Aitana Lopez is part of a growing wave of AI-generated influencers attracting millions of views as brands race to cash in on virtual creators.
At first glance, Aitana Lopez could be any other influencer. Her Instagram feed is a mix of Pilates workouts, model shoots, and photos posing in front of Coachella’s iconic Ferris wheel and inside the Alo gym.
The 27-year-old is a Scorpio. Her long hair is dyed a soft shade of pink, with dark roots coming through. She also doesn’t exist.
Lopez is a “virtual soul”, or at least that’s what her creators at the Barcelona-based tech agency The Clueless call her. Aitana was created using artificial intelligence, and behind her social media platforms, which have a combined following of nearly 400,000, is a team of eleven people.
Aitana is part of a new wave of digitally created avatars emerging from the attention economy and influencer culture. The technology can be so convincing that one viral MAGA influencer, Emily Hart, reportedly raked in several thousand dollars a month through subscriptions and merchandise featuring bikini photos and pro-Trump content before being exposed as an artificial creation built by a 22-year-old Indian medical student.
Influencer marketing is now a $32.55 billion industry, giving AI influencers a massive market to enter. U.S. influencer spending is expected to hit $12.17 billion in 2026, and six in 10 marketers already use AI in influencer campaigns, according to a new report from Sociallyin, a social marketing agency. A 2025 survey from the social and influencer marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy found that roughly 79% of senior marketers surveyed said they are increasing investment in AI-generated creator content. Brands are showing interest, and creators are cashing in on the demand.
The Clueless team developed Aitana’s content strategy by treating her like a real person. “The most important thing for Aitana is that she has a backstory,” says CEO and cofounder Diana Núñez. “We give her a family, a pet—she has a cat—she has a zodiac sign, a favourite movie. Her crush is Jacob Elordi.”
With anti-AI sentiment on the rise, you might assume artificial content would be met with rejection. The data suggests a more complicated picture. One in three Gen Z consumers now make purchasing decisions based on recommendations from AI-generated influencers, and nearly half of college-aged Gen Z consumers follow at least one AI influencer, according to Whop.
AI influencer content has already generated 216.7 million views across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, according to data from Virlo.ai, which tracked 1,300 videos from 959 creators. There is now even an “Oscars for AI influencers,” with Aitana serving as an official ambassador and a $90,000 prize fund up for grabs. The AI Personality of the Year awards, hosted by OpenArt and Fanvue with backing from AI voice company ElevenLabs, score entries on quality, inspiration, brand appeal, and social clout using a points-based system. Bonus points are awarded for having the “right number of fingers and thumbs.”
(At present, there is no legal requirement to disclose the use of AI in sponsored posts unless the content depicts real people or is presented as news, The Clueless explained. Still, they said they prefer to be transparent with fans. “We know there’s some debate on whether all AI content should be labelled AI, but we think that as long as that tag doesn’t affect the algorithm then it should not matter,” the company tells Fast Company in an email exchange. “Something being AI should not be equivalent to something being bad or harmful.”)
Just as influencers first emerged online, commanding attention, loyal followers, and lucrative brand deals from under celebrities’ noses, AI influencers may represent the next phase of a world where the line between real and artificial keeps blurring.
“No one really cares about the content,” says Núñez. “But we’re consuming a lot of it regardless.” The difference with AI influencers, she explained, as opposed to someone like Kim Kardashian, is Aitana can reciprocate a much closer relationship with her fans.
Aitana responds to comments and interacts with other profiles. She messages fans, who pay to chat with her through the subscription-based platform Fanvue. “If someone wants a photo with Aitana, we reply,” says Núñez. “Obviously there are guys trying to flirt with her, and we don’t answer those.”
For brands, the benefits are clear: AI influencers don’t need to pause to sleep, eat or breathe. “We can make a whole month of content in one morning,” Núñez says. “With AI, it’s about volume.”
Meanwhile, a recent study of more than 500 North American influencers found that 62% report burnout, though much of that can be attributed to the financial instability of the profession.
Hire an AI influencer, and they can become whoever or whatever a brand needs them to be. Aitana has partnerships with Amazon Spain, Fanvue, footwear brand Gioselin, and swimwear brand Berlook. Her average rate for a paid post ranges from $6,000 to $8,000, while her overall business, which includes brand deals, sponsored posts, and her bespoke “skincare” brand Vellum, a software program designed to enhance the skin texture of other AI avatars, generates roughly $50,000 to $80,000 per month.
As AI becomes increasingly accessible, more creators are following the money. Many of these digital characters, including Aitana, also promote courses on how to build AI influencers. “She’s moving from just being an influencer to being someone who inspires people to learn something,” Núñez says.
Should human influencers be worried? That depends. According to a report from Twicsy, which analysed the earnings, revenue streams, and audience engagement of 11,514 virtual and human influencers, sponsored posts from human influencers still generate 2.7 times more engagement than those from AI influencers. Human influencers are liked 5.8 times more and earn 46 times more than their AI counterparts.
Influencers who have built their brands around personality, storytelling, and genuine connection with followers likely have little to fear, if the Twicsy report is to be believed. Those who rely primarily on highly aesthetic, easily replicable content may want to watch their backs.
Núñez believes it is only a matter of time before AI influencers catch up. “We’re not trying to replace jobs. Right now we have 10 people behind Aitana,” she says. “We’re trying to show a different type of content and create more possibilities with AI.”
As for Aitana, while she looks uncannily human, what The Clueless are building is essentially a brand. “The fundamentals are very similar—identity, voice, and audience,” Nunez says. “Aitana is a brand, like Kylie Jenner is a brand.”
Feature image credit: Screenshots: @fit_aitana
