Outside Unveils An AI Chatbot And All It Cost Was Their Soul

If you're an outdoor enthusiast of a certain age, it is likely that Outside has played an important role in your life of outdoor adventure. There was a time when they were the outdoor community's authority, our leader. Outside Magazine provided destinations, products, and knowledge for an outdoorsy lifestyle better than anyone. But that was a long time ago. Over the past few years, Outside has struggled to maintain their relevance in our space so their recent announcement (via an episode of their podcast) of the development of Scout, an AI Chatbot, to help enthusiasts plan their adventures feels like the ultimate grasping of straws. Today on THE ROCK FIGHT Colin runs through what Outside is promising with Scout, why they've missed the mark, and ponders if the old Outside can ever comeback. Have a question or comment for a future mailbag episode? Send it to myrockfight@gmail.com or send a message on Instagram or Threads. Subscribe to Adventure Journal to get more Justin Housman in your life. Support our sponsors! Head over to Gear Trade to turn your unused gear and apparel into cash money or to pick up that piece of gear you need for your next adventure! Check out Long Weekend Coffee! From Adventure Journal founder Steve Casimiro comes the next cup of coffee for your next adventure. Be sure to enter promo code 'rock10' at checkout to receive 10% off of your first order. Long Weekend Coffee...more weekend, please. Thanks for listening! THE ROCK FIGHT is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.