Why AI influencers make more sense than you think.

If you’re scrolling through social media lately, you’ve probably noticed AI influencers popping up. These digital personas are blending seamlessly into your feed, making it difficult to distinguish them from humans. Whether it’s brand campaigns or virtual fashion shows, AI influencers are starting to change the game. Find out why they are on the rise and how brands can tap into their potential.

Rozy is a 22-year-old AI model, singer, and DJ, and leads a jet-set life, donning stylish designs from brands like Tiffany & Co. and Calvin Klein, snapping photos with celebrities, and attending virtual fashion shows and events. But she is not real. Because of her photorealistic images, South Korea’s first virtual influencer leaves many wondering if they are looking at a digital avatar or a human. To date, she has garnered over 171,000 followers on Instagram, released her own album, launched a skincare line, and founded a virtual fashion brand. Despite being digital, she is said to generate over $2 million in revenue per year for her creators, a Seoul-based digital production company.

Blurring the lines between the virtual and real world.

Virtual influencers come in many shapes and forms, from cartoon-style avatars to hyper-realistic digital humans. Emerging from the subcultures of anime, comics, and gaming, they have seen a first rise to fame in the mid 2010s, mainly through the popularity of Vtubers in Asia. With the advancements of technologies like CGI, motion capture and AI, computer-generated characters have become more versatile and are now increasingly populating all the main social media platforms. They interact with their audience through posts, videos, comments, and virtual appearances, seamlessly blending into the digital landscape.  

LOOP's very first AI influencer, Laila Khadraa for PUMA, is a 21-year-old Moroccan marketing student with a love for football, running, and surfing. On her Instagram page, she shares glimpses into her life in Morocco, cooking, dancing, hanging out with friends, and her passion for PUMA sneakers. Through embracing the possibilities of being a digital character, we are developing her story into an adventurous journey for her followers while crafting engaging brand content for PUMA. By playing with the fact that she exists in between worlds, she raises questions, challenges the norms and normalizes imperfections to empower humans. Laila is upfront with not being real and she uses the privilege of being virtual to reflect on it and make fun of not being burdened by reality.

Redefining fashion and pop culture.

Laila is set to follow in the footsteps of other AI influencers like Lil Miquela, who has grown her following to over 2.7 million on Instagram since 2016. As one of the most successful virtual characters, she has collaborated with fashion brands like Prada, Dior, Burberry, and Calvin Klein, and has a career as a pop star, releasing music videos on YouTube and appearing in photos with artists like 50Cent, Rosalia, and Nile Rodgers.

Brands are increasingly creating and hiring AI influencers to promote their products, resulting in a diverse array of virtual characters in the digital landscape. Noonoouri, a 19-year-old fashionista, has worked with top fashion houses like Dior, Miu Miu, and Valentino and is represented by real-life agency IMG Models. She is the first AI influencer to receive a record deal with Warner Music and has posed alongside celebrities like Kim Kardashian, supermodel Gigi Hadid, and Formula 1 racer Lewis Hamilton. Her colleague Shudu, dubbed “the world’s first virtual supermodel,” has graced the cover of Vogue Czechoslovakia, showed up across Balmain stores in Hong Kong, and recently appeared live on stage at the Vogue Live AI summit.

Scaling impact with digital twins.

But innovation doesn’t stop there. Enter digital twins: virtual replicas of real-life celebrities capable of simulating real-world scenarios with remarkable accuracy. Last year, Virgin Voyages tapped into an AI-generated version of superstar Jennifer Lopez to invite cruise ship guests with a personalized message, while supermodel Eva Herzigova created her own digital twin, which can be booked through her agency. When soccer players were unavailable for a photo shoot due to scheduling issues, PSG created an AI campaign using digital twins. Realistic, highly customizable avatars of real people can save brands time, money, and hassle in the content production process.

Growing social media influence.

A 2022 consumer research survey found that nearly half of people who follow social media personalities are interested in following a virtual influencer. The perception of online authenticity is changing, especially among Gen Z, who according to another report mostly doesn't care if influencers are actual humans or generated with AI. While about half of Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers said they valued influencer authenticity, only 35 percent of Gen Z said they did. 46 percent of Gen Z respondents, specifically, declared they would be more interested in a brand that worked with an influencer generated with AI. With the Global Virtual Influencer Market size expected to reach $37.8 billion by 2030, the potential for impact is huge.

AI influencers seamlessly "travel" between markets, speak multiple languages, and maintain a consistent presence, eliminating the unpredictability often associated with human influencers. This technological edge not only enhances brand safety and reputation but also provides invaluable data insights, enabling brands to refine their strategies in real-time. By embracing virtual characters, brands can drive impactful engagement, build lasting trust, and stay ahead in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

While AI influencers open up new possibilities, they do come with challenges. Despite growing acceptance, some audiences may still find virtual personas too artificial, making it harder to form authentic connections. To overcome this, brands need smart storytelling to give AI influencers relatable personalities and engaging narratives. Transparency remains key—being upfront about their AI origins builds credibility and trust, ensuring that audiences can engage with these virtual characters on a meaningful level.

A fresh opportunity for brands.

At LOOP, we view AI influencers as a dynamic addition to the marketing toolkit for brands. We prefer to call them “virtual characters” who help brands tell compelling stories. Rather than seeing them as competitors to human influencers, we liken them to iconic fictional characters like James Bond or Barbie – beloved figures that have captivated audiences for decades. We envision AI influencers working alongside human influencers, who will remain our most valuable brand ambassadors.

Generative AI offers brands remarkable freedom in content production. When scheduling conflicts arise, digital twins enable the creation of timely images and campaigns without the physical presence of the subject. Virtual characters allow us to tailor content for specific target groups, 24/7, all year round, meeting customer needs with precision. From testing campaigns to creating fully virtual experiences, brands can leverage this new technology to not only diversify their marketing channels, but to streamline and scale up their content production. This is just the beginning for AI influencers, with limitless potential yet to be explored.