How Online Influencers and Idols Are Using Generative AI
Since social media entered our lives, influencer marketing has become a powerful tool for brands to gain exposure and for individuals looking to become brands themselves.
So it’s no surprise that the industry born from this convergence of powerful forces – celebrity and marketing – is very excited about generative AI.
Just in case anyone is still unsure, the term Generative AI refers to the emerging class of artificial intelligence (AI) tools capable of creating text, images, audio, or pretty much anything else, without being specifically told what to do. Some AI experts see them as an important step stone towards strong/general AI – machines that will be able to do just about anything much faster and more efficiently than we can.
The leading example is ChatGPT from OpenAI, which has already revolutionized work and productivity across many industries. In this article, I’ll look at how celebrities and brands use them to make personal connections with audiences (and consumers).
We’ll also look at the emerging trend of virtual idols and influencers, who have managed to build huge fan bases despite the fact that they don’t actually exist! Let’s go.
What is influencer marketing?
Marketers have long used the term “influencer” to describe the influence that those who are famous, rich, powerful, or simply blessed with a lot of charisma can exert on public opinion. The advent of social media has given everyone the opportunity to build their own audience on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok and earn money by promoting products and services to them.
What differs from traditional marketing is that it relies on the influencer’s ability to develop a personal connection with their audience – usually by positioning themselves as someone who can be admired and trusted.
Today, mega-influencers have millions of followers and can become extremely wealthy through sponsorship deals or affiliate marketing (selling products on behalf of brands). A class of micro- and nano-influencers has also emerged, typically linked to niche areas of interest and exerting their influence over smaller but highly engaged audiences.
From a brand’s perspective, influencer marketing is often a good source of ROI compared to more traditional marketing channels. This reflects changing consumer behavior in recent years as the public has shifted its attention away from newspapers, television and other “old media”.
How is Generative AI Used in Influencer Marketing?
First, influencers create content to satisfy their fans and promote the products sold by their sponsors. And content creation is the number one use case for generative AI!
Since they often need to create and post multiple videos per day to keep their audience hooked, tools like Synthesis And Deep brain speed up their work by automating much of the repetitive work involved in video editing and post-production.
The scientific YouTube channel Sauce, for example, has used AI to create interactive videos on the topics it covers. Another channel, Code chipcovers video game development and programming and uses generative AI to create demonstrations and simulations in this field.
Second, influencers – who are often inundated with fan mail – are turning to generative AI to help them carry out their engagement activities.
One of the most popular streamers on the Amazon-owned Twitch platform, Amouranth, created a AI version of herself responding to fan messages with her own voice – generated by AI.
The DreamGF platform is scan real models and influencers to create AI versions of them that can chat as if they were real people.
Finally, generative AI has many uses when it comes to helping in the daily work of an influencer. It can perform data analysis to determine what content performs best or help find brands that might be suitable for collaborations, as well as perform many of the business tasks that freelancers need to master, like scheduling, regulatory filing and calendar management.
The rise of virtual influencers and idols
The flip side involves using generative AI to create influencers or idols from scratch – digital entities known as virtual influencers.
Like many K-pop groups, Eternity have a large following on social media. What makes them different is that they don’t exist. The 11 members are AI-generated and given a unique look, style and personality to appeal to as many fans as possible around the world.
Although virtual influencers have been around for a while, they are often not generated by AI, but designed and voiced by humans. However, some, like Noonouri, are beginning to integrate elements of generative AI. The virtual singer, who has been signed by Warner Music as well as promoted brands like Dior and Valentino, uses generative AI to create her music.
And at least an agency was born and is dedicated to creating AI influencers, offering 50 AI-defined personas designed to connect with niche and hyper-personalized markets.
In many cases, the current generation of virtual influencers uses a mix of motion and voice capture, which requires human involvement, and generative technology, which does not. Over time, it seems likely that the importance of humans in the process will diminish as it becomes faster and cheaper to create influencers entirely through AI.
The Ethics of Generative AI in Influencer Marketing
The founders of DreamGF have previously worked with OnlyFans agencies. As a result, they understand how engagement is often outsourced to create the illusion of a personal connection between personalities and fans, which the personality simply wouldn’t have the time to maintain individually with each fan.
Therefore, They told me that creating generative AI models open to their virtual status seems more honest. This demonstrates that a commitment to authenticity and transparency are important ethical considerations: passing off AI-generated content as authentically human is clearly an ethical violation.
There is also the problem of fake celebrity endorsements – a tactic commonly used by scammers to establish trust with their victims. Generative AI offers the ability to deploy more realistic deepfake content in a more personalized and targeted manner, potentially enabling more convincing fraud.
And questions also arise about the effects that establishing parasocial relationships with digital entities might have on fans’ mental health. Would it be healthy for fans to develop emotional attachments – either to AI-powered versions of real people, or to AI-generated characters that never existed?
As I can only see the growing impact and prevalence of AI in influencer culture, I think we might find answers to these questions soon enough. The technology will only improve, leading to more realistic engagement and more lucrative opportunities for influencers happy to offer it.