Definitions by George Michaelson
Botlighting
Botlighting
(verb/noun) — also: botlit, botlit me, getting botlit
When an AI confidently insists on something false with such authority that you begin doubting your own memory, experience, or reasoning — even when you were right all along.
Unlike gaslighting, there is no malicious intent. The AI isn't trying to manipulate you. But the effect on the person is the same: confusion, self-doubt, and the unsettling feeling of having to fight to trust your own mind.
"I got botlit for 20 minutes before I finally proved it with receipts."
Origin:
Blend of bot (automated AI system) and gaslighting (psychological manipulation that makes a person question their own reality). Coined to describe a specific and increasingly common experience in the age of AI assistants.
Related forms:
botlit (past tense): "I got botlit"
botlighting (noun/gerund): "That was pure botlighting"
botlit me (verb): "The AI botlit me completely"
(verb/noun) — also: botlit, botlit me, getting botlit
When an AI confidently insists on something false with such authority that you begin doubting your own memory, experience, or reasoning — even when you were right all along.
Unlike gaslighting, there is no malicious intent. The AI isn't trying to manipulate you. But the effect on the person is the same: confusion, self-doubt, and the unsettling feeling of having to fight to trust your own mind.
"I got botlit for 20 minutes before I finally proved it with receipts."
Origin:
Blend of bot (automated AI system) and gaslighting (psychological manipulation that makes a person question their own reality). Coined to describe a specific and increasingly common experience in the age of AI assistants.
Related forms:
botlit (past tense): "I got botlit"
botlighting (noun/gerund): "That was pure botlighting"
botlit me (verb): "The AI botlit me completely"
I knew what I had said, but ChatGPT kept insisting I was wrong with so much confidence that I started questioning myself. Classic botlighting.
Botlighting by George Michaelson April 22, 2026