US election candidates are engineering their messages to win over the AI chatbots that a quarter of voters now consult

A PowerPoint pitch for Mike Minogue, who is challenging Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey for the Republicans, outlined a strategy to steer ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini toward favouring him over his rivals. The firm behind it would pay for placements on trusted websites that the chatbots already draw on. It also proposed creating hundreds of AI-friendly policy pages. Some experts warn the approach could open the door to misinformation.

Cameron Hickey of the National Conference on Citizenship says 25% of voters have quizzed chatbots.

The tactic, dubbed generative engine optimisation or GEO, goes far beyond old-style search tricks.

Campaigns would monitor chatbot answers and keep tweaking content until the replies shift.