IBL News | New York
Hundreds of AI-generated influencers have broken into the $21 billion content creator economy, threatening human characters.
Brands have been quick to engage with virtual influencers as a new way to attract attention while reducing costs. In addition, they have total control versus a real person who comes with potential controversy and their own opinions.
These virtual avatars, hyper-realistic created with AI, can be followed by large audiences, as the Financial Times reported.
For example, pink-haired, digital Aitana López is followed by over 200,000 people. It was created by the Barcelona-based agency The Clueless, whose creations [in the picture] have been criticized for being overly sexualized.
Brands such as Victoria’s Secret have paid $1,000 a post to promote their products.
Other virtual influencers like Lil Miquela achieved an audience of 3 million followers and have worked with Burberry, Prada, and Givenchy.
The rise of these virtual influencers has been accelerated by the fact that no rule obliges creators to declare that they are generated by AI. India is the only country that forces virtual influencers to reveal their AI origins.
H&M said that its virtual influencer Kuki has reached 11 times more people and resulted in a 91 percent decrease in cost per person compared with a traditional ad.
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