{"id":55538,"date":"2026-01-13T09:09:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T09:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new-blog.artlist.io\/blog\/?p=55538"},"modified":"2026-01-13T09:09:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T09:09:30","slug":"virtual-influencers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new-blog.artlist.io\/blog\/virtual-influencers\/","title":{"rendered":"The rise of virtual influencers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What are virtual influencers? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Virtual influencers are famous online personas who seem to be everywhere at once\u2014jet setting to art openings across the globe, while simultaneously making appearances during NYFW. How do they do it? These well-known influencers don\u2019t actually exist in the real world. These AI-created avatars are designed to behave like real influencers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These computer-generated characters have distinct personalities, detailed back stories, and visual identities, but are controlled by teams working at big brands and creative agencies. Virtual influencers can be AI-generated, motion-captured avatars, or CGI characters. Like their human counterparts, virtual influencers post photo and video content, participate in brand collaborations, and build online audiences on various social media platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lil Miquela is considered to be one of the first AI-generated influencers who has gained 2.3 million followers since she was first introduced in 2016. Controlled by the tech company Dapper Labs,in the last decade she\u2019s released music, collaborated with big brands like BMW, Prada, and Calvin Klein, and been \u201cphotographed\u201d with a number of celebrities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More recently, travel agencies and tourism boards are experimenting with AI-influencers as a cost-saving solution and to create content at a quicker pace. Qatar Airways created an AI-generated flight attendant named Sama to promote the airline carrier. Although Sama is clearly labeled as a Virtual Cabin Crew member on her Instagram page, in many posts she often appears alongside real people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The German National Tourism Board has started using a virtual influencer by the name of Emma to promote travel to the country, like this example of can\u2019t miss spots if you are visiting Dresden for a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why video creators and brands should care <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brands are turning to virtual influencers to tell their stories for a number of reasons. Working with virtual influencers or AI-generated talent can often be cheaper than collaborating with celebrity talent and gives brands full creative control. As long as brands are transparent about characters being virtually created, younger audiences are largely embracing them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An AI-generated influencer also doesn\u2019t have any physical constraints or scheduling conflicts. A virtual influencer can appear to be in two locations at the same time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human influencers and full-time creatives are worried that the rise of AI-generated influencers will mean fewer opportunities and less money in their pockets, and in a world where FaceTune and heavily Photoshopped content is everywhere, the lines between what is real and what isn\u2019t are becoming increasingly blurred. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designing your own virtual influencer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Interested in creating your own virtual influencer? Before you get started it\u2019s important to consider what you want your influencer to represent by mapping out a creative strategy. Consider the audience that your virtual influencer is trying to reach and why it might make sense to use a virtual influencer rather than a human one. Great visuals won\u2019t save a virtual influencer that seems to lack purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve determined the purpose of your virtual influencer, it\u2019s smart to create a visual identity for your character. Answering basic questions about the age, location, personality, and aesthetics of your character will help you develop a sense of who this virtual influencer is. It can be helpful to think about it a bit like building a fictional character for a television show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Programs like Blender, Maya, or After Effects can help you make hyper-realistic CGI-style characters, but they can be time-consuming to work with and require some specialized knowledge of animation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artlist\u2019s AI video generator<\/a> and AI voiceover tools<\/a> can help you kick off your ideation process without much technical animation knowledge, especially if you have still images to use as source material. And with an Artlist subscription, you can use these AI-generated videos for commercial projects, making it an easy way to start pitching to brands and clients with your AI-generated characters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenges and considerations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Like anything powered by AI, we\u2019d be remiss without covering some of the ethical concerns of this emerging trend. AI is already changing the workflows, career paths, and productivity of creative teams. But it\u2019s also happening at such a rapid pace that it\u2019s sometimes hard to know exactly where things are heading. Here are some challenges and considerations to keep in mind when utilizing virtual influencers in an upcoming project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human opportunity loss <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Human influencers have already raised concerned that\u00a0AI-generated influencers will cut down on available opportunities to work with big brands<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel and beauty influencers say they\u2019ve already noticed happening and consumer brands are spending significantly less <\/a>on influencer talent than they did in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining consumer trust <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Brands that are using virtual influencers or AI-generated characters should tread carefully so they don\u2019t lose the trust of their customers. The best way to do this is to be transparent that these characters are not real people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Younger consumers are embracing these AI-influencers, as long as brands aren\u2019t pretending that the personality exists in real life. No one wants to feel like they are being tricked when they are interacting with an AI-generated influencer online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental concerns<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

All AI-powered tools (and the data centers that they rely on) increase power and water consumption. As demand for the tools grows the consequences that these data centers\u00a0have on the environment also increase. Communities in areas adjacent to AI data centers are already feeling these effects, with growing reports<\/a> of rolling blackouts and water outages on overburdened systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

What virtual influencers tell us about the future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The use of virtual influencers and AI-generated characters has been steadily growing for the last decade, and we don\u2019t see it slowing down anytime soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtual influencers show us that identity is becoming more programmable and carefully crafted. The growing use of these computer-generated personalities on social media also indicates that in the future, the voices that carry the biggest influence won\u2019t necessarily be human. These AI-generated characters are an example of how major brands continue to blur the line between advertising and storytelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does it mean when the leading voices online aren\u2019t even human? Virtual influencers are forcing us to redefine what it means to be authentic, responsible, and trustworthy. As a culture we\u2019re growing more comfortable with AI-powered tools in our day-to-day lives and starting to embrace AI personas. And while AI-influencers like Lil Miquela proudly lean into their unrealness, it\u2019s unclear if the next-generation of virtual influencers will do the same.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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