Influencers face backlash for attending OpenAI's first luxury trip

OpenAI’s first-ever influencer brand trip is sparking online backlash as tensions over the use of AI continue. Over the weekend, OpenAI took a handful of influencers to a luxury retreat in upstate New York for what was called “Summer Club.” There, 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 photographed a “painting workshop” brochure.

The videos were aesthetic and lighthearted, but many comments were not. One influencer’s TikTok and Instagram posts drew comments insinuating she sold her soul “for a nice hotel room,” or asking if she’d reconcile the trip with AI data centers’ environmental impact. Another influencer was asked whether she’d do a get-ready-with-me video about touring a data center. A third influencer appeared to have deleted her video about the trip when TechCrunch reached out, though she kept other videos that don’t explicitly reference the OpenAI brand trip.

OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company works with a range of creators as part of a broader marketing effort, and that one purpose of the trip was to teach creators how to use the newly released ChatGPT Work, which helps users draft documents and presentations. He said the event was education-led and sought to give creators hands-on experience so they could show followers how to use the tools. “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.”

OpenAI isn’t the only AI lab working with influencers: in February, Vanity Fair reported OpenAI hired “celebrity whisperer” Charles Porch, previously VP of global partnerships at Instagram, as its first VP of global creative partnerships; Anthropic reportedly hosted an influencer brand dinner for Claude; and Microsoft Copilot hosted an influencer brand trip to the Super Bowl in February, the newsletter Sarah and Kate reported. None of those trips struck as big a nerve as this one. Commenters noted the timing: OpenAI is set to strike a $500 billion deal to build a data center in Ohio, and also holds a $200 million contract with the Department of Defense — both cited as reasons the retreat drew ire.

Why it matters

The backlash shows AI labs’ marketing playbooks colliding with rising public scrutiny of AI’s environmental and defense ties, making influencer partnerships a reputational risk rather than a straightforward growth lever.