A Gloucester County brewery created an AI brand ambassador, and the internet doesn’t like it
Swedesboro Brewing Company introduced Sarah to the world on Instagram and Facebook. Social media users were critical, but founder Marvin Rowe doesn't plan to back down.
Swedesboro Brewing Company’s new spokesperson is getting a lot of hate online. Her name is Sarah. She is blonde, dressed for fall, and ready to sell beer. She’s not a real employee.
“Yup, I’m AI, not real,” the AI “brand ambassador” said in her first social media appearance on Oct. 14. “But hey, if a computer-generated emu can outperform a talking gecko and sell insurance, why can’t I talk beer?”
Many online commenters don’t agree. A majority of the near-300 comments across Instagram and Facebook criticized the creation of an artificial intelligence spokesperson.
In response, the brewing company posted a second video featuring AI Sarah scrolling on her phone reading “mean comments.” Then, hundreds more people denounced the creation of Sarah on a South Jersey Reddit thread.
Swedesboro Brewing Company opened in Gloucester County in 2021, and has produced about 5,000 barrels of beer per year, selling about 70 alcoholic beverage brands. It has opened two more locations, one in Collingswood and another in Burlington, and has 26 human employees.
Marvin Bowe III, the company founder, said its AI videos got about 175,000 views, increased engagement by 2,420%, and boosted its follower count.
“In comparison, the highest we’ve ever had for engagement or views was just under 8,000 on any post,” Bowe said, including when they’ve featured real employees.
A 2025 Pew Research survey found that half of Americans were more concerned than excited about AI use in daily life, and half also said AI “will worsen people’s ability to think creatively.”
Bowe also runs healthcare advertising firm Biophilia Partners (whose staff, he said, has been impacted by AI growth) and formerly taught art at Philadelphia’s Northeast Catholic High School. He said creating Sarah was an effort to catch up to the times on social media.
“I’ll be transparent about this,” Bowe said. “I thought using this type of tech in the brewery setting was going to be 100% harmless.”
Bowe said he worked with a creative director, project manager, copywriter, and others to develop Sarah’s scripts, tone, look, sass, and personality using AI. He said he chose her name because it felt “very Americana” and approachable.
“You still need talented people with creative ideas, technical skills, and a sense of humor to bring something worthwhile to life. Sarah didn’t write her own jokes or conceive her own skits. We still need to photograph her environment and video record some aspects,” Bowe said. “It’s still a lot of work.”
Bowe said most small businesses can’t afford to hire advertising agencies or actresses for promotional videos. And while real employees would struggle with personalized hate comments from the internet, AI’s (nonexistent) skin is thicker, he said.
The next time Sarah appears, Bowe said he will make sure to be in the video alongside the AI spokesperson to provide context and explain her origins. But Bowe doesn’t plan to get rid of AI anytime soon.
“Are we worried about the backlash?” Bowe said. “Not particularly.”
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