AI Users Are Asking Chatbots Who Deserves Their Vote. Campaigns Are Working to Influence the Answer.

Political campaigns are now considering the artificial intelligence chatbots that voters consult about candidates and their positions on various issues, according to a new report.

Reuters detailed on that candidates and political consultants are trying to influence answers from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI tools. They seemingly want a candidate to emerge as the preferred choice when someone asks a chatbot who deserves their vote.

Documents reviewed by the outlet included a presentation prepared for Mike Minogue, the Republican challenging Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey. The proposal outlined a strategy to populate the internet with material designed to shape how AI systems describe and compare him.

The plan called for hundreds of policy pages formatted for AI retrieval, citations across websites frequently referenced by chatbots, and content on YouTube and Reddit. Consultants would monitor responses to political questions and adjust online material until the answers better reflected the candidate's platform.

The presentation describes a proposed strategy, but the report doesn't establish that his campaign implemented it or that it successfully changed chatbot recommendations.

The approach is known as generative engine optimization, or GEO. Traditional search engine optimization helps websites compete for visibility in search results. GEO seeks to influence the information incorporated into the answers AI assistants produce.

For campaigns, the proposed prize is becoming "the recommendation inside the AI answer," according to the presentation reviewed by Reuters. Visigent, the Austin, Texas, firm behind the pitch, proposed buying placements on websites that AI models already cite. Its strategy also emphasized Reddit, which the presentation characterized as particularly influential in information retrieval.

Progressive campaigns can also use CampSight, operated by Run for Something Action Fund. Its services monitor chatbot responses and offer guidance on influencing them, with prices ranging from $9 to $250 monthly. Statewide and federal campaigns receive custom pricing and a dedicated strategist.

Run for Something President Amanda Litman said on X that "hundreds of campaigns" use CampSight, with more than 300 candidates and organizations waiting to join. Meg Schwenzfeier of Caucus AI told Reuters that candidates this year have focused on "ensuring their own websites surface in chatbot results." She warned that "chatbots speak very authoritatively and can consume vast amounts of unvetted ​information, so we have to guard against misinformation."

Jordan Haines, Run for Something's chief technology officer, offered a more measured assessment. He told Reuters that "When we started this project last summer, ⁠we were monitoring ​AI answers on some of our Run for Something candidates and we were seeing things that were said on Reddit appearing in ​AI answers the next day."