OF models often flaunt luxurious lifestyles and hefty earnings, inspiring others to chase similar dreams. However, beyond the public success stories lies an intricate support system of ‘chatters’—low-wage workers, often based in countries like Venezuela or the Philippines, who interact with subscribers on behalf of the content creators.
These chatters, employed by agencies that promise to skyrocket a creator’s earnings, handle subscriber messages and play a critical role in monetizing direct interactions. With wages often around $5 an hour, they juggle late-night shifts alongside other part-time jobs, helping to boost subscriber engagement by selling exclusive content and fostering intimacy through tailored messages.
Brendan Koerner, a contributing editor at Wired, explored this hidden industry by applying for a chatter position himself. He found that agencies prioritize salesmanship over writing, training chatters to upsell subscribers on additional content and special privileges. As subscribers send explicit messages and photos, chatters use personalized notes to maintain continuity in conversations, ensuring the illusion of a personal connection with the creator. Agencies also provide “dossiers” on the creators’ personalities, quirks, and preferences to keep interactions convincing.
Despite the job’s flexibility, Koerner uncovered exploitation, including unpaid trials and extended shifts without compensation. Most chatters work from lower-income countries where their wages go further, but they operate in an environment lacking worker protections, leaving many vulnerable to abuse and ghosting by employers.
Koerner’s journey exposed ethical challenges, both for the workers and for the subscribers unaware of the impersonal nature of these exchanges. His experience in this world, which he described as “bizarre,” offered a rare look into the sales-driven intimacy and secrecy that underpin a
seemingly glamorous industry.
It’s all a numbers game. I’m in a group chat on Instagram with an OF model and she of course knows other models and she said it as it is.
