Visit Iceland has launched a free service that allows people to book an Icelandic knitter to attend an online meeting in their place, combining a tourism campaign with a playful response to meeting fatigue.
Called AI Knittakers, the service uses “AI” to mean Authentic Icelandic. The participants are real people who join meetings on camera, listen to the discussion and turn a one-word summary into a piece of knitting made with Icelandic wool.
Bookings are available from October 29 to November 20, 2026, according to The Star’s report. The campaign presents the service as a way to give participants an hour back to concentrate on work, take a break or spend time away from a screen.
The launch follows research commissioned by Visit Iceland among 4,000 office workers. According to the campaign’s findings, respondents spent just under eight hours a month in meetings they considered unnecessary or avoidable, while 63% agreed that many meetings they attended could have been an email. Those figures are campaign-commissioned findings, rather than an independent assessment of workplace practices.
The Knittakers are intended to offer a glimpse of Iceland as well as a substitute meeting attendee. The campaign describes participants joining from farmhouse kitchens, harbour towns, waterfalls and locations beside geothermal pools across the country.
Their task differs from producing conventional minutes. Each knitter is meant to observe the conversation, including reactions, pauses and disagreements, before choosing a single word to knit. Suggested summaries include PIVOT, ALIGN, RESET and UNMUTE.
Knitting supplies the cultural thread running through the promotion. The report describes it as part of everyday Icelandic life, associated with relaxation, socialising and making garments. Among the best-known examples is the lopapeysa, Iceland’s distinctive patterned jumper made from lopi wool.
Visit Iceland spokesperson Sigríður Dögg Guðmundsdóttir presented the campaign as an invitation to value time away from work and screens, while encouraging people to experience Iceland themselves.
People can explore the participating knitters and their locations, and book a meeting appearance, through AIKnittaker.com. Meeting organisers in the United States and Europe can also opt to receive the original hand-knitted summary by post.