10 AI Influencers Transforming Social Media

Key takeaways

• The list of top ten AI influencers includes Lil Miquela, Fit Aitana, and Granny Spills.
• AI influencers appeal to younger audiences that value digital-first, experimental content.
• While AI creators offer scalability, cost savings and creative freedom, they raise concerns around authenticity and compliance.
• In the future, campaigns will likely blend the flexibility of AI influencers with the relatability and emotional depth of human influencers.

What is an AI influencer?

AI influencers, or virtual influencers, are digitally generated characters that appear in social media content — similar to traditional influencers. They’re given personalities, aesthetics and backstories so they feel human, although some lean into being robotic for humour or novelty.

Thanks to tech innovations, today’s AI influencers convincingly work out, dance and "appear" at events. Some could even be mistaken for human, at first glance.

Why are brands investing in AI-generated influencers?

Virtual creators give brands flexibility because they can instantly adapt to trends and be placed in any scenario at little cost. For example, virtual influencer Aitana Lopez “attended” an Oasis concert in London.

Plus, they’re an innovative choice, which grabs attention in crowded social media feeds. Brands can also create more playful campaigns. For example, a brand could "literally" put an influencer on the moon. It introduces a new level of inventiveness that resonates with Gen Z audiences.

Virtual creators also give brands more control than human influencers. These creators never change, unless they're programmed to. And AI influencers won't have scandalous personal lives that harm brand reputations.

But these positive qualities also raise ethical questions around authenticity, representation and the replacement of human creativity.

Who are the most famous AI influencers? The 10 best virtual influencers

Here's our list of ten of the most-followed AI influencers, plus key data, such as engagement rates, EMV and brand collaborations.

Pro tip: Earned media value (EMV) is how much the buzz generated by a campaign would have cost through traditional marketing channels.

1. Naina Avtr (@naina_avtr) – 405K followers: AI model and fitness influencer from India

Platform: Instagram

Interests: Beauty, Fashion, Travel, Lifestyle

Brand collaborations: None during the past six months.

Engagement rate: 9%

EMV: Instagram posts: €28K, Instagram reels: €47K, Instagram Stories: €1K

Indian AI-influencer Naina Avtr was created by Avtr Meta Labs to represent an aspirational Gen-Z lifestyle. The character is a 20-year-old fashion model living in Mumbai who attends fashion shoots, travels worldwide and shares HIIT workouts.

2. Aitana Lopez (@fit_aitana) – 393K followers: Spanish AI female fashion influencer

Platform: Instagram

Interests: Fitness, Health, Lifestyle

Brand collaborations: Lopez has tagged PRIME drinks and beauty salon Llongueras, who "dyed" her hair from pink to brown, in her content.

Engagement rate: 0.79%

EMV: Instagram posts: €8K, Instagram reels: €5K, Instagram Stories: €1K

At first glance, Aitana Lopez’s profile looks like any other 26-year-old fashion influencer’s. There are shots of her travelling, on the beach, and retouching her lipstick in a car wing mirror. The Spanish fashion influencer wears leather jackets, knee-high boots and crisp co-ords. In reels, Lopez talks into a microphone, sharing her views and opinions.

Lopez's character is based on popular trends. She was created by The Clueless Agency to develop a complex and realistic character. The agency's founder, Rubén Cruz, shared with Euronews that he developed the virtual character in response to unreliable creators, saying, "We started analysing how we were working and realised that many projects were being put on hold or cancelled due to problems beyond our control. Often it was the fault of the influencer or model and not due to design issues.”

3. Kyra (@kyraonig) – 237K followers: AI fashion and travel influencer

Platform: Instagram

Interests: Fashion, Travel, Lifestyle

Brand collaborations: Kyra has collaborated with jewellery brand CaratLane.

Engagement rate: 2.4%

EMV: Instagram posts: €17K, Instagram reels: €11K, Instagram Stories: €664

Kyra is an AI influencer created by FUTR STUDIOS. Her content includes fashion and travel content with a futuristic vibe. She’s become a recognisable Indian influencer and has even been featured in magazines. However, this influencer has a low Kolsquare Audience Credibility Score of just 49.

4. Miquela Sousa (@lilmiquela) – 3.3M followers: TikTok and IG virtual influencer

Platform: TikTok

Interests: Inspiration & Lifestyle, Fashion & Accessories, Photography

Brand collaborations: Lil Miquela created a promotional video for Liquid IV that generated €75K in EMV.

