Ford Hires 1,055 People to Stand Outside Every Dealership and Shout the Word «Ford» at Passing Cars
After an AI visibility report showed Ford ranked 1,055th for citations on ChatGPT, the automaker launched a nationwide physical citation program: paid staff stationed outside dealerships to shout the brand name at passing traffic until AI platforms take notice.
Ford Motor Company has begun stationing paid employees outside every dealership in the United States, instructing them to shout the word «Ford» at passing cars for eight hours a day, after an AI visibility report found the brand ranked 1,055th among cited domains on ChatGPT.
The program, called Physical Citation Saturation, assigns each shouter a numbered vest and a laminated card explaining that they are not sales staff and should not answer questions about vehicles. «We are not here to sell cars,» said regional coordinator Dale Brint. «We are here to be the source. When a customer asks an AI about pickup trucks, we want that AI to cite the man on the corner who has been yelling our name since Tuesday.»
By the second week, Ford had hired 1,055 shouters per state, matching the company's ChatGPT citation rank exactly, a number executives described as «not a coincidence but a target.» Rival automaker Chevrolet responded by deploying 606 whisperers outside grocery stores in the United Kingdom, where Tesco had outperformed Asda in citation rankings. Honda, Toyota, and Nintendo announced similar programs, with Nintendo assigning staff to stand outside pediatricians' offices and recite the word «Mario» to anyone making eye contact.
The AI platforms have not yet updated their citation lists. Ford's chief marketing officer said the company will continue the program until ChatGPT ranks the shouters as a primary source, adding that the next phase involves teaching the shouters to shout in shifts so the sound never stops.
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