OpenAI Taps Messi to Make ChatGPT a World Cup Fan Tool

OpenAI partnered with football legend Lionel Messi for a global campaign timed to the World Cup.

The first piece of content shows Messi using ChatGPT to recolor his hair in Argentina's blue-and-white flag colors.

OpenAI added the prompt Messi used to ChatGPT Images' styles collection, so fans can recreate the look.

The campaign hands ChatGPT a clear role in live sports, where fans already use it during big tournaments.

Moneycontrol, citing OpenAI data, reported that users generated more than 17 million World Cup-related prompts worldwide in the past week.

Messi puts a global face on this existing demand, bringing the reach that celebrity marketing buys with his 506 million Instagram followers.

The copyable prompt then gives fans a first product action as soon as they pay attention.

Your Turn, Your Colors

OpenAI makes the first step feel personal.

"I turned to ChatGPT to imagine myself cheering in a new way," Messi said, then fans are invited to make their own version.

This line gives OpenAI a clean bridge between fandom and product use.

The prompt clicks because national colors are simple, emotional, and instantly recognizable.

Fans start with something they already know, their team identity, which makes the image tool feel like part of the matchday ritual.

"Make my hair the colors of my country flag but keep it natural-looking. If no country or image is provided, ask," ChatGPT shared the prompt on X with the hashtag #MessiMode.

Messi drives the attention, while the copyable prompt gives fans a way to act on it.

This step hands OpenAI a wave of user-generated content, since every fan who recreates the look becomes a small ad for ChatGPT.

One Tool for the Whole Tournament

The image prompt is the entry point, and the wider World Cup use cases show where the repeat behavior comes from.

Moneycontrol reported that fans use ChatGPT to ask about teams, players, squad selections, predictions, schedules, results, and past tournaments.

Others use it for football-themed social posts, travel planning, viewing schedules, and merchandise.

The full fan routine spans planning, watching, understanding, creating, and sharing.

A tournament with daily matches, changing storylines, and time-zone friction gives fans repeated reasons to return.

The image prompt wins the first visit.

The daily questions win the habit, which is where real customer retention lives for any product riding a live event.

The campaign gives brands three useful takeaways:

• Give fans a first action. A celebrity campaign works harder when the audience can copy the behavior immediately.
• Build around repeat questions. Live events create new prompts every day, from schedules to results and social posts.
• Match the tool to the fan's need. AI feels more useful when it helps people plan, understand, and express support in one place.

OpenAI’s next test is whether a simple image prompt can lead fans into a ChatGPT habit after the tournament.

Our Take: Does It Matter That Messi Doesn't Use AI?

In January, Messi told Luzu TV he does not use ChatGPT or any AI, and that his wife Antonela is the household's real power user.

Five months later, he is the global face of ChatGPT.

But we think that gap matters less than it looks, because the campaign never asks fans to believe Messi is an AI enthusiast.

The ask is small and playful (recolor your hair in your team's colors), so it survives a spokesperson who admits he is new to the tool.

The risk sits elsewhere. A fan who asks ChatGPT for a kickoff time or a score is trusting it on facts, where AI still gets many things wrong.

Messi can sell the first prompt on his charm and fanbase alone.

But, the product has to earn the second one on accuracy, the one test no amount of star power can win.

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