Featured image by Alex Green

In April 2025, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn announced the company’s transition to an “AI-first” strategy, aiming to integrate AI across its operations. The announcement has since sparked significant backlash. People have taken to social media to criticize the move, expressing concerns over job displacement and the quality of AI-generated content. At the height of the controversy, some users publicly ended their long-standing learning streaks in protest, and Duolingo’s comment sections have been flooded with concern about their AI approach.

Duolingo, once celebrated for its Gen Z-savvy, meme-forward social media presence (particularly on TikTok), responded in a way that left many fans scratching their heads. Deleting posts, going silent, and posting cryptic messages only increased confusion and frustration.

In today’s blog, we’re taking a look at what went wrong, how Duolingo’s social media team could’ve avoided a PR nightmare, and most importantly: how marketers like you can turn their missteps into smarter, more strategic responses when the heat is on.

 

Duolingo’s Marketing Misstep

Following CEO Luis von Ahn’s statement on AI, Duolingo’s social media team was thrown into a crisis. The brand, which usually carries a sarcastic, tongue-and-cheek tone across its social media, had to get serious. So, what was their response? Complete silence. Duolingo wiped their Instagram and TikTok pages and opted to “experiment with silence”. After a few days in the dark, Duolingo came back with an odd TikTok where their owl mascot criticized their higher-ups for tanking their social media team’s reputation, and promised to reveal “the truth” to their audience.

For many, this approach to addressing the controversy only left a sour taste in their mouth. TikTok comments rolled in calling for users to ignore Duolingo and poking fun at their use of AI. By trying to poke fun at the incident and point the blame solely at their CEO, Duolingo’s social team failed to address the real problems people have with them.

 

What Duolingo Should Have Done Instead

In the end, Duolingo’s biggest mistake wasn’t embracing AI; it was failing to listen and communicate effectively when it mattered most. For a brand that built its identity on community, humor, and approachability, going silent during backlash felt off-brand and out-of-touch.

Rather than wiping their social presence and leaning into cryptic humor, Duolingo should have taken a more human approach. What they should’ve started with was social listening. Had they taken the time to analyze and identify the tone of online conversations about them, tracked those sentiments, and responded appropriately, Duolingo may have been in a better place at this time. Knowing how their users felt wasn’t hard to find, either; many comments mentioned the growing fear of humans losing jobs, concern over the quality of the app while using AI, and disappointment that the brand had suddenly become distant.

This is where the STREMII framework could have come into play. STREMII, which stands for Social Listening, Transparency, Reassurance, Empathy, Messaging, Intentionality, and Impact, is a practical approach to managing your brand presence during a crisis. By using this framework to approach the crisis, Duolingo could have avoided exacerbating the problem. 

If Duolingo had responded with a thoughtful video or post explaining its goals, elaborating on the safeguards in place to protect human jobs and quality, and thanking users for their passion and feedback, the outcome could’ve been very different. Want to take it a step further? Duolingo should have opened the door for conversation with their users about their future with AI, not gone AWOL. At the end of the day, your most loyal fans want to feel included, not ignored.

 

What Can You Take Away From Duolingo’s Mistakes?

Duolingo’s fiasco doesn’t mean your brand has to fall the same way. Whether you’re a one-man small business or working on a major brand, navigating public response during high-pressure moments starts with preparation and ends with empathy. Here are some key takeaways from Duolingo’s PR nightmare:

• Be a Social Listener: Don’t wait for backlash to start paying attention to your audience. Use social listening tools to monitor what your audience is saying across platforms, and flag any sentiment changes before they spiral out of control. Not only does this help you spot problems early, it shows your audience you care enough to listen.

• Have Your Crisis Response Plan Ready: Just like how you know where to go and what to do when a bad storm is on the horizon, you should have a plan for when your brand is in a tough spot. It doesn’t have to be complicated; just a clear plan outlining who responds, how, and on what platforms when things go haywire. Include tone guidelines, escalation protocols, and review timelines.

• Don’t Ghost Your Audience: Unless the goal is to further alienate and confuse your followers, don’t go silent. Even a brief acknowledgment of the situation before your official statement goes a long way. No matter what, address the moment with clarity, sincerity, and empathy.

• Know When to Shift Your Tone: Your brand voice is a valuable part of your brand identity. However, your brand’s tone should be adaptable when necessary. If your usual style is more playful or sarcastic, know when to reel it in when your audience needs it most. 

 

Final Thoughts

Duolingo’s situation is more than a cautionary tale, it’s a blueprint for what not to do. The good news? With the right preparation and some empathy, marketers can turn mistakes like this into powerful moments of connection. Stay prepared, stay present, and above all: stay human.

 

Author Bio:

Kassity Lee is a 2025 Social Media Strategist Intern at the National Institute for Social Media. A senior at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Kassity is a dual Marketing and Journalism major with a specialization in Advertising. Kassity is passionate about marketing strategy and utilizing the power of human truths to craft effective campaigns. In her free time, Kassity can be found hanging out with her cat Bug, playing video games, and occasionally catching a local basement show with her friends. You can find her on LinkedIn here.