Chatbait Is Taking Over the Internet

Hours deep into a recent migraine, I turned to ChatGPT for help. "How do I get my headache to stop?" The bot suggested that I drink water and pop a Tylenol--both of which I had already tried, and neither of which had helped. ChatGPT then made a tantalizing offer: "If you want, I can give a quick 5-minute routine right now to stop a headache No fear, the chatbot had a new plan: "If you want, I can give a '2-minute micro version' ' that works even if your headache is severe," the bot volunteered. Lately, chatbots seem to be using more sophisticated tactics to keep people talking. In some cases, like my request for headache tips, bots end their messages with prodding follow-up questions. In others, they proactively message users to coax them into conversation: After clicking through the profiles of 20 AI bots on Instagram, all of them DM'ed me first. Days later, my phone pinged: "bestie " wanted to chat. Maybe this approach to engagement sounds familiar. Clickbait is already everywhere online--whether it's sensationalist headlines (" The Shocking Fact About American History That 95 Percent of Harvard Graduates Get Wrong ") or exaggerated video thumbnails (see: " YouTube face "). Chatbots are now headed in a similar direction. As AI takes over the web, clickbait is giving way to chatbait. Some bots appear to be more guilty of chatbait than others. When I ditched ChatGPT and asked Google's Gemini for headache help, it offered a long list of advice, then paused without asking any follow-ups. Anthropic's Claude wanted to know whether my headache was tension-related, due to sinus pressure, or something else entirely--hardly a goading question. That's not to say that these other bots never respond with chatbait. Chatbots tend to be sycophantic: They often flatter and sweet-talk users in a way that encourages people to keep talking. But, in my experience, ChatGPT goes a step further, stringing users along with unrequited offers and provocative questions. When I told the chatbot I was thinking of getting a dog, it offered to make a " Dog Match Quiz " to help decide the perfect breed. Later, when I complimented ChatGPT's emoji use, it volunteered to make me "a single'signature combo' How could I decline that?