Microsoft has a ‘influencer plan’ to help Copilot take on OpenAI's ChatGPT

Microsoft is deploying an "influencer plan" to increase consumer downloads of its Copilot chatbot. With this move, the software giant is specifically targeting younger users to better compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The company has recruited several popular influencers in America for the promotional push.

In an interview with Fortune, Yusuf Mehdi, Consumer Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft, said: “We’re a challenger brand in this area, and we’re kind of up and coming.”Mehdi hopes to persuade key influencers to adopt Copilot as their preferred chatbot and then use their large followings to market the assistant. He also indicated that Microsoft is seeing better results from influencer campaigns than from traditional media, but declined to provide specific metrics or payment details for the promotions.

How Microsoft is using influencers to attract younger user base for Copilot

The company has partnered with social media creator Alix Earle, who gained recognition for sharing details of her life through her popular Get Ready With Me (GRWM) videos. The 24-year-old from New Jersey has a combined following of 12.6 million on Instagram and TikTok, and her online popularity led to a spot on the current season of Dancing With the Stars. In June, Earle joined Mehdi on a panel about influencer marketing at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Earle collaborates with Microsoft on ideas for her videos but is free to improvise. During a shoot in May, she asked Copilot how to look younger after some followers said she looked like she was 40. The chatbot replied that she should “focus on a good skincare routine.” The video drew 15.4 million views on her TikTok account, which is nearly double her follower count and she captioned it, “Copilot is my mentor & therapist,” adding the hashtag #copilotpartner.Mehdi pointed to another video Earle made about the new Copilot Groups feature as proof that the campaign is resonating. “We can see very much people say, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go try that,’ and we can see the usage it’s driving,” he said. That post recieved 1.9 million views on Instagram and 7 million on TikTok. Twin sisters Brigette and Danielle Pheloung, both 28, also joined the campaign. Known for their fashion and beauty content, they have a combined 3.4 million followers across Instagram and TikTok.“Who would have thought that a girl who was getting thousands of views on hair rollers is now promoting AI through Microsoft Copilot,” Brigette said. To engage women aged 18 to 34, the sisters asked Copilot to help them design ‘70s- and '80s-inspired outfits for New York Fashion Week. The bot suggested shoulder pads, prompting Danielle to stuff socks into her shirt to achieve the look.Microsoft’s Copilot brand is primarily associated with workplace tools that organise data, summarise meetings, and retrieve information, but this campaign takes a different direction. “The whole idea about Copilot is really about empowering you to be the best you,” Mehdi added.Influencer Brandon Edelman, known online as Bran Flakezz with 1.7 million followers, also collaborated with Microsoft. His videos, filmed in Los Angeles, feature light conversations with Copilot about topics such as dating, travel, and overcoming imposter syndrome. In one video, Edelman asks, “If I were to, you know, croak, would I still have to pay off my credit card bills?” to which Copilot replies, “Yes, debts don’t disappear.” Microsoft captioned the post, “With Copilot, there’s no such thing as a cringe question.”The Copilot influencer initiative has drawn well-known creators and generated significant viewership. Still, analysts like Jason Wong of Gartner remain cautious. “It’d be hard-pressed for them to surpass the consumer ChatGPT at this point,” he said.Microsoft’s Copilot currently has 150 million active users each month, which lags behind OpenAI’s claim of 800 million weekly active users for ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, which has 650 million monthly active users. While Microsoft has an advantage with corporate clients, it faces challenges in the consumer market, particularly among younger consumers.