Love it or hate it but you can’t ignore it. AI a.k.a. Artificial intelligence has taken over different spheres of our life and there’s no escaping it. While we were still coming to terms with the basics of OpenAI’s ChatGPT vs. Google’s Bard, we stumbled upon yet another AI revolution – virtual influencers. Yeah, we may be late to the party but we thought it was time to recognize how these ‘humanoids’ created by artificial intelligence are gradually becoming the face of several international brands. While virtual influencers have been around for about a decade now, back then they looked more like anime characters.
With a fanbase that runs in millions, the modern AI influencers are so human-like that they are winning the hearts of netizens all around the world, including ours. So, we decided to curate a list of 5 virtual influencers who are making their mark and who we are going to be following closely this year.
Lil Miquela
Miquela Sousa known as Lil Miquela by her fans identifies herself as a ’19-year-old robot living in LA’ as per her Instagram bio. The freckled Brazilian-American beauty was designed by the LA-based firm Brud in 2016. She took the world by storm when she first started posting on Instagram. Since then she has been garnering love for her stylish and adorable fashion sense as well as her music. Lil Miquela has 2.8M followers on the ‘gram who fondly identify themselves as ‘Miquelites.’ She was also voted as one of TIME Magazine’s 25 Most Influential People On The Internet in 2018. Miquela has collaborated with international fashion houses like Prada, Dior and Calvin Klein.
Shudu
Christened as the world’s first digital supermodel, Shudu captures your heart with her strikingly symmetrical features and luminous skin. A virtual model from South Africa, Shudu leaves you in awe of her good looks. No wonder, luxury brands like Balmain, Furla, and Christian Louboutin are interested in working with her. Shudu is the brainchild of Cameron-James Wilson, a former fashion photographer who realized that ‘his heart wasn’t in fashion photography and decided to take the leap.’ His creation, Shudu walked her first red carpet at the 2019 BAFTA film awards wearing a bespoke Swarovski gown.
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Kyra
Close home, we have Kyra who is India’s first meta-influencer. Created by Himanshu Goel and his colleagues at TopSocial India, Kyra has been the talking point since her launch in 2022. Already having bagged a collaboration with the audio company – boAt, Kyra has been receiving praise from all around the globe and has a fan following of 211k on Instagram. We hope she puts India on the map of virtual influencers with her amazing vacay photos and mirror selfies.
Lu Do Magalu
The most popular virtual influencer of 2022 – Lu Do Magalu holds the record of being the virtual person with the most visibility worldwide. With 6M followers on Instagram and more than 14M followers on Facebook, this Brazilian virtual influencer was first created in 2003. However, the reason, why people are loving her all over the world, is not only because of her looks but also because she has style, powerful opinions and shows empathy for important causes. Although Lu Do Magalu is popular primarily in Brazil, she has collaborated with several brands like Coca-Cola, Adidas, McDonalds, MAC, Samsung and more.
Imma
Originally from Tokyo, Imma made her debut in 2018 and is Japan’s first virtual model. She distinguishes herself from the rest with her pink bob and her naughty charm. She has been chosen as one of the ‘New 100 Talent to Watch’ by Japan Economics Entertainment.
Imma’s makers, ModelingCafe Inc., a Tokyo-based CG modelling company have aced everything about this virtual influencer right from her signature hairstyle to her distinctive features. Her almost-real pictures on Instagram have won the hearts of many and she has an enviable fanbase of 401k followers on Instagram.
Whether you like it or not, AI influencers are definitely here to stay and they are going to change the way content is created and consumed. Do you think virtual influencers are a fad or the future? Let us know in the comments below.
