1. Introduction
The global Influencer Marketing market was valued at $21.1 billion in 2023, more than tripling since 2019. It’s expected to grow to $139 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.4% from 2023–2030
Influencer marketing is booming; it is now an INR 2,500 crore industry in India alone, growing at 25%, mirroring a global trend where brands are increasingly investing in influencers who use social media to reach their audiences.
While brands capitalize on this trend, this boom comes with its own set of challenges, primarily the rising costs associated with influencers.
Enter AI – not just for crafting content, but now for creating the influencers themselves. Through the use of AI, brands can now take advantage of a new frontier in digital engagement while utilising influencer power without having to worry about costs going up.
Explore how AI is revolutionizing the influencer landscape.
2. Current State of Influencer Marketing
As was previously discussed, influencer marketing in India is facing certain challenges because of human influencers. A few such realities of influencer marketing in India are discussed below.
- India has roughly 25–35 lakh content creators, of whom about 1.5 lakhs can monetise their content and think about making a living.
- To run an influencer marketing campaign, a brand must collaborate with more than 100 influencers; this is quite difficult to do manually. While there are platforms that enable process automation, less than 10% of brands leverage them.
Understanding the ROI of influencer marketing is the No. 1 struggle brands face. A strong data-driven approach with tracking is key to measuring and understanding the impact.
Have you ever wondered one day when your favourite influencers aren’t just people but Sophisticated AI Creations? Isn’t it amazing how companies are revolutionizing the digital landscape with emerging technology?
3. Need for AI Influencers
Although influencer marketing has become incredibly popular, businesses need help understanding this sector. Here’s why AI influencers are beginning to be seen as a solution:
- AI influencers provide brands with total control over their messaging, guaranteeing a unified brand identity throughout all communications.
- AI is capable of analyzing large volumes of data to accurately customize content to the tastes of the audience, increasing its relevance and efficacy.
- AI influencers may work around the clock, offering constant engagement and contact with audiences all around the world, in contrast to human influencers.
- It may be less expensive to develop and use AI influencers than it is to use human influencers.
Influencers powered by AI may be trained to speak several languages and understand the subtle details of other cultures, giving marketers access to a larger worldwide audience.
AI influencers offer marketers a more efficient, focused, and quantifiable alternative to traditional influencer marketing by utilizing automation and data.
4. Introduction to AI Influencers
According to What’s the Big Data, 71% of brands believe AI influencers can deliver a higher ROI than human influencers.
In the evolving landscape of digital marketing, AI influencers with a combination of technology and creativity have emerged as pioneers who are revolutionising the influencer marketing sector in the future.
52.8% of marketers believe virtual influencers have a prominent impact on the future of entertainment and marketing, according to What’s the Big Data.
AI influencers, or virtual influencers, are designed to engage with audiences and promote products just like human influencers but with some unique advantages.
Welcome to the future of Influencer Marketing, where the possibilities are as boundless as the algorithms behind them.
5. Top AI Influencers in the World
There are approximately 200 AI influencers around the world who are emerging as the future of influencer marketing. Here are the top 5 influencers in the world.
1. LIL MIQUELA – Instagram
- Lil Miquela is created by Shadows (formerly known as Brud). Lil Miquela is a 19-year-old living in Los Angeles. In 2018, Time Magazine listed her as one of the 25 most influential people on the internet
2. LU DO MAGALU – Instagram
- Lu do Magalu was founded by Magazine Luiza in 2003 to help with its e-commerce website. Lu da Magalu is the most-followed AI influencer on Instagram. She was also the first AI influencer to appear on the cover of Vogue Brasil
3. IMMA – Instagram
- Imma is created by Aww, Inc. She is known for her distinctive pink bob hairdo. Selected as “New 100 Talents to Watch” by Japan Economics Entertainment. She appears in numerous headlines, from fashion to business magazines, TV and online.
4. Aitana Lopez– Instagram
- Aitana, the first AI model in Spain. A 25-year-old Scorpio is known for her unique appearance and captivating content. Aitana is created by Clueless, the Barcelona-based design agency.
5. Shudu – Instagram
- British fashion photographer Cameron-James Wilson created Shudu, one of the Diigitals, a diverse group of digital models commissioned by the fashion house Balmain. Shudu—the first digital supermodel in history
6. Top AI Influencers in India
India is also seeing the creation and use of many AI influencers for influencer marketing. Here are the top 5 influencers in India.
