Buzzfeed Launches Under the Influencer: an AI Game
Tech-first digital media company’s latest experiment with AI offers immersive content experience
Play Now: www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedlabs/under-the-influencer
Los Angeles, CA — March 13, 2023 — Today BuzzFeed, Inc. (NSDQ: BZFD) announced their first ever AI-powered game format to revolutionize content consumption and entertainment.
This latest experiment, debuted onstage at SXSW by Jonah Peretti on Sunday, March 12, 2023, invites audiences to step into the role of an influencer chatting with AI – The Clout Queen – in real time to determine “whether you could make it in the high stakes, low reward world of internet influencing.” The simulated mini-game Under the Influencer takes quizzes to the next level, enabling our audience to engage with immersive technologies and experiment with new forms of entertainment.
Built using OpenAI’s ChatGPT API, the sim boasts a unique personality, backstory and frame designed by BuzzFeed’s internet-savvy editorial and tech minds. The scenario and mechanics of the AI-powered game are built into the prompt to create an immersive and engaging sim game that can twist in infinite ways.
It’s the latest bot-making experiment for BuzzFeed, as the organization aims to tap into AI to push the boundaries of entertainment and play with new content formats, tools, designs, and frames.
Play along with our AI “Clout Queen” in Under the Influencer on mobile or desktop. You can earn money, gain followers, lose followers, gain haters, and deal with all the drama that comes from the ever elusive internet fame.
The launch of this new immersive content format comes on the heels of BuzzFeed’s first-ever Infinity Quizzes, which were designed by BuzzFeed’s editorial quiz writers and tech team and utilize AI technology to create an infinite number of personalized results. The quizzes include: “Create Your Own Rom-Com AI Quiz,” “Generate a Break-Up Text,” “Date Your Celebrity Crush,” “Find Your Soulmate (Hint: It’s a House Plant),” “Create Your Own Cinematic Universe For You and Your Friends,” “With The Magic Of AI, We’ll Tell You Exactly How You Should Spend That Extra Hour Of Sunlight” and “This AI Quiz Will Materialize Your Life As A Mermaid In 10 Seconds.”
