A new AI trend is flooding Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and WhatsApp. Users upload selfies and ask ChatGPT to turn them into cartoon-style versions of themselves at work — surrounded by laptops, notebooks, coffee mugs, or office backdrops.

The viral prompt is simple: “Create a caricature of me and my job based on everything you know about me.”

What’s new about these AI caricatures?

Unlike older portrait apps that just stylised photos, this trend adds contextual personalisation:

• Analyses patterns from past interactions — tone, frequently discussed topics, interests, hobbies.
• Generates a cartoon scene reflecting your professional and personal life.
• Includes tools of your trade, subtle lifestyle cues, and workplace details.

Why it works:

These images go beyond simple cartoons — they reflect identity, profession, and mood, making them ideal for social media profiles.

The trend works because anyone can join in, no design skills or editing apps needed, just a photo and the right prompt.

How ChatGPT creates your caricature

• Analyses your photo: Facial features, expressions, and proportions.
• Applies your prompt: Defines style, background, mood, and exaggeration.
• Adds context: Combines visual cues with your chat history.
• Refines output: More detailed prompts = more personalised results.

Step-by-step: How to create an AI workplace caricature

• Log in to OpenAI: Ensure image upload is enabled.
• Upload a clear photo: Good lighting, visible face, plain background.
• Enter a detailed but safe prompt:

Example: “Create a high-quality caricature of me based on this photo. Keep my features recognisable but slightly exaggerated. Show me as a [profession] in a [setting — office, studio, cafe]. Use [style — cartoon, Pixar, hand-drawn] with vibrant colours and soft lighting.”

• Optional add-ons: Playful expressions, neutral props (laptops, books, coffee mugs).
• Review and refine: Regenerate until satisfied.
• Download and store locally: Share online only if comfortable.

Experiment with styles: hand-drawn, Pixar/3D, minimalist, bold caricatures.

Why this trend is different

Older apps only changed your facial features. ChatGPT incorporates context, creating a work identity:

• Job role and responsibilities
• Past chat topics
• Hobbies and interests
• Communication style

The result: a cartoon that feels personal — but it also reveals information about your life and work. But behind the fun lies a bigger question: how much personal and professional information are you sharing? 

Your digital footprint: What you’re really sharing

To improve accuracy, users often include:

• Employer name and department
• Job responsibilities and projects
• Daily routines and tools
• Travel plans and client types
• Family references

Once posted online, these images can be:

• Downloaded or screenshotted
• Shared, reposted, or indexed
• Used for impersonation or phishing attacks

The more detail in the image, the easier it is to connect to your real identity.

Could this affect your job and company data?

Even playful AI-generated images can reveal sensitive work details: your team, projects, office setup, or clients. Sharing documents or drafts on public AI platforms may breach policies, and combining your face with work info makes phishing and impersonation easier.

Key risks include:

Even fun, stylised images can reveal:

• Workplace layouts or internal systems
• Department or team structures
• Ongoing projects
• Daily routines or tools used
• Employer or client information

Combined with your name and visual likeness, this can:

• Help scammers craft realistic phishing or impersonation attempts
• Breach non-disclosure agreements or internal IT policies
• Expose confidential company data if photos include screens, whiteboards, or documents
• Trigger compliance issues in regulated sectors (finance, healthcare, government, tech)

Oversharing daily work on AI tools adds to the risk:

• Drafting emails, reports, or contracts
• Summarising sensitive PDFs or proposals
• Refining financial forecasts or internal strategy notes

Even if no breach occurs, uploading sensitive company content to public AI platforms may violate policies and put your job at risk. If you wouldn’t post the information on LinkedIn, think twice before pasting it into an AI tool.

Takeaway: Even exaggerated caricatures can reveal real-world details. In competitive or security-sensitive industries, small information leaks can have outsised consequences.

Where your data goes

AI platforms may use submitted content to:

• Provide and maintain services
• Improve products
• Conduct research
• Share with affiliates or service providers

Pro tip: Features like chat history or memory may be on by default. Deleting content may not remove it completely. 

Why the trend feels harmless

Many people love how “accurate” their caricature looks. That accuracy is not magic. It reflects information already shared over time. When the output feels personal, it creates a sense of familiarity and trust. But the AI is not discovering secrets — it is combining what you have already provided. Accuracy is built on aggregation.

Safe AI caricature tips

If you want to try the trend, keep it simple:

• Use temporary/private sessions; disable history if possible.
• Avoid real workplace photos — no screens, whiteboards, badges, or logos.
• Keep prompts general — skip employer names, projects, or client info.
• Remove metadata (location, timestamps) from images.
• Never upload sensitive work content — summarise ideas instead.
• Experiment safely with neutral props and styles.
• Store locally and share only if comfortable.
• Review platform policies periodically and delete old sessions.

 The bigger picture

The ChatGPT caricature trend shows how creative and powerful AI has become. It can turn scattered details into a polished digital identity in seconds. But it also shows how easily personal and professional information can merge into a single public snapshot.

The cartoon may trend for a week. Your digital footprint — and its impact on your career — can last much longer.

GN