BuzzFeed reveals three AI social apps under new company Branch Office

In short: BuzzFeed introduced three new AI-powered social apps at SXSW, built under a new independent company called Branch Office.

What happened

BuzzFeed showed off the apps during a SXSW session on March 14, 2026. The session was led by BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti and Branch Office AI incubator head Bill Shouldis. The apps are coming from a “secret lab” that BuzzFeed has been working on, and they now sit under Branch Office as a separate company.

Peretti framed the launch as a “bet against the algorithm.” In everyday terms, that means the apps are trying to avoid the kind of automated feed that decides what you see next on many big social platforms. Instead, they aim to build experiences around smaller communities and shared taste, like a group of friends trading inside jokes.

The three apps are Conjure, BF Island, and Quiz Party. Conjure is a daily photo challenge app that sends themed prompts called “summons,” and it is described as building a story over time, like a shared mystery (BuzzFeed compared it to “BeReal in the X-Files universe”). BF Island is in private beta on iOS in the US, and it turns group chat references and memes into a visual space, with AI help for playful edits and riffs on photos, without focusing on followers. Quiz Party is coming soon, and it lets people take BuzzFeed-style quizzes together in real time, then share results and chat or tease each other inside the app.

Why it matters

As AI makes it easier for anyone to create lots of content quickly, BuzzFeed is betting that people will value smaller, more personal spaces online. Peretti also suggested these apps could make money through premium subscriptions and by connecting to tools people already use, like iMessage or WhatsApp.

Source: TechCrunch AI