Welcome to the world of AI travel influencers

Travel influencers can be especially expensive for companies. In addition to payment, they might require comped flights, hotel stays, meals, and other services. Enter artificial intelligence travel influencers, as Julie Weed wrote about for the New York Times. She talked with “Marketplace” correspondent Kristin Schwab about her reporting, in which she wrote about Qatar Airways' AI flight attendant named Sama.

“She is great about telling you about the airline, the luggage you can bring on, if you have a child who is flying unaccompanied,” Weed said. “She looks real and sort of acts like she is real. She posts from places that she had a layover where she talks about how much she loves places like Hanoi.”

Click the audio player above to hear their conversation.