Politicians Are Trying to Change What Chatbots Say About Them

Dustin Lloyd, a Democratic primary candidate for Missouri’s state legislature, was a well-known member of his community when he started his political campaign. But there was one important group that didn’t seem to know him at all: A.I. chatbots. If voters quizzed a chatbot like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini about Mr. Lloyd, they would find only basic information that failed to convey his focus on helping small businesses. Fortunately for Mr. Lloyd, there was a fix. He tweaked his online presence, publishing a Q&A about himself on his campaign website. Later, when the chatbots were quizzed again, they dutifully connected that personal history to his policy goals. Editing A.I.’s output proved to be easier than he imagined. Since then, Mr. Lloyd said, “I’m constantly working on it every day. ”Candidates have long had to worry about their reputations among voters. Now, they have to worry about what A.I. thinks about them, too. And a new industry has sprung up to help them navigate this world.