Posted on

October 17, 2025

AI in influencer marketing: the promise, the pitfalls, the path forward

Explore how AI, generative models, and AI influencers like Lil Miquela are transforming influencer marketing. From Sora and Vibes, to best practices for authentic campaigns.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly evolved from a behind-the-scenes tool to a central part of social media and influencer marketing. While the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022 grabbed headlines, platforms such as TikTok, Meta and Kolsquare were already using AI to analyse user behaviour, personalise feeds and optimise influencer campaigns.

Today, generative AI (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs) are accelerating content creation, simplifying influencer discovery, and providing insights that were previously impossible to gather at scale. This guide explores the opportunities, challenges and limits of AI in influencer marketing—from influencer discovery and campaign optimisation to AI-generated avatars—and shows how brands can leverage AI responsibly while keeping authenticity at the heart of their strategies.

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Key takeaways

Generative AI speeds up existing tasks rather than creating entirely new tasks.
AI already powers social media feeds and recommendation systems; GenAI adds another layer for content creation and moderation.
The EU AI Act sets transparency and accountability standards for AI systems.
AI can optimise routine tasks and provide actionable insights, but human creativity and genuine relationships with influencers remain irreplaceable.

How generative AI is transforming digital and influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is changing fast, with brands increasingly working with multiple nano and micro-influencers to reach niche communities with authentic messages. While these creators have fewer followers, their audiences tend to be more attentive and engaged, offering a clear path to meaningful engagement with potential consumers.

But as many influencer marketers know, the more creators in a campaign, the more admin complexity to manage. From developing relationships, defining deliverables and contracts, to managing the campaign itself and tracking content, the workload of successful influencer campaigns is becoming increasingly complex and time-consuming.

AI is developing into a key tool to enable marketers to scale personalised influencer campaigns without losing authenticity:

AI-powered influencer discovery: AI analyses creator profiles, audience demographics and engagement patterns to identify the right influencers. Platforms like Kolsquare use AI to make search faster and more precise.
Tailored content and messaging: AI can suggest messaging and content ideas that align with niche audiences, ensuring campaigns resonate with specific groups.
Predictive analytics and campaign planning: AI provides forecasts on engagement, reach and ROI, helping marketers allocate resources wisely and adjust campaigns before launch.
Audience segmentation at scale: AI can detect micro-segments based on behaviour and interests, enabling highly targeted campaigns.
Cutting through social media noise: Combining AI insights with micro-influencer networks helps brands deliver relevant, meaningful campaigns that rise above the clutter and maintain authentic engagement.

Influencer marketing platforms like Kolsquare support brands behind the scenes by analysing engagement, audience demographics and content performance, ensuring influencer search and campaign management are precise and effective.

AI in action: how European creators are levelling up their craft

80% European creators using AI tools including 58% who are using them daily or weekly. The vast majority — 72% — are using it for ideation scripting or editing text. 40% use it for optimising content for SEO, showing a level of sophistication and maturity in their understanding of their operating environment. 38% for content analytics, and 34% for creating and editing images and video. The key challenge is keeping human and authentic feel to content while scaling smartly. The opportunities: better strategy, faster output, stronger insights

These insights are drawn from Kolsquare’s survey Voices of the Creator Economy, published in July 2025.

Transforming social media with AI

AI is shaping the way we experience social media in 2025. TikTok, Instagram, Meta, YouTube and Snapchat all use AI-powered algorithms to personalise feeds, recommend content and optimise engagement. This is changing not only how audiences consume content, but how creators reach their communities.

TikTok’s “For You” page now analyses watch time, scroll speed, likes, shares and rewatches to deliver content that resonates with each user. Instagram and Meta prioritise engagement metrics such as saves and shares, while YouTube takes into account watch history, context and engagement to suggest videos that will appeal to users. Snapchat blends AI into feed recommendations and interactive chatbots to deliver personalised experiences.

For creators and communities, this means more opportunities for discovery, particularly for smaller influencers. AI helps audiences find content that matches their interests and allows brands to manage large-scale campaigns without drowning in data.

Meanwhile, creators are increasingly turning to AI tools to automate routine aspects of their work. Kolsquare’s Voices of the Creator Economy survey found 80% of European creators are using AI for help with ideation, scripting or editing.

Platforms like Runway, Descript, or OpusClip can automatically cut, subtitle, and adapt videos for multiple formats, while AI-driven analytics reveal when and how audiences engage most.

Caption and keyword generators now help fine-tune content for visibility without compromising authenticity. By automating the repetitive stuff, creators can focus on what really matters: being creative, telling stories, and connecting with their communities.

In short, AI is not just powering social media: reshaping the rules of engagement, offering brands, creators and audiences a more personalised, efficient and connected experience.

How many AI influencers are there?

AI-generated influencers have moved from niche experiments to mainstream marketing tools. The global AI influencer market is expected to reach $9.65 billion in 2025, with brands increasingly partnering with virtual personalities to engage audiences, maintain consistent messaging, and scale content production.

Brands also cite cost efficiencies, reduced risk of influencer scandals and scalability as key reasons to test virtual influencers in influencer marketing campaigns.

Virtual influencers with millions of Instagram followers like Lil Miquela, Shudu and Naina Avtr have worked with brands such as BMW, Prada and Calvin Klein, highlighting growing acceptance of AI generated content amongst audiences.

If there’s one thing that hasn’t changed in the influencer era, it’s the fragile nature of trust. Whether the face on our feed is human or not, credibility remains the currency that drives influence. And when that trust breaks, the consequences are not evenly distributed.

A recent study from Northeastern University found that when a product endorsed by an AI generated influencer disappoints consumers, the reputational damage for the brand is actually higher than when a human influencer is involved. The reason is simple: people tend to blame the brand, not the bot. Unlike a human creator, an AI persona can’t really “take the heat”: it doesn’t have intent, emotions, or accountability.

