How to vote for the ‘Big Brother’ A.I. Instigator twist

The latest twist on “Big Brother 26” was unveiled at the end of Thursday’s live episode, and it’s tailor-made for players that like to stir the pot (aka people like Angela Murray and Tucker Des Lauriers). It’s called the A.I. Instigator, and it gives viewers the power to choose who will initiate digital drama inside the house all week long. The person who earns the power will get to pick on other contestants using artificial intelligence deepfakes to hide their true identities. Read on for everything to know about how to vote for the “Big Brother” A.I. Instigator twist.

From now until Thursday, August 22 at 9:00 a.m. PT, you can visit the official CBS website and cast up to 10 votes per day for who you want to be the A.I. Instigator. You automatically get the first set of five votes per day when you log in, and to get a second set of five votes per day, you have to watch a free ad. Voting is open to U.S. residents that are 18 years old or older.

Here is the fine print: “Viewers of the ‘Big Brother 26’ television program will be asked to interact with the show via web vote. Viewers shall vote for the eligible Houseguest they’d like to receive the A.I. Instigator power. The A.I. Instigator power, when used, allows, for one week, the user to create virtual avatars of other current houseguests, instruct what they’ll say and to whom. Viewers will vote via the platform below. The eligible Houseguest with the most votes at the time of the vote’s reveal will earn the power.”

SEE Why is ‘Big Brother’ called ‘Big Brother’? Name meaning explained

“Big Brother” host Julie Chen Moonves made the big announcement on August 15, and she also revealed that viewers will be able to reward the A.I. Instigator with a cash prize at the end of the person’s week-long reign of terror. More details on the monetary aspect will be made available later.

As of this writing, all 12 remaining players are eligible to become the A.I. Instigator, no matter who wins Head of Household or gets put on the block this week. They are: Angela, Tucker, Brooklyn Rivera, Cam Sullivan-Brown, Chelsie Baham, Joseph Rodriguez, Kimo Apaka, Leah Peters, Makensy Manbeck, Quinn Martin, Rubina Bernabe and T’kor Clottey.

The four people who have already left the “BB26” house this summer are of course ineligible: Matt Hardeman, Lisa Weintraub, Kenney Kelley and Cedric Hodges. They’ll all be watching the A.I. Instigator drama play out from their own homes, just like the rest of us.

SEE exclusive predictions: Who will win ‘Big Brother’?

Be sure to make your predictions to influence our reality TV racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the eviction episode airs live on CBS. You’ll compete to win a $100 Amazon gift card and a spot on our “BB26” leaderboard. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions