Chatbots are the new influencers brands must woo

Stacy Simpson, Chief Marketing Officer of Athenahealth, in Boston, Feb. 4, 2026. Companies are realizing they can no longer simply promote themselves to potential customers. They have to win over the robots, too. — Tony Luong/The New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO: In late 2024, Stacy Simpson, the chief marketing officer of Athenahealth, a health care software and services provider, started asking artificial intelligence chatbots such as ChatGPT about her company. The results were not ideal.

The chatbots did not know about some of Athenahealth’s offerings and did not name the company as an option when asked. They pulled details from insidery software websites that had not been updated in years.