Still Shaking Hands and Kissing Babies? Digitalization, AI, and Traditional Campaigning in Greek Politics

Party competition has been undergoing a striking transformation in recent years as a result of the diffusion of new technologies in campaign strategies. The utilization of digital and social media in both the lead-up to elections and everyday political outreach is now considered an integral part of parties’ tactics, while the use of AI-driven tools has already been confirmed in several instances around the world, including Greece, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and the Netherlands (e.g., Plefsi Eleftherias, 2025; Mildebrath, 2024; Romano et al., 2024; Châtelet, 2024; Tosi et al., 2025). As a result, a significant body of the relevant literature has shifted its research focus to the increasing instrumentalization of the possibilities that the combination of digital, AI, and LLM technologies offers, which, among others, include AI-generated videos and fundraising emails, algorithmically supported political branding, microtargeting, data mining, and voter profiling (e.g., Foos, 2024; Morosoli et al., 2025; Czainska & Biernat, 2024; Sabag Ben-Porat & Lehman-Wilzig, 2020; Auliya et al., 2024; Islam et al., 2024). Nevertheless, there is also a steady stream of academics and pundits disputing the position that AI is a game-changer when it comes to electoral campaigning and political appeal, advocating that the “sky is falling” narrative is rather premature and that in reality we are going in blind due to lack of comprehensive information on the part of political actors utilizing AI (e.g., Brennen et al., 2024; Simon et al., 2024). In the midst of this discussion, this article seeks to provide insights into the permeation of digital and AI-driven technology in political campaigning and branding. To do so, it will draw on the case of Greece—which is a typical example of a country that combines deep-rooted traditional political campaigning methods with an increasing number of AI tool users—adopting a qualitative analysis, which triangulates data extracted from elite interviews, primary material from social media platforms, mass media, and party statements, and relevant reports and surveys, such as the Comparative Candidate Survey (CCS). The findings of the article will contribute not only to gaining a deeper understanding of modern Greek politics but also to the wider, and timely, debate on AI’s role in electoral politics and political behavior.