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The emergence of AI influencers is reshaping the social media landscape, challenging human influencers and revolutionizing content creation. Companies like The Clueless are pioneering AI-generated models like Aitana Lopez, citing cost-effectiveness and creative control as advantages. While concerns about deepfake technology persist, platforms like Meta are introducing labeling systems to address transparency.

Social media influencers have embraced artificial intelligence to spice up their content but they are also facing growing competition from AI-generated Instagramers, TikTokers and YouTubers.

Sporting pink hair and posing in lingerie, swimsuits or gym outfits, Aitana Lopez has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram where she is described as a “gamer at heart” and “fitness lover” — except she’s not real.

Aitana was created by The Clueless, a Barcelona-based company that describes itself as an “AI modeling agency” run by “visionaries on a mission to redefine the world of influencers”.

Sofia Novales, project manager at The Clueless, stated that the organization was founded because to the “rising costs associated with human influencers”.

Virtual models, because they are digital, provide a more cost-effective option,” Novales stated.

Another advantage: complete control over content.

“The advantages lie in unparalleled creative control, allowing seamless decision-making on image, fashion, and aesthetics without the need for physical photoshoots,” according to Novales.

The rise of AI has raised fears about the spread of deepfake films, which may be exploited maliciously.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, announced on Friday that “Made with AI” labels would be added to AI-generated material in May.

The goal was to “create something never seen before,” the German premium carmaker stated in a statement to AFP.

“Attracting a younger, technology-savvy generation is for us the icing on the cake,” the statement stated.

According to Maud Lejeune, the head of the Paris-based digital strategy agency AD Crew, the public accepts AI influencers easily.

“It’s like actors on TV: we know it isn’t real yet we follow them and we find it interesting, it’s like watching a mini-series.”

AD Crew supports over 30 influencers, but Lejeune launched her own virtual influencer, Metagaya, two years ago.

“The current degree of design did not exist then. “It’s technical; you have to dress them, take background photos, and create a story,” added Lejeune, admitting that Metagaya didn’t go smoothly.

Rapid technology advancements, such as OpenAI’s Sora video generator, may make it easier to generate and manage realistic virtual influencers.

Deepfakes

Human influencers are also leveraging AI technology to create better videos.

France’s Charles Sterlings sees a chance to improve translations.

He uses several technologies on sites such as HeyGen and Rask.ai to automatically translate and lip-sync his video posts in English and Spanish.

Sterlings also use Deepshot, a tool that enables users to construct deepfakes by altering the words and lip movements of people in real-world films.

He claimed it took him only a few minutes and a few euros to edit a video of French President Emmanuel Macron.

However, Sterling sees the technology as both a rival and a valuable tool.

“Anyone with a phone can become an influencer. But soon, it will be artificial intelligence, available 24 hours a day and considerably less expensive to build,” he said.

Maud Lejeune believes that AI can help influencers create more content.

“It’s difficult to spend that much time in front of a camera, and some designers burn out… “Maybe AI will provide a new way to create without exposing oneself,” she suggested.

The Clueless has no qualms about its AI models snatching money away from genuine influencers.

“We don’t foresee real models becoming obsolete or replaced by AI-generated models like Aitana,” Novales told reporters. “In our view, they can coexist as another competition of the industry.”