The Clueless Accelerating virtual influencer growth

Creative agencies are pivoting to embrace virtual influencers as part of their social media campaign offer to brands. Among those is The Clueless, a virtual influencer modelling agency that uses artificial intelligence to create social media personalities. The Barcelona-based agency has created two models: Maia Lima and Aitana Lopez. Its AI-generated images are supported by biographies detailing the intricacies of their personalities, tastes, and hobbies. The in-house team has built a significant social following around Lopez. The AI’s 84 posts on Instagram have drawn 289,000 followers. 

The Clueless claims that virtual influencers have cost advantage over human influencers by offering similar services at half of the price. The company says that it can achieve “comparable results” to human influencers around reach, audience engagement and promotion while “significantly reducing” expenses. Virtual influencers are being positioned in the market as an “economical option” for brands over human influencers. 

Part of the unique selling point of virtual influencers is brand control. Brands can tailor the look of a pre-existing virtual influencer to their exact specification, or have a creative agency build a virtual influencer for their campaign. Unlike human influencers, AI-powered virtual influencers can produce content 24/7. If the quality is good, virtual influencers can grow faster because they can apportion more time to building audiences. 

The question is whether virtual influencers can tap into the perceived authenticity surrounding human influencers. The Clueless argues that they have already achieved this through Aitana because they “meticulously crafted her personality, aligning it with specific interests and hobbies”. The agency argues that Aitana always “remains authentic to her character” and that “credibility and genuine representation are crucial for trust and engagement with the audience”. 

The Clueless believes there is room for virtual influencers and human influencers to co-exist, with the latter incorporating AI into its work to streamline processes. There are examples of this aiding growth but also creating tension between human influencers and their existing audiences. Jordi van den Bussche, the superstar YouTuber known by his alias Kwebbelkopp, faced criticism when they began replacing videos featuring himself with an AI-powered avatar that resembled their likeness. While some fans said the approach had potential, others criticised it claiming they missed “when Kwebbelkopp was an actual human being”. 

However, Caryn Marjorie, the Snapchat influencer, was able to monetise an AI-powered voice chatbot based on herself. They claimed in May 2023 that CarynAI generated $71,610 during the first week of beta testing, with fans reportedly paying $1 per minute to use it. These examples show that there are productivity and monetisation opportunities for human influencers using AI. However, they must be deployed sensitively to avoid alienating existing audiences.

Roles

This report is relevant to the following roles:

Business Strategy