So here we are: Taylor Swift rolls out a slick scavenger-hunt promo for her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, and now a chunk of her own fanbase is accusing her of using AI to make the teaser clips. The rollout was clever. The reaction? Pretty brutal.
How the promo worked
Fans found QR codes asking them to hunt for 'orange doors' in 12 cities, a neat nod to this being her 12th studio album. Scanning those codes pulled up short videos of retro lounge spaces and secretive puzzle-room vibes, loaded with visual clues and classic Swiftie-bait easter eggs. Letters flashed at different timestamps that, when pieced together, spelled out a line meant to stick in your brain:
'You must remember everything, but mostly this: The crowd is your king.'
The cities that hosted the hunt:
- Melbourne
- London
- Chicago
- Nashville, Tennessee
- New York
- Paris
- Milan
- Berlin
- Santa Monica, California
- Las Vegas
- Barcelona
- Beverly Grove, California
Where the AI allegations kicked in
Swifties started freeze-framing and found some very AI-looking glitches. In the London clip, the tiny silver Ferris wheel has spokes that smear and shift as it spins. In the same video, a coat that starts on two hangers somehow ends up on one when the camera swings around. Those little reality warps are the kind of tells people look for in AI-generated footage, and fans flagged the issues quickly (one early roundup came from @taylahschild2 on Instagram).
The backlash: not subtle
From there, the mood turned fast. Fans called out the idea of a billionaire artist resorting to AI for a promo, especially one who spent the last five years loudly reclaiming her work. The hashtag #SwiftiesAgainstAI started trending on X. Some said the clips looked like 'AI slop' and labeled it hypocritical. Others hoped it was just clumsy CGI or a platform-level effect and not a creative choice from Swift herself. A few pointed to the Eras Tour money and asked why AI was necessary at all. Environmental concerns got pulled in too, with posts hammering AI for heavy water consumption and its broader impact.
Not everyone jumped straight to condemnation; a slice of the fandom argued the weirdness could be deliberate easter eggs, or that YouTube or another tech partner might have been involved behind the scenes. But the general vibe: frustration and disappointment.
Was this a Google thing?
Here’s the inside-baseball speculation: this scavenger hunt kicked off with fans searching for Taylor on Google, which led some to wonder if the project ties into Google’s push around its AI video tools — specifically, Veo. Newsweek floated that angle, and Reddit threads did what Reddit threads do, suggesting Google AI may have been used and that the team misread how fans would react. Another theory: the lack of overt promotion from Swift herself means this was more a tech-company activation than a core Swift team idea.
One awkward detail: the clips were initially posted as YouTube Reels associated with Swift’s account, then quietly taken down after the backlash. They’re still up on the Eras Tour X account (@tswifterastour) as of now.
The irony problem
This stings for fans because Swift has been vocal about ownership and tech misuse. When an AI-made image appeared on Donald Trump’s site showing 'Taylor Swift' as Uncle Sam endorsing him over Kamala Harris — based on an image originally made to suggest a Biden endorsement — she slammed it and spelled out why AI fakery freaks her out. On Instagram, she wrote:
'Recently I was made aware that AI of "me" falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.'
And during the launch of her Taylor’s Version re-records, she hammered the point that artists should own their work because they’re the only ones who truly know it. Fans are now dragging those principles into this new debate, arguing that using AI — even for promo — clashes with that ethos.
Where things stand
Swift hasn’t commented on the AI allegations. The clips with the questionable artifacts appeared on YouTube Reels tied to her account, got pulled after the blowback, and remain live on the Eras Tour X feed. The scavenger hunt itself was undeniably well-executed — 12 cities, a tidy message, lots for fans to dissect — but the AI question has overshadowed the puzzle. If this was a Google collaboration, we’ll likely hear about it soon. If it wasn’t, the removal suggests someone noticed the optics were bad.
Bottom line: the marketing was clever, the reception is messy, and unless Team Taylor or a partner explains how these clips were made, the narrative is going to keep writing itself — and not in her favor.
