SC farmer to be featured in Super Bowl LX commercial. Here’s why

When Rachael Sharp spoke at a technology forum for farmers in Columbia last March, she briefly mentioned her use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT to map parts of her farm and keep planting logs.

She thought nothing of it until she received a call in late October from a woman who said, “Hey! This is OpenAI.”

Sharp hung up the phone, thinking it was a spam call.

But the woman called back, saying the company heard Sharp had been using ChatGPT on her farm and were looking to talk with everyday people who were using the chatbot. This sparked a visit to Allendale, South Carolina, where Sharp and her father, Don C. Sharp III, run Sharp and Sharp Certified Seed.

Now, the father-daughter duo and a few of their staff will appear in a commercial that will air in regional markets during Super Bowl LX on Sunday, Feb. 8.

OpenAI employees and freelancers from Savannah College of Art and Design followed Sharp and her father into the fields during the November harvest. They filmed their everyday routine, including logging loads of peanuts and navigating a combine breakdown.

In the commercial, Sharp talks about her plans to take over the farm from her dad one day and learning the system he has built over decades of work. Part of her process includes using ChatGPT as a practical tool to double-check calculations, plan tasks and keep herself organized, said OpenAI spokesperson Jamie Radice.

“It kind of chokes me up a little bit every time I watch [the commercial],” Sharp said. “It shows not only what we do on the farm, but the relationship aspect between my dad and me.”

Sharp first started using ChatGPT on her farm when something went wrong on the peanut combine. The AI chatbot told her exactly the tool to fix it: a 13 mm wrench.

The South Carolina Department of Agriculture used federal funds to administer a Specialty Crop Block Grant in 2024 to help develop an AI crop monitoring tool.

“As an agency, we are interested in the ways AI can help farmers feed more people and sustain their businesses,” said SCDA spokesperson Eva Moore.

Sharp has seen a few farmers use AI here and there, but she hopes the OpenAI commercial will encourage other farmers to try it.

OpenAI did not provide Sharp with details of when the commercial would air or how long it would run.

“I’ll be just as surprised as everybody else,” she said.

Hannah Wade of The State contributed to this story.