AI-created “virtual influencers” are stealing business from humans

Enlarge / Aitana Lopez, an AI-generated influencer, has convinced many social media users she is real. (credit: FT montage/TheClueless/GettyImages)

Pink-haired Aitana Lopez is followed by more than 200,000 people on social media. She posts selfies from concerts and her bedroom, while tagging brands such as hair care line Olaplex and lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret.

Brands have paid about $1,000 a post for her to promote their products on social media—despite the fact that she is entirely fictional.

Aitana is a “virtual influencer” created using artificial intelligence tools, one of the hundreds of digital avatars that have broken into the growing $21 billion content creator economy.