand trip evoked ire.

TechCrunch has reached out to influencers for comment. This piece was updated to show comments from OpenAI.