That’s where things get complicated. The same research shows that people perceive AI influencers as lacking agency or moral responsibility. So when things go wrong, brands are seen as pulling the strings, and therefore, the ones at fault.

But it’s not all bad news. In some contexts, AI influencers might even outperform their human counterparts. According to a recent MDPI study, consumers tend to prefer AI-led recommendations in product categories that require precision, consistency, or technical expertise like electronics or sports equipment. Meanwhile, human influencers still dominate emotionally charged spaces like fashion and beauty, where authenticity and relatability are everything.

Another study on parasocial relationships found that AI personas can, to some extent, create emotional bonds and community engagement comparable to real creators. Yet, the connection remains more functional than emotional. Efficient, but not necessarily enduring.

For now, AI generated influencers work best when brands treat them as part of a broader ecosystem rather than a replacement for humans. They can deliver precision, scalability, and creative control, but only if brands are transparent and realistic about what audiences expect from a “relationship” with a digital being.

And despite the ongoing buzz around AI generated influencers, it’s important to remember that all new technologies come with serious limitations.

AI cannot replicate human spontaneity, creativity or genuine interactions.
Overreliance can lead to audience scepticism and engagement fatigue.
Transparency is essential; audiences must know when content is AI-generated.

The proof is in the pudding: several high-profile examples have sparked debate about authenticity, creativity, and ethics.

Meta’s recent experiment with AI-generated influencers was criticised for lacking authenticity, with some accounts even being deleted after backlash over their realism and purpose. Coca-Cola’s AI-powered holiday ad faced similar criticism, described by viewers as “cold and ineffective,” it missed the emotional warmth usually associated with the brand’s Christmas campaigns. And when Vogue unveiled AI-generated models, audiences accused the publication of sidelining real talent and creativity in favour of synthetic perfection.

So while AI can bring scale and novelty, it can also backfire when audiences feel disconnected or deceived. The lesson is clear: transparency, ethical use, and genuine storytelling still matter — perhaps more than ever.

Sora and Vibes: social media purely for AI content

The release, with much fanfare, of OpenAI’s Sora platform and Meta’s Vibes, represents the arrival of a new generation of social media platforms.

Focused on generating rather than hosting content, Vibes and Sora users create fully immersive, lifelike videos or interactive virtual spaces instead of traditional user-generated posts.

Rather than connecting existing creators with audiences, they blur the line between creation and consumption, offering a glimpse into a future where entire social experiences could be powered by generative AI.

Sora allows users to generate, remix and share short-form videos. Users can:

Create 10-second videos from text prompts with synced audio and visuals
Insert their own verified likeness with the Cameo feature
Remix videos with music, style changes and visual tweaks
Enjoy a personalised feed that adapts to their preferences

Meanwhile, Meta’s AI video feed Vibes is integrated into Instagram and Facebook, enabling users to :

Generate and remix AI videos
Share across Meta platforms
Explore a personalised feed of AI-generated content

Both platforms show AI’s potential to democratise content creation at scale, though success depends on adoption, ethical content use, and maintaining authenticity.

AI regulation: navigating global standards

As AI becomes more central to social media and influencer marketing, understanding regulations is essential.

The EU AI Act is the first comprehensive AI framework, taking a risk-based approach. High-risk AI systems used in hiring, law enforcement or social media moderation must be rigorously tested, include human oversight, and maintain documentation. Certain uses, like government social scoring or indiscriminate public biometric surveillance, are prohibited. The Act applies even to non-EU companies if their AI affects EU citizens.

The UK prefers a principles-based approach, emphasising safety, fairness, transparency and accountability. A proposed AI Authority will guide responsible AI adoption.

The US has no overarching federal AI law, relying on a mix of federal guidance and state-level rules, such as California’s landmark transparency law.

Across all regions, transparency and accountability are key. For brands, this means being clear about AI-generated content, maintaining ethical practices, and building trust with audiences.

AI is transforming influencer marketing and social media. Generative AI allows brands to scale campaigns, reach niche audiences, and simplify content production. AI-driven feeds, AI influencers, and platforms like Sora and Vibes offer new ways to engage audiences and create content.

At the same time, regulation, ethical use, and audience trust remain essential. Transparency, adherence to frameworks like the EU AI Act, and a focus on authenticity are crucial. AI is a powerful enabler. But human creativity, strategy, and genuine connections remain at the heart of successful influencer marketing.

About Kolsquare

Kolsquare is Europe’s leading Influencer Marketing platform, offering a data-driven solution that empowers brands to scale their KOL (Key Opinion Leader) marketing strategies through authentic partnerships with top creators.

Kolsquare’s advanced technology helps marketing professionals seamlessly identify the best content creators by filtering their content and audience, while also enabling them to build, manage, and optimize campaigns from start to finish. This includes measuring results and benchmarking performance against competitors.

With a thriving global community of influencer marketing experts, Kolsquare serves hundreds of customers—including Coca-Cola, Netflix, Sony Music, Publicis, Sézane, Sephora, Lush, and Hermès—by leveraging the latest Big Data, AI, and Machine Learning technologies. Our platform taps into an extensive network of KOLs with more than 5,000 followers across 180 countries on Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat.

As a Certified B Corporation, Kolsquare leads the way in promoting Responsible Influence, championing transparency, ethical practices, and meaningful collaborations that inspire positive change.

Since October 2024, Kolsquare has become part of the Team.Blue group, one of the largest private tech companies in Europe, and a leading digital enabler for businesses and entrepreneurs across Europe. Team.Blue brings together over 60 successful brands in web hosting, domains, e-commerce, online compliance, lead generation, application solutions, and social media.