AI, Aitana Lopez, who has pink hair and poses in lingerie, bikinis, and gym gear, has over 300,000 Instagram followers.
Social media influencers have embraced artificial intelligence to spice up their material, but they are facing increasing competition from AI-generated Instagram, TikTok users, and YouTubers.
Aitana Lopez, who has pink hair and poses in lingerie, bikinis, and gym gear, has over 300,000 Instagram followers and is characterized as a “gamer at heart” and “fitness lover” — but she’s not real.
The Clueless, a Barcelona-based firm that defines itself as an “AI modeling agency” led by “visionaries on a mission to redefine the world of influencers” founded Aitana.
Sofia Novales, project manager at The Clueless, stated that the organization was founded because of the “rising costs associated with human influencers”.
“Virtual models, being digital, present a more economical alternative,” Novales told reporters.
Another advantage: is complete control over the material.
“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 growth of AI has raised fears about the spread of deepfake films, which may be exploited maliciously.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, announced that “Made with AI” labels would be added to AI-generated material in May.
AI offers tremendous financial opportunities for content creators: According to Allied Industry Research, the influencer industry will expand fast, rising from $16.5 billion in 2022 to roughly $200 billion by 2032.
Younger audience.
Barbie has millions of Instagram followers, so using virtual influencers is not a new concept.
However, they are increasingly being utilized in ads where they are indistinguishable from actual people.
Consider Lil Miquela, a “19-year-old Robot living in LA” developed by a California organization in 2016.
Lil Maqueta has 2.6 million Instagram followers and 3.5 million TikTok followers, and he has supported major companies such as BMW.
The goal was to “create something never seen before,” the German luxury automaker 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 CEO 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 virtual influencer, Metagaya, two years ago.
“The present degree of design did not exist before. “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, like as OpenAI’s Sora video generator, may make it easier to generate and manage realistic virtual influencers.
AI-Deepfakes
Human influencers are also leveraging AI technology to create better videos.
France’s Charles Sterlings sees a chance to enhance translations.
He utilizes several technologies on sites such as HeyGen and Rask.ai to automatically translate and lip-sync his video postings in English and Spanish.
Sterlings also uses Deepshot, a tool that enables users to construct deepfakes by altering the speech and lip movements of individuals in real-world films.
He said 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 may become an influencer. But soon, it will be artificial intelligence, available 24 hours a day and considerably less expensive to build,” he added.
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 said.
The Clueless has no qualms about its AI models snatching money away from genuine influencers.
