What happened

AI detection company Originality.ai found that fake AI-generated reviews of airlines surged by 189 percent since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. 

The study identified that China Southern Airlines as the most affected, with over 32 percent of its reviews flagged as AI-generated. 

Among US carriers, Southwest Airlines has an 8.7 percent rate of AI-generated reviews while United Airlines saw a staggering 157 percent increase in such content over twelve months.

Why it happened

The release of ChatGPT and other generative AI models has made it easier for anyone to create and publish realistic-looking reviews that mimic different writing styles at the drop of a hat.

And as AI technologies become more accessible, a broader range of users can exploit these capabilities to produce fake reviews - a trend not limited to airlines; similar increases have been observed across various sectors, such as e-commerce, where fake reviews have reportedly risen by 400 percent on platforms like Amazon since ChatGPT's launch.