1. Naina – Instagram
Naina is a well-known AI influencer in India who claims to be from Jhansi and is 22 years old. Naina is regarded as the first AI superstar in India. Naina is created by AVTR Meta Labs—is a rising sensation among Generation Z.
2. Kyra – Instagram
- Kyra was created by FUTR Studios in 2022. Kyra is the first influencer in India and has been highlighted in Shark Tank India. She is dominating the influencer game, securing business deals, and appearing at the Met Gala
3. Maya – Instagram
- Maya is one of India’s first brand-backed virtual models, working with the fashion e-commerce portal Myntra. Maya is featured in the Studio section of Myntra’s app and participates in live sessions (M-Lives) to display products.
4. Sravya – Instagram
- Sravya is created by FUTR Studios. Sravya is a 26-year-old MBA graduate and Polyglot, and she served as Kyra’s Talent Manager. Sravya targets South Indian audiences with her entertaining fashion and lifestyle blogs
5. Tia Sharma – Instagram
- Tia Sharma was created by Oneiric AI, and she offers financial guidance and expertise to her audience.Tia is hosted by actress Mouni Roy and her spouse, Suraj Nambiar.
7. How can a brand launch its own AI influencer?
Is it necessary to have an AI influencer for the brand? If you want to stay in this competitive world, then the answer is yes, but how?
How can a brand launch its AI influencer? Well, there are two options for creating and managing AI influencers.
- Agencies
- Tools
First, Let’s talk about a few agencies where a brand can collaborate to launch their AI influencer. Agencies will assist the brands in creating and managing AI influencers across platforms.
Agencies to help brands launch AI influencer
1. Shadows (formerly Brud):
Shadows, formerly known as Brud, is a pioneering company in the realm of digital and virtual influencers.
Brud’s innovative approach involves creating a backstory for AI influencers like Lil Miquela, integrating them into real-world scenarios, and allowing them to interact with real people and events, revolutionizing the influencer landscape.
The AI Influencer specialize in leveraging AI technology to create and manage virtual influencers for social media campaigns.
They offer services to manage and operate the social media presence of these virtual influencers, including content creation, interaction with followers, and performance analysis.
They create digital models that can be used to showcase clothing and accessories. This allows for greater flexibility and creativity compared to traditional photography.
They act as a platform for brands to explore the potential of 3D fashion modeling and showcase their collections using these digital models.
4. Imma.gram
Imma.gram’s focus on culturally relevant AI influencers is a promising direction for the industry. Their creations are designed to resonate with Asian audiences in terms of appearance, style, and even the topics they discuss.
Imma.gram ventures beyond fashion. Imma, their AI influencer, tackles social themes relevant to Asian audiences, fostering engagement and building a loyal following.
Tools to create AI-Generated Influencers
1. AI FameRush:
AI Fame Rush is a software suite designed to create and manage virtual influencers. It offers various creation methods, customization options, and image and video editing.
It also provides tools to boost content virality, capture leads, and automate follow-up messaging. The platform is affordable and comes with a commercial license for monetization.
Dream Farm Agency specializes in creating animated human AI influencers, ensuring efficient communication of brand messages across various channels and audiences.
Their life-like CGI virtual influencers use advanced CGI technology for immersive and authentic portrayals, capturing audiences with convincingly portrayed characters.
RenderNet enables users to create AI-generated images with precision and control, ensuring consistent characteristics like hairstyle, body type, and clothing across multiple images.
It can create images with the same face but with different hairstyles and clothing options. Users can explore various AI models to create images.
Kamoto.AI is an AI character marketplace that allows users to create virtual influencers with a few clicks. Users can customize their characters’ traits, train and optimize the AI model, and ensure authenticity.
The platform’s intuitive interface and fast creation process make it easy to use without extensive technical knowledge.
8. Conclusion
Although influencer marketing is growing significantly, there are also significant challenges involved. The introduction of AI influencers has caused a significant shift in the influencer marketing industry.
It empowers brands to forge deeper connections with audiences, measure impact with unprecedented precision, and unlock entirely new creative possibilities.
The use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) will become more prevalent. AI influencers will become more prominent, offering unique engagement and targeting specific niches. The future blends human and AI influencers, with technology enhancing creativity and building deeper audience connections.
Hope this blog has helped you get some insights about the current scenario of AI Influencers.
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