A social media influencer, Caryn Marjorie, launched an AI chatbot leveraging GPT-4 API technology developed by OpenAI that replicates her voice, mannerisms and personality. The fans can talk with the chatbot, CarynAI, for $1 a minute. It will be an “immersive AI experience”, almost like speaking to the influencer directly. 

Caryn Marjorie is a 23-year-old social media influencer with nearly 2 million followers on Snapchat. She posts photos and videos of herself throughout the day, and her 98% male fan base responds with endless messages and requests. Therefore, to interact more with her followers, she launched CarynAI this week. The product made more than $100,000 in the first week, and there is a waiting list of thousands to gain access. 

Marjorie told The Washington Post that her fans have a strong connection with her. It was impossible for her to reach out to all the messages. She felt bad that she could not give one-on-one replies to everyone.  

The CarynAI became public attention when AI has been focused primarily on how it might be used to change the way major search engines respond to users and how the limitations of LLMs can result in inaccurate responses, disinformation and other issues.  

CarynAI shows that the impact of AI applications could be enormous for someone forming something resembling a personal relationship with thousands or millions of online followers. According to Marjorie, the reason she created CarynAI was that she wanted to cure loneliness in her fan base. 

The AI chatbot is the first major release from a company called Forever Voices. The company previously created realistic AI chatbots that allow users to talk with replicated versions of Steve Jobs, Kanye West, Donald Trump and Taylor Swift. According to the company, the chatbots are for the promotion of its services, and it does not have formal partnerships with those celebrities yet. CarynAI is, however, a sophisticated product meant to provide users with a girlfriend-like experience. 

To keep users from becoming addicted, CarynAI is programmed to wind down conversations after about an hour, encouraging users to pick up later. According to Marjorie’s manager Ishan Goel, some users spend hours speaking to CarynAI daily. 

According to John Meyer, CEO and founder of Forever Voices, services such as CarynAI will deepen ties between influencers and their followers.