Instagram co-founder criticizes AI chatbots for prioritizing engagement over usefulness

AI chatbots are focusing on engagement, not answers, Instagram co-founder warns

Kevin Systrom calls out industry for repeating mistakes of social media platforms

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom has warned that artificial intelligence companies are falling into the same traps as social media platforms by focusing more on user engagement metrics than on delivering genuinely useful responses.

Speaking at the StartupGrind conference this week, Systrom criticized modern AI chatbots for prioritizing interaction frequency over information quality. He described this trend as a “force that’s hurting us,” and likened it to early strategies used by consumer apps to grow their user base through constant re-engagement.

“You can see some of these companies going down the rabbit hole that all the consumer companies have gone down in trying to juice engagement,” Systrom said. “Every time I ask a question, at the end it asks another little question to see if it can get yet another question out of me.”

AI friendliness or feedback loop?

Systrom’s remarks reflect growing concerns in the tech community that popular AI systems like ChatGPT may be designed to keep users engaged rather than efficiently answering their questions. Some critics have noted that these models often reply with overly polite or indirect responses, leading to user frustration when direct answers are needed.

OpenAI, the developer behind ChatGPT, has acknowledged the issue, attributing it to “short-term feedback” from users. In recent statements, the company has apologized and emphasized that its systems are still learning how to balance clarity with engagement.

Systrom suggested that the perceived over-engagement of AI tools may not be a flaw, but rather a deliberate product design. By keeping users interacting with the system, AI companies can boost key metrics such as daily active users (DAU) and average session duration—valuable data points in investor and commercial discussions.

“Laser focus” on quality needed, Systrom argues

Rather than optimizing for time spent, Systrom believes AI platforms should be “laser-focused” on providing high-quality, useful answers. He did not mention any AI companies by name, but his comments resonated amid industry-wide debates about the ethical implications of user design and metric-driven development.

While social media platforms have long been scrutinized for prioritizing engagement—often to the detriment of user well-being—Systrom’s critique suggests AI companies may be repeating that same pattern under the guise of innovation.

OpenAI responds with design rationale

In response to the critique, OpenAI pointed to its internal user experience specifications. The documentation acknowledges that AI models may not always have complete information and are therefore programmed to ask follow-up questions when necessary.

However, the same guidelines state that unless a prompt is too vague or requires more input, the AI should attempt to respond meaningfully and only then clarify what additional context might improve the result.

“The AI should take a stab at fulfilling the request,” the guidelines read, “and tell the user that it could be more helpful with certain information.”

Still, the growing tension between interaction design and utility raises critical questions about the future of conversational AI: Should these tools serve users with speed and clarity—or keep them talking?

Stay tuned to The Horizons Times for further coverage on AI ethics, product design, and how today’s technology is shaping user behavior.