The Rise of Virtual Influencers: A New Era for Brands

“Sociable” is the freshest analysis of significant social media advancements and trends by industry authority Andrew Hutchinson of Social Media Today.

Although the current wave of generative AI tools is intriguing and is already altering discovery behaviors and interactive processes, they are just beginning to tap into the potential and are far from achieving true “intelligence” as the AI name implies.

Most of the initial models are data matching tools that can predict elements of text and images based on sequencing and probability applied to large datasets. While they are increasingly skilled at this, these systems do not "think" in the true sense, as they do not develop new concepts on their own or have intent or reasoning behind their matches beyond mathematical likelihoods.

This leads to concern from many experts about the next level of AI, where such systems may have the ability to think independently and potentially surpass our own mental capacity. However, creating a digital "brain" is still far from being a reality.

Despite this, just relying on probability, we are delving into the vast potential of generative systems. Recent advancements indicate a new era of digital creation that may diminish the role of humans in the process.

An ad agency in Spain gained attention last week for unveiling an AI character that is currently generating $10,000 monthly from brand contracts.

Check out Aitana Lopez's Instagram profile where she has 200,000 followers. Aitana doesn't charge for promotions, is always available, and appears authentic. Many of her followers may be surprised to learn that she is not a real person.

Virtual influencers are appealing for numerous reasons, and Aitana is just one example of a virtual model with a large following. Even before the emergence of Dall-E and Midjourney, virtual models such as lilmiquela (2.7m IG followers), noonoouri (424k followers), and Shudu (241k) were already gaining popularity.

Check out Shudu's latest post on Instagram at @shudu.gram.

Advanced creation tools are now enhancing the realism of virtual identities, and the next phase of digital animation may bring them to an even higher level of authenticity in mirroring human trends.

This video, part of Alibaba’s “Animate Anyone” project, demonstrates the remarkable progress in image recognition and video sequencing technology, which can now accurately replicate human movement with increasing realism.

While not yet perfect, we are only beginning this process and it's evident that as these systems continue to advance, virtual influencers in both static and video formats will have a much larger impact on online engagement. Additionally, the emergence of deepfake characters, where celebrity faces are digitally overlaid onto real actors, presents an added security challenge. However, fully virtual creations animated from still images would offer a more cost-effective and time-efficient solution for brands to create, based on pre-designed actions, animations, and movements.

Platforms are already implementing AI labelling requirements to stay ahead of the inevitable surge. However, it is becoming more challenging to distinguish between real people and AI creations as new processes and systems continue to refine and improve the accuracy of these creations. Although it is currently possible to identify AI-generated promotional photos in Facebook ads, advancements in AI technology are gradually making it harder for consumers to discern between reality and AI-generated content.

What does this mean for your marketing endeavors? If you're uncomfortable in front of a camera and hesitant to create video content, you may soon have alternative options to produce digitally animated content. While you will need to be transparent about this, ultimately it is the idea that will connect with your audience, not the production method. If you can avoid obvious signs of current generative AI in your content, this could be a potential avenue for your future growth.

This could spell trouble for human influencers, who are currently enjoying a surge in popularity, as brands recognize the value of reaching specific audiences. The creator economy may soon face a decline as AI-simulated short-form videos become more prevalent, leading to new trends in promotions and cost savings that brands will eagerly embrace.

I believe that human creativity will always be crucial, and regardless of how lifelike AI creations become, human-centered emotion will still be necessary for effective marketing. As long as machines cannot truly think like humans, this will remain the distinguishing factor, even though the process of conveying your message is likely to undergo significant changes.

This will be a key trend to keep tabs on in the new year.