Everything from facial recognition and language translation to advertising and transportation, there is no denying that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is just a wave, particularly when this technology continues to blend into one’s everyday life. While AI is changing how individuals work, ride, and communicate, it further reimagines social media and how people connect with the virtual world. AI-generated influencers’ accounts are flooding Facebook and Instagram, and they are ready to show off the next big thing, including the AI girlfriend.
AI Influencers Defined
It’s well known that influencers have dominated social media for years, setting popular trends through their curated content that has generated a billion-dollar industry. One example is Cristiano Ronaldo, who leverages his global appeal as a football player to promote brands such as Nike, Binance, and Tag Heuer. Jimmy Donaldson — known online as MrBeast – creates philanthropic content to inspire today’s generations to do good, and Pokimane has earned a deviated fan base through her food and fashion vlogs. These influencers and more have led to a social media evolution that now includes a new player: the AI influencer.
Also known as virtual influencers, AI influencers are computer-generated characters that look and behave much in the same way real people do online; however, these influencers have been carefully crafted to appeal to a specific audience – specifically Gen Z and Gen Alpha. These new social media players are often created with CGI, motion capture, and artificial intelligence, offering a new way for brands to reach out and connect with their customers. Specifically designed to promote products on social media platforms, AI influencers interact with their followers from a first-person perspective. They post selfies, dance, attend events, comment on current events, and can even interact in public squabbles with one another.
While muddying the lines between the real and virtual worlds, AI influencers are shifting the way digital content is created, consumed, and marketed, ultimately enticing their followers to purchase the products they promote. This innovative technology offers companies a better way to connect with their audience through one of the most influential spaces in the digital world.
What Brands Need to Focus On
Creators and businesses can reap many big benefits from using AI influencers, but these benefits depend on certain strategic moves that can generate success.
One of the most significant factors to consider when developing an AI influencer for success is that much of its success will mimic the success of real-life influencers. Successful AI influencers will follow the same marketing tactics, with brands aligning these influencers’ campaign moves to meet their followers’ interests, wants, and needs while remaining authentic to their brand.
Beyond aligning with the same tactics used by real-life influencers, the storyline, character development, and creativity are also necessary for creators and brands to find success. Generic, familiar, uninspiring storylines will likely not reach a broad audience or foster the kind of success their creators aim for.
AI Influencers Give Back
AI influencers are a combination of advancing technology that can curate interesting storylines and characters that are entirely customizable, creative, and cost-efficient.
With many industries and businesses utilizing the power of AI, the customization that AI influencers offer can overcome real-world influencers’ limitations. AI influencer creators can make these social media stars look and act however they choose and make quick alterations with just a change to or additions of a few lines of code.
One example of the benefits of customization can be seen in AI influencer star, Lil Miquela, a 19-year-old musician based in Los Angeles. Debuting in 2016 and now a renowned AI influencer, Lil Miquela can be in five different places at once and customized to speak to her various audiences in other languages. She has helped brands like Prada, Calvin Klein, and BMW benefit from her vibrant and realistic personality.
Another customization benefit for brands is the amount of control they have over what their AI influencers say and do. While real-life influencers have their own emotions, perspectives, and goals, AI influencers only say and do what they are specifically programmed for. This technology’s customization allows for mistakes to be modified easily. Brands can ultimately dictate what kind of content is created for their accounts, removing the potential issues they may encounter with real-life influencers.
Costs matter; with AI influencers, brands have a more cost-effective option for promoting their products to a broader and more specific audience. While the costs of these virtual influencers vary, they tend to be less costly overall than their real-life counterparts. For example, a real-life influencer may charge a brand up to six figures per post, whereas AI influencers charge in the low thousands.
Beyond Influencing
While AI influencers are entering the social media landscape at a higher rate, AI technology offers other ways for today’s people to build connections.
Real-life influencers are now using AI to help them reach a wider audience, as can be seen with Caryn Marjorie, a Snapchat influencer with over 1.8 million subscribers. Marjorie wanted to talk to as many of her followers as possible, but there was only so much time in the day – so, she made CarynAI, an AI clone of herself.
CarynAI is an AI-powered, voice-based chatbot that Marjorie hopes will “cure loneliness.” On the website, this chatbot is described as a “virtual girlfriend” and allows Marjorie’s fans to “enjoy private, personalized conversations” with an AI version of the influencer, according to the chatbot’s website.
For those suffering from unbearable loneliness, AI girlfriends/companions have been designed to help resolve this issue for people around the globe. While not yet backed by sufficient psychological or sociological research, concerns about the problems that these virtual companions could cause are still circulating. These virtual companions are consistently evolving to meet the needs of their users, offering companionship and emotional support.
This article appears in Feb 19 – Mar 4, 2025.