While many companies around the world have turned to influencer marketing as their most ‘powerful’ source of selling their products and services, this method is set to move towards a more digital setting like most of big corporations’ functions. ‘Serah Reikka’ is an automated actor with over 79,000 Instagram followers and says she loved French food, cats and dressing up as characters from books and movies.
She is a semi-automated artificial intelligence online personality that has the ability to change personality and appearance according to the app’s algorithms and since 2014, she has been a part of the ever-evolving community of online social media influencers that do not exist in the real world. The only difference between Serah and her peers and ‘real-life’ Instagram influencers, is that they are computer generated and operated. While not being human, these AI-operated influencers are able to accomplish the same marketing goals as any influencer you find online, posting similar things such as holiday snaps, food pictures and new outfits.
There are now approximately 150 virtual influencers online, and they are continuing to gain popularity, with the most popular computer-generated influencer having 55 million Instagram followers – more than the average 'real-life' influencer. While increasing efficiency by adapting to users’ algorithms, AI influencers are set to become the most popular way to sell products online.
