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== Reception ==
"Ghost in the Machine" entered several record charts after the release of ''SOS''. It debuted and peaked at number 40 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], becoming Bridgers's first top-40 song in the United States; it remained on the chart for nine weeks.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Zellner |first=Xander |date=December 20, 2022 |title=SZA Debuts 20 Songs from ''SOS'' on Hot 100, Rules Artist 100 for First Time |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/sza-debuts-20-songs-from-sos-hot-100-rules-artist-100-1235189798/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221081326/https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/sza-debuts-20-songs-from-sos-hot-100-rules-artist-100-1235189798/ |archive-date=December 21, 2022 |access-date=December 24, 2022}}</ref><ref name="USAChart" /> On the same publication's [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]], the song arrived at its peak of number 17 and charted for a total of 15 weeks; ''Billboard'' ranked the song at number 65 on the chart's year-end tally for 2023.<ref name="HotR&BHipHop" /><ref name="RBHH-YE">{{cite magazine |date= |title=Year-End Charts: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 2023 |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2023/hot-r-and-and-b-hip-hop-songs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122081906/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2023/hot-r-and-and-b-hip-hop-songs/ |archive-date=November 22, 2023 |access-date=November 22, 2023 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref> The song also appeared on the national charts in Canada, Australia, and Portugal.{{NoteTag|
In reviews of "Ghost in the Machine" and ''SOS'', music critics primarily focused on whether SZA and Bridgers were a congruent pairing; many critics praised the collaboration as successful despite the two musicians' different musical styles.<ref name="Observer">{{Cite news |last=Empire |first=Kitty |author-link=Kitty Empire |date=December 11, 2022 |title=SZA: ''SOS'' Review – a Surfeit of Ideas, Guests and Producers from a Master of Her Craft |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/dec/11/sza-sos-review-travis-scott-phoebe-bridgers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210044112/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/dec/11/sza-sos-review-travis-scott-phoebe-bridgers |archive-date=February 10, 2023 |access-date=May 22, 2024 |work=[[The Observer]] |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Ontong |first=Joel |date=December 21, 2022 |title=SZA's ''SOS'' Is a Confident and Triumphant Return |url=https://www.news24.com/channel/music/news/review-szas-sos-is-a-confident-and-triumphant-return-20221220 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20240423041938/https://www.news24.com/life/arts-and-entertainment/music/review-szas-sos-is-a-confident-and-triumphant-return-20221220 |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |access-date=February 5, 2023 |magazine=[[News24 (website)|News24]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Chow wrote that "Ghost in the Machine" was the best collaboration on ''SOS'', reasoning that the feature was bound to work because the two musicians' discographies overlap significantly in terms of subject matter, which prevented an "awkward" genre crossover for Bridgers: "it has often felt like the two of them are anxious, horny [[Spider-Man|Spider-Men]] pointing at each other from across the genre-verse."<ref name="Time-SOS" /> Shaad D'Souza of ''[[The Saturday Paper]]'' praised the collaboration as a "smart match" between "Bridgers' ultraliteral indie-folk" and "SZA's wide-eyed earnestness".<ref name="TSP">{{cite news |last=D'Souza |first=Shaad |date=December 23, 2023 |title=Best Music: Sending an ''SOS'' to Mainstream, Big-Budget Pop |url=https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/culture/music/2023/12/21/sending-sos-mainstream-big-budget-pop#mtr |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224062120/https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/culture/music/2023/12/21/sending-sos-mainstream-big-budget-pop |archive-date=December 24, 2023 |access-date=May 23, 2024 |work=[[The Saturday Paper]]}}</ref> Others commented that the sound, while unexpected in the context of the album, was nonetheless cohesive and polished.<ref name="AP2022" /><ref name="NPR-SOS">{{Cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Thompson (journalist) |last2=Harris |first2=Aisha |author-link2=Aisha Harris |last3=Madden |first3=Sidney |last4=Katzif |first4=Mike |last5=Wood |first5=Rommel |last6=Reedy |first6=Jessica |date=December 15, 2022 |title=On ''SOS'', SZA Both Surprises and Delivers Exactly What We've Been Waiting For |url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1142231566 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224032135/https://www.npr.org/2022/12/12/1142231566/on-sos-sza-both-surprises-and-delivers-exactly-what-weve-been-waiting-for |archive-date=December 24, 2022 |access-date=December 24, 2022 |website=[[NPR]] |format=Audio upload and transcript}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Raible |first=Allan |date=December 28, 2022 |title=Review: 50 Best Albums of 2022 |url=https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/review-50-best-albums-2022-95172844 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240428152338/https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/review-50-best-albums-2022-95172844 |archive-date=April 28, 2024 |access-date=May 23, 2024 |website=[[Good Morning America]]}}</ref>
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