Human influencers vs. virtual influencers

From my perspective, there aren’t that many pros. I think virtual influencers are still perceived as creepy or an attempt at manipulation. If a brand revolves around technology and has to show that they are on the forefront of digital innovation, then there could be a use case for that to position your brand on appropriate platforms. But that is the only circumstance where I see value in return for the effort of creating a virtual influencer. 

​@Marlina Yates true, that’s the issue with a “perfect” virtual influencer, that it’s the opposite of authenticity.  I think you’ve also nailed it on the head where the best use cases currently lie.

It’ll be a marketing gimmick for a few brands in relevant industries. But will either end in tears (remember Microsoft’s Tay?) or just fizzle out as people move on to the next shiny thing.

For our industry a key USP is the people and place. We don’t even work with real life influencers because it’s just not authentic to being one of our students. The only exception would be if an existing influencer was one of our students or thinking of studying here.

That side, K-pop has been rocking this vibe for a few years now and it’s done quite well. Adding in AI automation would no doubt squeeze a bit more profit before everything collapses in on itself.

I guess it depends on what we’re defining as virtual. There are a lot of brands already with mascots who have their own personality and fan base (thinking Duolingo here), and there’s an understanding that it isn’t real but a fun way to promote their product. I could see a virtual influencer falling into that category, acting like an ambassador for a brand. Where I tend to draw the line on pro/con is if you’re trying to actually pretend its a real person. That seems too far. But if its basically a fun mascot and there’s recognition of the purpose, it seems harmless. 

​@kate.meyers emery yes, I think it’s almost mandatory, perhaps in the name of authenticity or integrity, to let your users know when a realistic virtual influencer used to promote a brand uses artificial voicework, visualization, or is a combination of all these things.

Agreed, I'm thinking more of it's super obvious. There's a lot of ads out there they don't obviously look like ads. thinking here if it's so clear it's AI vs if it seems real and you need to dig to figure it out. Like if it's an AI talking cat vs AI that looks like a human. 

​@kate.meyers emery - You make a good point. It didn’t occur to me that cartoon characters could be considered virtual influencers, but I guess that is really what they are. I think cartoon characters would be more palatable for a wider audience than a character made to look like a person with realistic traits. 

So… getting back to AI influencers. There’s some pilates brands that are under heat for having AI influencers and not being clear that its AI. This post from Bridget Poetker is where I learned about it. The comments are interesting if you go to the original post; folks saying that they saw the ads, felt like they were ‘off’ and didn’t know it was AI.