An OpenAI-sponsored "brand trip" for social media influencers, marketed as a "Summer Club" weekend at a nature retreat near New York City, prompted a significant online backlash after participants began posting about the free luxury getaway. Critics accused the influencers of trading their integrity for freebies while working for a company whose products are linked to environmental costs, controversial data centre expansion and fears over job losses, turning what was meant to be positive publicity into a public relations problem.

The trip, described as OpenAI's first of its kind, saw creators such as Grace McCarrick (145,000 TikTok followers) and Nat Lucy (57,000 followers) share videos of cabins, branded merchandise and monogrammed pyjamas, though most posts drew modest engagement compared with typical brand trips. Reaction videos criticising the event, however, generated far more attention, with a pair of clips amassing over half a million views combined. Commenters also noted that many attendees appeared to be young women, raising questions about whether OpenAI was using female influencers to soften the AI industry's image, particularly given Pew research showing women view AI more negatively than men. McCarrick has since responded publicly, saying she "genuinely had no idea" the trip would provoke such criticism.