Future of CGI Influencers

Several influencers have been found themselves at the center of scandals that have led to most if not all of their sponsors to drop them (Myka Stauffer, Olivia Jade etc). This has led to the rise of questions of how influencers can potentially result in unfavorable brand association- especially during the rise of cancel culture. This creates the obvious question- will there be a rise in CGI influencers?

With almost 3 million Instagram subscribers, Lil Miquela is one of the most popular CGI influencers to date. She has partnered with Nylon, Prada, and Diesel in the past but her recent posts seem to be devoid of the sponcon that most influencers tend to post. Beyond the lack of controversies, the benefits of CGI influencers include the ability to reach a broader audience (they can talk in any language, travel around the world easily, and with simple tweaks can be made culturally relevant to many different consumers). Yet, because they're not real consumers might be less likely to trust their recommendations, and they continue to promote unobtainable beauty standards to impressionable minds.

Despite investment into the area and a crop of new CGI influencers popping up, the virtual influencer is unlikely to take over. What might be more likely is that influencers will create CGI avatars of themselves. Mascots, in particular, could be an interesting route- with people being able to follow Ronald McDonald or Tony the Tiger on instagram.