Engagement rate: 0.01%

EMV: TikTok : €5K

One of the most famous AI influencers in the world, Lil Miquela, was created by LA-based startup Brud in 2016. With millions of followers across Instagram and TikTok, she has secured high-end brand partnerships, including collaborations with Prada, Calvin Klein and Samsung.

Lil Miquela's content included a photo op at the Video Music Awards and a video encouraging followers to register with the US National Marrow Donor Program. She has a credible audience, with a 74% rating from Kolsquare. However, her engagement rate is low.

5. Magazine Luiza (@magazineluiza) – 8.8M followers

Platform: Instagram

Interests: Fashion & Accessories, Health and Wellness, Beauty, Architecture & Design

Brand collaborations: Over the past six months, the virtual brand ambassador has promoted footwear brand Net Shoes, Brazilian ecommerce tech company KaBuM! and Samsung for Magazine Luiza.

Engagement rate: 0.7%

EMV: Instagram posts: €91K, Instagram reels: €26K, Instagram Stories: €17K

Magazine Luiza is a Brazilian retail company with a virtual brand ambassador, known as “Lu”. She shares deals, campaigns, and digital-first brand stories with the brand’s millions of loyal followers. This Instagram page is for the brand and virtual influencer. But she’s a great example of how to include AI creators on brand social media profiles.

6. Shudu (@shudu.gram) – 239K followers: AI model and beauty influencer on Instagram

Platform: Instagram

Interests: Sport & Fitness, Beauty, Fashion & Accessories, Inspiration & Lifestyle

Brand collaborations: Shudu has mentioned AI voices, sound effects and agent provider, ElevenLabs, and digital modelling agency, The Diigitals Agency.

Engagement rate: 0.17% 

EMV: Instagram posts: €3K, Instagram reels: €1K, Instagram Stories: €668

Dubbed the world’s first AI supermodel, Shudu was created by British visual artist Cameron-James Wilson. The AI Instagram influencer's content features striking poses so effective that she’s appeared in campaigns with Fenty Beauty and Balmain.

However, Shudu isn’t pure AI. Wilson shared with Harper’s Bazaar, "I use a 3D modeling program. It’s like virtual photography, so once I create her, I can kind of pose her in certain ways. I am a photographer anyway, so it’s just a way of exploring my creativity when I’m not shooting." He also shared that he created the model and influencer to complement dark-skinned models, rather than replace them.

7. Imma (@imma.gram) – 386K followers: Japanese AI influencer

Platform: Instagram

Interests: Inspiration & Lifestyle, Fashion & Accessories, Beauty

Brand collaborations: Imma has worked with jewellery brand Tiffany’s and sportswear brand Nike.

Engagement rate: x

EMV: Instagram posts: €4K, Instagram reels: €635, Instagram Stories: €1K

Imma is a pink-haired Japanese digital influencer. She’s been featured in Vogue Japan and worked with brands like IKEA Japan and Porsche. Imma’s social media posts show her posing at dinner, visiting the laundrette and "attending" events. The content is fun and multi-layered, giving the virtual influencer a human feel.

8. Guggimon (@guggimon) – 1.3M followers: Male cartoon AI influencers

Platform: Instagram

Interests: x

Brand collaborations:  Guggimon has mentioned probiotic drink brand Poppi and crisp brand Cheetos.

Engagement rate: 0.03%

EMV: Instagram posts: x, Instagram reels: €758, Instagram Stories: €256

Unlike the other virtual creators on this list, Guggimon looks like a cartoon character rather than a person. Created by Superplastic, the edgy, mischievous rabbit character intersects art, fashion and gaming. Fittingly, he’s collaborated with Fortnite, where he drops limited-edition collectibles.

9. Kai Wing (@music._.w) – 181K followers: AI art influencer

Platform: Instagram

Interests: x

Brand collaborations: Kai Wing has recently tagged the AI music platform SUNO music and the software company Adobe.

Engagement rate: 1.8%

EMV: Instagram posts: €3K, Instagram reels: €6K, Instagram Stories: €506

Kai Wing is Adobe’s AI Creator Ambassador. He posts content featuring AI characters in game-like, ethereal settings. Fantastical castles emerge from clouds, a woman sits beside a waterfall, or blossoms fall onto canalside paths. These AI creations are more escapist than aspirational, showing a softer side to AI influence.

