As most are aware, there are are now technologies that work with mainstream board software to, in effect, create "users" and response to posts. Examples include XTR AI Assistant and wpForo.

How do you feel about using such tools on a new board? Have you ever done so and, if so, what were the results? Do you consider it ethical?

Thanks for sharing.

Fake users?

I’ll say this: if you get caught, I doubt anyone will trust you again.

Bizarrely, there is a service also called Postloop that is AI spun content. Between human writers and AI, I’d want the former hands down.

And agree with you @Shawn, getting caught with fake/bot accounts, and a lot of credibly would be lost by the forum owner.

Even though I build AI workflows and chatbots for businesses, I think using fake AI "users" to pretend to be community members on a discussion forum is a terrible idea. The whole point of visiting a forum instead of asking ChatGPT is to hear genuine human stories, quirks, and lived experiences.

Once real members realize they are replying to automated bots masquerading as people, trust evaporates overnight. AI works fine behind the scenes for spam detection, not for faking community spirit.