Iceland is sending real knitters to meetings that could’ve been emails. They’ll knit the takeaway
'It's insane that this is real'
We've all sat through work meetings and wondered whether we could spend our time doing something else. Visit Iceland gives you that option with a recently launched campaign called "AI Knittakers." "AI" stands for "Authentic Icelandic" knitters. People can choose from over 20 knitters to attend their online work meetings. At the end of the meeting, the AI Knittaker would summarize the takeaway using Icelandic wool. Inspired by Iceland shared a video of the campaign on October 29, 2026, and it reached 140,147 views, over 1,500 likes, and 55 comments.
A single word
For those wondering how AI Knittakers work, there are three simple steps to follow. First, choose a Knittaker. Employees can choose from several professional knitters on the official Visit Iceland website. Secondly, the employee must invite the Knittaker to their meeting by choosing a free hour. The third step is the simplest — the employee does not even have to do anything. At the end of the meeting, they will receive a picture of the knitted one-word takeaway, if there's one. They will also receive details about the knittaker and the region they come from. As per Fast Company, employees in the U.S. and Europe can also receive the physical "takeaway" by requesting a shipment.
Attracting tourists
The AI Knittaker campaign is only for a limited time. It started on October 29, 2026, and will close by November 20, 2026. Visit Iceland's spokesperson, Sigríður Dögg Guðmundsdóttir, explained why they wanted to use human knitters to summarize the meetings. She said, "We wanted to use this as a message for people to connect more to the real world." The whole point of hiring an AI Knittaker was that the employees would use that time to do something fun, such as exploring Iceland. Guðmundsdóttir added, "We want to build sustainable tourism in Iceland. We’re not only focused on numbers, but attracting the right kind of travelers that will enjoy Iceland."
Meeting fatigue
Virtual meetings have made attending work discussions easier than ever, but they're not always productive. A SurveyMonkey poll found that 32% of employees thought "this meeting could have been an email" either all or most of the time. 63% of employees believed keeping meetings short was the best way to improve the quality. A 2022 Pew Research Center survey found that 26% of workers complained about "Zoom fatigue" because of how much time they spent on video calls.
'Touch some grass'
Viewers were impressed by Iceland's unique idea. @happiness4919 commented, "Go touch some grass ahh feeling." @nickpetrillo5795 said, "It's insane that this is real. I need one!!!" @mbuchart2927 added, "This video displays a deep understanding of modern office life. The Vikings never had time for the cr*p we now have to put up with. Leif Erikson would have just left behind a Knittaker to knit two scarves: 'Out of office to discover new continent.' and 'See ya later, s**kas!'"
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