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Welcome to another issue of Geek AI.

Today we'll be discussing the rise of AI influencers.

In particular, why both creators and brands are jumping on the bandwagon.

Let’s dive in.

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In late November of last year, Fortune magazine broke a story about a media agency that was making $11,000/mo from an AI-generated influencer.

Since then AI influencers and OnlyFans girls have exploded, with endless YouTube videos (and even guru courses) teaching people how to use artificial intelligence to create and launch their own versions.

Here's why this trend is so fascinating.

See, when influencer marketing first got hot a few years ago, it was seen as a revolutionary opportunity.

While celebrities have been monetizing their Personal Brands for decades, the idea an Average Joe could film themselves on their phone, build a following, and earn a full-time income promoting other companies' products/services was a game-changer.

From YouTubers to TikTokers, the industry exploded.

Within a matter of years, however, the industry reached a saturation point. There were too many influencers chasing too few brand deals.

As is the case when Supply exceeds Demand, rates from influencer promos fell through the floor. And because of that, many of the people who were previously earning a full-time living saw their income get slashed.

To make matters worse, brands quickly realized they were at the mercy of young, fickle Gen Z'ers who had questionable work ethics. Because unlike commercials filmed in a studio - where brands exercise full control over the filming process - influencer marketing is supposed to look authentic.

Meaning, the company sends a brief explaining what they want and the influencer does their best to deliver. As you can imagine, however, some of these promotions went disastrously wrong.

Which is why the prospect of AI influencers is so attractive.

Unlike human influencers, who demand anywhere from average to astronomical prices, AI influencers don't demand a thing.

In fact, if you run a program like Stable Diffusion or Fooocus on your computer, you could quite literally build and manage them for free.

Sure, if you're the brand doing the hiring, you'll have to pay a fee. But in most cases, it's going to be much less than what you'd pay a person.

Second, AI influencers don't work in a set geographic area.

And because of that, they're not limited to time zones, travel expenses, etc. Instead, companies from across the world can hire them and have the project turned around in a matter of days (if not hours).

Third, when working with an AI influencer, there aren't any photo/video shoots. Instead, the manager can adjust and perfect the creative (social media post, IG video, whatever) a near-infinite number of times until the brand is happy.

If you have any experience managing UGC creators, you know just how valuable of a proposition this is. Mainly because it takes control of the creative out of the creator's hands and puts it back in the brand's control.

In conclusion, whether you like them or not, there's a reason AI influencers are blowing up right now. From both the creator's and brand's side, they're exponentially easier to build, operate and manage.

And because of that, this is one AI trend we expect to continue gaining steam.

💡Wrap Up: On the one hand, most people are skeptical of AI influencers. And because of that their financial upside is limited (for now). On the other hand, managing an AI influencer is so much exponentially easier than working with a human it's likely the limited upside is worth the investment.

🤔Thought-Provoking Question: Do you follow any AI influencers? If not, would you? Why or why not?

Interesting Tool ⚙️: Want to create your own AI influencer? While most any image generation software should be capable, multiple YouTube videos on the topic reference Fooocus and Leonardo (covered in a previous issue).