Norad Santa tracker gets souped-up with help from AI elves

OpenAI teams up with Norad, which has tracked Santa for seven decades

OpenAI has introduced new AI tools that it says enhances Norad's Santa-tracking experience. AFP

If you are trying to track Santa's location as he makes his way from Dubai to Topeka, Kansas and everywhere in between this Christmas, OpenAI and the North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) have enhanced the experience.

The company behind the popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT announced it teamed up with Norad ahead of Christmas.

OpenAI created three new tools: Elf enrolment, which allows people to transform their pictures into something that resembles an elf; Santa's Toy Lab, which assists in creating customised toy pictures; and Christmas Story Creator, a fill-in-the-blanks holiday story maker. All the offerings use the ChatGPT platform.

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At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Norad made sure Santa wore a mask on its tracking tool. Photo: Norad

“These tools are included in Norad's holiday activities on the Norad Santa website,” OpenAI said.

Since the nascent days of the internet in 1997, Norad has allowed users to use its Santa-tracking simulation to keep an eye on the man in red as he delivers gifts all over the world.

The tracking has not always taken place online. The tradition started back in 1955 by what was then known as the US military's Continental Air Defence Command (Conad), when children could use the phone to find out Santa's whereabouts.

The telephone option still works to this day, but most opt to use Norad's web tool instead, which provides a map depicting Santa as his makes his annual run.

Changes to the tracking tool have been incremental. With the Covid-19 pandemic well under way in 2020, Santa was given a face mask to encourage safety precautions preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

OpenAI's new tools linked on Norad's Santa-tracking website allow for parents to help their kids imagine toys from scratch. Photo: OpenAI

Norad also offers Santa tracker mobile apps available for iPhone and Android platforms.

The 2025 Norad Santa tracker is funded in part by Microsoft, AWS, HP, OpenAI and others.

“As a kid who grew up calling Norad on Christmas Eve, it brings me so much joy to share that OpenAI is partnering with Norad this season to bring extra magic to the annual Norad Tracks Santa tradition,” Katrina Mulligan, OpenAI's director of US national security partnerships posted on LinkedIn.

She said OpenAI's Santa tools are meant “to help adults create festive moments, keepsakes and stories” for their children throughout the holiday season.

Col Harry Shoup helped to create Norad's first Santa-tracking system in the 1950s. Photo: Norad

According to Norad, about 1,500 volunteers help the military answer calls and emails from children directed to Santa.

The tracker tool becomes operational on December 24. Norad is not alone in Santa-tracking, as Alphabet-owned Google offers a similar tool.