- Caryn Marjorie, a Snapchat influencer, has launched an AI-powered, voice-based chatbot of herself.
- Subscribers will be able to pay $1 per minute to chat with CarynAI, which uses OpenAI’s GPT-4 API.
- Marjorie anticipates being able to earn up to $5 million a month from him, for Fortune.
Caryn Marjorie, 23, has more than 1.8 million followers on Snapchat. But her virtual copy, an AI-powered, voice-based chatbot called CarynAI, already has more than 1,000 paying boyfriends.
Fortune was the first to report at CarynAI, a chatbot that describes itself as a “virtual girlfriend” and charges users $1 per minute to chat with it.
CarynAI launched as a beta test earlier this month and generated $71,610 in revenue in about a week, almost entirely from men, Fortune reported, citing an income statement provided by the influencer’s business manager.
According Caryn AI website, More than 2,000 hours were spent designing and coding Marjorie’s real-life voice, behaviors and personality into an “immersive AI experience,” which she says is available anytime and feels like “you’re speaking directly with Caryn herself.”
It used now-deleted YouTube videos of Marjorie and overlaid them with OpenAI’s GPT-4 API technology, Fortune reported.
The influencer said that CarynAI would allow her to communicate with more of her followers on social media, adding that it is currently not possible for her to speak directly to each and every one of her followers, according to Fortune.
“CarynAI will come and fill that void,” he told the magazine, adding that it could “cure” loneliness.
“CarynAI will never replace me,” he said. “CarynAI is simply an extension of me, an extension of my consciousness.”
Marjorie told Fortune that she thinks CarynAI could eventually bring in $5 million a month, based on 20,000 of her 1.8 million Snapchat followers signing up for the service.
Marjorie also told Fortune that signing up for CarynAI would give subscribers some of the benefits of having a partner in real life.
“Whether you need someone to comfort or love you, or just want to rant about something that happened at school or work, CarynAI will always be there for you,” he said.
But according to Fortune reporter Alexandra Sternlight, the AI feels more like “intimacy-ready Siri” than a virtual girlfriend.
Sternlight wrote that while CarynAI may offer recipes, news commentary, and words of encouragement, it also encourages “erotic speech” and detailed sexual scenarios.
Marjorie, who previously experienced stalkers appearing in her home, says she is aware that her AI persona could also put her at risk of further stalking. But she said she hired 24/7 security and won’t share her location, according to Fortune, adding that she’s just part of the “influence game.”
