When a collaborator was "catfished" by the clothing brand Reformation, TikTok users believed she'd been duped by their AI marketing system.
AI has many functions...and engineering an awkward encounter in a retail store might be one of them. On Feb. 21, 2026, content creator Esther Kim (@esther.jkim) posted a two-part video detailing a particularly awkward collab she attempted with the sustainable clothing brand Reformation.
In the videos, Kim recounts receiving an email inviting her to come into a store and try on their clara cardigan. After asking if the invitation was a collaboration, the Reformation representative agreed and set up a time to meet Kim in a nearby store.
Though the collaboration felt unusual to Kim, she was excited to try on the cashmere sweater and have the opportunity to create content around the popular clothing brand.
After many correspondences, brainstorming ideas, driving an hour to the store, and shooting video in the dressing room, Kim realized the people she was supposed to meet at the store never arrived. Additionally, neither the manager nor the Reformation employees had any idea who she was or what she was doing there.
Kim explained the correspondence she had received to the manager, who eventually told her she couldn't do a "gifted collab" (an arrangement where a creator gets a free product for making content about it) without corporate clearance. Kim was stunned.
"If I knew it was purely just going to be me going in to try on and there was no content collaboration exchange, I feel like I could've gone on my own time," she said in the second part of her TikTok.
"An AI bot that went rogue"
Kim's videos received over 200,000 collective views. Responses ranged from criticizing Kim for being naive to validating her feelings to suggesting that the representatives she was corresponding with were actually bots.
"It absolutely reads as a PR email, and she should have known better," said one TikTok comment.
"In a world where content creators REFUSE to post real, authentic content, I’m talking VULNERABLE content-I applaud and respect you so much for this," another comment read.
"Maggie is 100% an AI bot that went rogue, and it’s so disappointing that Reformation can’t own up to that," another commenter said. "There’s no miscommunication; they clearly weren’t monitoring the replies the AI was sending!"
Reformation Responds
Eventually, Reformation saw Kim's video and reached out. This Reformation representative told Kim that the initial outreach email was a "general marketing email." After apologizing, the representative said the company would send Kim a Clara sweater for her time.
Still, Kim felt foolish about the whole experience—especially after the many email exchanges and clarifying questions she asked before making the trip to the store.
"I would hate for anyone to feel that way or experience what I felt. It was so, so awkward," she told her TikTok viewers.
"You were all very validating of my feelings and made me feel like I wasn't alone," she said, thanking viewers for their support. "If this doesn't show the power of social media, I don't know what does."
Marketing's Gatekeeper
Though it isn't confirmed whether Reformation's initial outreach to Kim was AI-generated, according to Forbes, it wouldn't be surprising. AI has become incredibly popular in marketing and brand collaboration on behalf of the business.
To businesses, AI is a "power tool—faster and more efficient than manual research—but still dependent on skilled operators," said Dave Yovanno, CEO of impact.com to Forbes. "As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent, human credibility becomes more valuable, not less."
The Daily Dot has reached out to @esther.jkim via direct message on TikTok and Reformation via their press contact email. The creator and business did not immediately respond to the request for comment.
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