10. Granny Spills (@grannyspills) – 1.9M followers: the viral 75-year-old AI influencer

Platform: Instagram

Interests: Fashion, Beauty, Interiors, Travel, Lifestyle.

Brand collaborations: Granny Spills has mentioned fashion brand Kurt Geiger and steakhouse Papi Steak over the past six months. 

Engagement rate: 2.1%

EMV: Instagram posts: €26K, Instagram reels: €77K, Instagram Stories: €4K

Granny Spills is a 75-year-old AI influencer created by Eric Suarez and Adam Vaserstein in July 2025. Dressed in high-fashion pink outfits, she dispenses cutting, materialistic life advice with the confidence of someone who has earned the right to say whatever she wants.

What sets Granny Spills apart from most AI influencers is the deliberate choice to build an older character. Rather than defaulting to the young, conventionally aspirational personas that dominate the space, her creators identified a gap in the market: a humorous, luxury-lifestyle influencer with a distinct generational voice. 

Granny Spills holds a Kolsquare Credibility Score of 88, suggesting her following is highly authentic. This is a strong result for any influencer, and a notable one for an AI persona in a space where inflated or low-quality audiences are common.

Why are AI influencers popular?

Here are the key reasons why AI influencers appeal to brands.

• Lower costs: AI influencers may be paying someone’s bills, but they aren’t individuals who use their likeness to promote products. As AI characters are avatars, collaborations are often lower-cost. In today’s cost-conscious marketing landscape, the offer of high reach at low cost is appealing.
• Appeal to younger generations: AI influencers resonate with Gen Z audiences, who are accustomed to digital-first entertainment and surreal humour, highlighted by viral cartoon trends like Skibidi Toilet.
• Experimentation: AI characters enable brands to differentiate themselves, test innovative creative ideas and deliver campaigns that feel playful without incurring heavy production costs.

AI influence also aligns with brands that already incorporate AI into their product offerings.

The risks of AI in influencer marketing: authenticity and regulations (ASA disclosure rules)

AI opens up new opportunities, but it also comes with risks. Consumers crave authenticity, and while AI influencers can execute polished campaigns, they’re almost too perfect. They lack the life experience, relatability and genuine connection of human influencers.

There are also legal concerns. Brands must follow regulations when collaborating with AI influencers.

The UK's advertising regulatory body, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), and social media platforms require disclosure for content featuring AI-generated personas.

Brands risk backlash if they aren't transparent. For instance, Shein was criticised for using AI-generated models.

Click here for more information about crisis management in influencer marketing.

How are AI influencers created?

How AI influencers are created depends on the type of influencer and the level of creative input behind them.

At the simpler end, AI influencers can be generated using dedicated platforms that produce a virtual character from a set of prompts about appearance, personality, niche and tone. These tools lower the barrier to entry significantly and can produce a functional AI persona with relatively little technical knowledge.

More sophisticated AI influencers are built using a combination of tools: 3D modelling software, generative AI for image and video output, and motion capture or animation to bring the character to life. These tend to feel more considered and consistent, with a distinct visual identity that holds up across content formats.

Some creators also blend AI-generated elements with real production, using AI to enhance or stylise footage rather than replace it entirely. The most successful AI influencers, such as Lil Miquela, sit closer to this end of the spectrum. 

How much do AI influencers make?

AI influencer earnings vary widely and are difficult to benchmark, partly because the space is still emerging and partly because many creators do not disclose figures publicly.

In theory, AI influencers can command rates similar to those of human creators. In some cases, they may even charge higher rates due to the novelty factor and the perception that they offer brands more control over messaging and image. And some high-profile AI influencers have reportedly earned millions through brand partnerships.

In practice, however, results are mixed. Because AI influencers are seen as lower-cost to produce than personal brands, the space is growing quickly. Unlike traditional influencers, those who create an account have no personal reputation at stake, which lowers the barrier to entry. There's a risk that of oversaturation happening quickly.

For brands, that means due diligence is required. Engagement quality, audience authenticity and narrative consistency are worth scrutinising. 

The future: hybrid human and AI campaigns

Looking ahead, the most promising path may be hybrid campaigns that combine AI’s scalability and innovation with the authenticity of human creators. AI influencers could step in for experimental, boundary-pushing concepts while human influencers build deep audience connections and solidify brand values.

Whether you're working with human creators, AI influencers or a mix of both, finding and managing the right talent at scale is the challenge. Kolsquare gives you the data to make smarter decisions, from discovering creators and analysing their audiences to tracking campaign performance.