Bobbing and leaving: Friend CEO avoids New Yorkers after $1M AI subway ad campaign

Friend CEO Avi Schiffmann, who spent over a million dollars plastering AI ads across New York’s subway system, is now avoiding face-to-face conversations with New Yorkers about his controversial campaign. The 22-year-old entrepreneur’s reluctance to engage directly with the public highlights the growing disconnect between tech executives and the communities affected by their marketing strategies.

What happened: Schiffmann declined to interview subway riders alongside Gothamist reporters at West 4th Street station, which houses 53 of Friend’s more than 11,000 AI ads across the transit system.

• He requested that reporters not announce his identity to people in the area and refused to engage with passersby about his product.
• When a Queens resident began defacing one of the ads with a Sharpie, calling it “the dumbest invention I’ve ever seen in my life,” Schiffmann hid around the corner with his face buried in his phone.

What they’re saying: Schiffmann claimed exhaustion with New York interactions despite initially courting controversy.

• “I like [Friend] so much that I don’t need to keep yapping about it, and I just don’t want to keep convincing everyone here,” he told Gothamist. “It’s just such an ordeal, I just don’t want to do it.”
• He assured the outlet that his conversations with New Yorkers have been “great” and “very entertaining” but couldn’t recall any specific details from these alleged interactions.

The big picture: The incident illustrates the challenges tech entrepreneurs face when their digital marketing strategies meet real-world resistance.

• Friend’s AI companion, described as an “Apple-meets-Tamagotchi” device, has generated significant backlash from subway riders who view the ubiquitous ads as visual pollution.
• The campaign represents one of the most extensive AI product marketing blitzes in recent memory, with over 11,000 ads deployed across New York’s transit system.

Why this matters: The episode reveals how tech leaders who eagerly court attention through provocative marketing campaigns may struggle to defend their products in direct public engagement, raising questions about accountability in AI product promotion.