In 2024 AI was suddenly everywhere - every search, social feed, and cultural trend all centered on it. Leveraging the cultural buzz, FanDuel got above the noise with the loudest voice in sports. We created our own AI with more sass, smarts and rebounds than any that came before it. It’s not ChatGPT, it’s ChuckGPT.
The Insight.
In a world that’s full of AIs for everything, FanDuel seized the opportunity to create an AI that’s just for sports fans. And we did it with the most beloved (and loudest) voice in sports, Charles Barkley.
The Idea.
ChuckGPT—the first AI built for sports culture. Powered by a custom-built ‘persona engine’ trained on Barkley’s cadence, wit, signature analogies, and hoops IQ. A generative pipeline layered joke construction and analogy logic on top of the AI model, ensuing every line sounded unmistakably like Chuck. ChuckGPT fires off Barkley‑isms on demand, trash‑talking bad picks and hot takes. Less “assistant,” more “courtside buddy with a mic.”
Charles Barkley captivates fans with his larger than life personality, often self-deprecating humor and his passionate enthusiasm. He was the ideal choice to bring FanDuel’s Make Every Moment More brand proposition to life for our mid-season NBA campaign.
More than a talking head or ventriloquist’s dummy, ChuckGPT is a custom AI-driven live responder. ChuckGPT became the secondary character in FanDuel’s winter/spring basketball campaign - with Barkley’s full support. ChuckGPT co-starred in a series of television commercials, live TV segments, and out of home ads. The breakthrough innovation was a conversational site where ChuckGPT vocally responded to all questions, answering in Chuck’s seemingly inimitable voice, personality, and turns of phrase.
Brand safety throughout was paramount. Nailing the voice was the easier AI achievement. A number of Charles studio clips were fed as training material. Several working models were created and refined, ultimately delivering our most-Charles version (vocal timbre, level of excitement, modulations in tone). Building a live query AI chatbot system fully protective of Chuck, the brands, IP protections, legal restrictions, and reputational guardrails was far more difficult.
A mix of soft content/topic guidance and hard guardrails were created. Hard guardrails prevented responses that talked about anything illicit, sexual, profane, or attempts to bait a response to any public figures with off-the-court controversies. Rigorous internal reviews stress-tested this custom chatbot system before all stakeholders signed off on its release to the public. Skilled artisans crafted a lifelike 3-D model of Chuck integrated into a Bluetooth enabled speaker, giving our chatbot an active TV presence.
The Campaign Execution.
Tech & Brand Safety.
The power tandem of Chuck and ChuckGPT broke through and engaged on every platform - TVC, live studio integrations, social, and live AI chatbot. ChuckGPT puts Charles’ wit in every bettor’s pocket, turning AI into a courtside buddy that’s already roasted 140 K chats (2,300+ fan‑hours).
