The Friend AI pendant’s creator publicized a ‘Friend protest’ in NYC
In a striking intersection of technology and urban culture, the recent subway ad campaign for Friend AI, a chatbot-enabled pendant, has ignited a wave of reactions across New York City. Launched in 2023, Friend AI’s $129 necklaces began shipping this summer, and the company invested over $1 million in its subway advertising blitz. This campaign has not only saturated the transit system but also sparked a vibrant backlash, with New Yorkers expressing their discontent through graffiti, social media, and even organized protests. Many commuters have found the device’s premise unsettling, as it aims to serve as a digital companion that listens and interacts with users, often failing to deliver on its promises.
The situation escalated dramatically during a weekend of protests, coinciding with the worldwide No Kings demonstrations. Friend’s founder, Avi Schiffmann, posted a flyer inviting New Yorkers to gather and voice their grievances, humorously stating, “I heard you New Yorkers got beef with me. Let’s hash this out once and for all, before we go bankrupt.” The event drew a crowd that engaged in a spirited display of dissent, using markers to deface Friend’s promotional materials and chanting slogans like “Get real friends.” Schiffmann, who claimed he was unaware of the protest’s organization, attended and described the interactions as meaningful, noting that participants were serious about their concerns regarding AI’s role in society.
The protest highlighted a broader cultural skepticism towards AI and its encroachment into personal relationships, with many attendees expressing that no device could replace genuine human connection. Amid the chants and artwork, Schiffmann attempted to engage with the crowd, emphasizing his commitment to ethical practices by signing a document pledging not to sell the Friend domain for surveillance purposes. While the backlash may seem daunting, for Friend AI, it signifies that New Yorkers are paying attention—an engagement that, in the world of marketing, can be more valuable than indifference. As the debate over the role of AI in everyday life continues, Friend’s journey from subway ads to the streets of NYC raises crucial questions about technology’s place in our social fabric.
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If you live in NYC, there’s almost no way you’ve missed the
Friend AI pendant subway ad fallout
— whether you’ve taken pictures of the most inspired graffiti on the ads in the tunnels, tried to avert your eyes from the near-constant presence of the device pictured on all the ads inside subway cars, or had a friend text you, “What is that thing?”
Although Friend was founded in 2023, the $129 chatbot-enabling necklaces only began shipping this summer, and the accompanying subway ad campaign — which set the company back more than
$1 million
, almost as much as
its domain name
— debuted last month. Reviews have painted a picture of a device that can make people uncomfortable and
doesn’t often work well at what it’s supposed to do
(i.e., listen to your conversations and the happenings of your day and offer quips and feedback).
On the same weekend as the worldwide No Kings protests, there was also a Friend protest of sorts. Friend founder Avi Schiffmann
posted
an image of a taped-up flyer that pictured the device, which read, “I heard you new yorkers got beef with me. Let’s hash this out once and for-all, before we go bankrupt.” The flyer also gave a time and place to meet up, along with a handwritten missive to “bring your markers.”
Based on images and videos that
probably
weren’t generated by Sora, the Sunday “event” really did take place. Schiffmann’s post shows people using Sharpies to deface a Friend banner, including one person writing, “Fuck AI”; a chalk drawing of a sad-faced Friend device; and people seeming to play basketball while holding a paper or cardboard cut-out of the Friend device.
When reached for comment on whether Friend organized the protest and whether the attendees were organic, Schiffmann told
The Verge
that he had no part in planning the event, adding that he took a red-eye flight to New York to be there because people sent him photos of the ads.
“During the event I was up on the soapbox speaking to the crowd and later that night found them at the park and we all sat in a big circle and talked. They were all very serious,” he wrote. “I found it to be a productive conversation and we all shook hands at the end. It was a real protest for sure.”
Schiffmann also posted a
photo
in which he seemed to have signed a handwritten document stating that he “will not sell friend.com” to Big Tech CEOs for “surveillance purposes.”
Friend protest in NYC
pic.twitter.com/Bei5hhZawz
— Avi (@AviSchiffmann)
October 19, 2025
Another
video
in the thread depicted people holding the paper cut-out of the device and tearing it apart as the crowd chanted, “Get real friends.” After the free-for-all of tearing it up was over, people yelled, “Get that shit out of here,” and “Fuck AI.”
In short: New Yorkers don’t take kindly to overzealous subway ads — especially if they’re about AI being a passable replacement for a “friend.” And for Friend’s CEO, that’s still better than them not paying attention at all.
pic.twitter.com/3brYlUfeRF
— Avi (@AviSchiffmann)
October 19, 2025
