"Virtual influencer" and "AI influencer" are often used as if they mean the same thing. They overlap, but they aren't the same, and the difference matters if you're thinking of making one. It changes how the character is made, how much skill and time each post takes, and what the account can realistically do.
This guide explains the main terms, how each kind of character is made, and which one fits which goal.
Same idea, different ways of making it.
The short version
Virtual influencer is the umbrella term: any influencer who isn't a real person. It includes 3D characters, cartoon mascots, anime avatars and AI-generated people.
CGI influencer is a virtual influencer made with 3D software by artists, frame by frame.
AI influencer is a virtual influencer whose images and videos are made with generative AI models.
VTuber is a live streamer or video creator who appears as an animated avatar, usually driven in real time by a human performer.
An AI-run influencer goes one step further: AI doesn't only draw the content, it also plans and posts it.
So every AI influencer is a virtual influencer, but not every virtual influencer is an AI influencer.
CGI influencers: made by artists
The first wave of famous virtual influencers were made with computer graphics, not generative AI.
How to pick a name and handle for an AI influencer: what makes a name stick, styles that work by niche, username rules, the checks to run before you commit, and mistakes to avoid.
Lil Miquela appeared on Instagram in 2016, created by the Los Angeles startup Brud. Her images are generally described as a 3D character rendered and composited into real photographs, which is why her clothes, shadows and surroundings look physically real while she looks slightly stylised. Imma, created in 2018 by Aww Inc. in Tokyo, and Shudu, created in 2017 by the photographer Cameron-James Wilson, came out of the same craft: 3D modelling, lighting and compositing by skilled people.
Noonoouri, a stylised fashion character created by the Munich designer Joerg Zuber, shows how far this can go. In 2023 she released a debut single, "Dominoes", with Warner Music Central Europe. Even then the line between CGI and AI was blurry: much of the press called her an "AI pop star", while Warner said she wasn't AI-generated and that AI-assisted technology was used to help create her singing voice.
What it takes: 3D artists, a production pipeline, and time for every image. The upside is total control over every pixel. The downside is that each post is a small production, so these characters usually post less often and cost more to run. Many are backed by agencies or companies.
AI influencers: made with generative models
AI influencers are made with image and video generators instead of 3D software. You describe a scene, often with reference images of the character's face, and a model produces a photo or a clip in seconds or minutes.
Aitana López, launched in 2023 by the Barcelona agency The Clueless, is a well-known example: a photoreal fitness and lifestyle character made with generative AI, created for brand work. Since then, AI influencers have become far more common, because the tools have become good enough for anyone to make a convincing character.
What it takes: good prompts, a consistent face (usually a reference image the model uses every time), and judgement about which outputs to keep. Each image is fast and cheap compared with CGI. The hard parts are different: keeping the face the same from post to post, avoiding the glossy "AI look", and producing enough good content week after week. Our guides on face consistency and making AI photos look real cover those.
VTubers: a human behind the avatar
VTubers are a different tradition. Kizuna AI, who debuted on YouTube in late 2016, is widely credited as the first to call herself a "virtual YouTuber", and the term later shortened to VTuber. A typical VTuber is an anime-style 2D or 3D avatar that moves and speaks live, driven by a human performer using face and motion tracking.
What it takes: a performer, an avatar rig and streaming hours. The personality, voice and timing are human. That makes VTubers strong at live interaction and long streams, and very different from an account that posts photos and short videos.
AI-run influencers: when AI also runs the account
Most AI influencers are still run by a person: someone decides what to post, writes the captions, makes the images and publishes them. The AI is the camera, not the creator.
An AI-run influencer is one where AI also does the running. Agents decide what the character does this week, follow trends, plan posts, write captions in the character's voice, make the images and videos, check them, and publish on a schedule. The owner sets the direction and approves what goes out, or lets it run on autopilot.
This is the kind Influgen makes. Each influencer has a team of AI specialists behind them, a creative director, a scout, a writer and a critic among others, so the account keeps going when you're not working on it.
An AI-run influencer has a team that plans, creates and posts.
Side by side
CGI influencer
AI influencer
VTuber
AI-run influencer
Made with
3D software, artists
Image and video models
Avatar rig, live tracking
Image and video models plus AI agents
Who decides what to post
People
People
The performer
AI team, with your approval
Time per post
Hours to days
Minutes
Live, in real time
Little of yours
Look
Stylised or photoreal
Usually photoreal
Usually anime-style
Photoreal, characterful or creature
Best at
High-end campaigns
Frequent photo and video posts
Live streams and interaction
Steady posting without a daily workload
Examples
Lil Miquela, Imma, Shudu
Aitana López
Kizuna AI
Influgen characters
Which one should you make?
You have a budget, a brand and 3D talent: a CGI character gives you the most control, at the highest cost per post.
You want to make the content yourself and enjoy it: an AI influencer with good tools is the fastest way to start. Plan for the daily work of making and posting.
You love performing live: a VTuber puts your own personality behind an avatar.
You want the character to keep going without your daily time: an AI-run influencer, where a team plans and posts and you steer.
Whichever you choose, the same things decide whether it works: a specific personality, a recognisable look that stays consistent, a niche people care about, and honesty about what the character is. All the major platforms expect realistic AI content to be labelled; see Do AI Influencers Need to Disclose?
With Influgen you design a character (aspirational, characterful, a historical icon or a creature), pick a face, and give them a personality and a niche, such as fitness or fashion. Their team then plans, creates and posts, with each platform's AI label on every post. Need a name first? Try the free AI influencer name generator.
Launch prices are on the pricing page. Influgen is opening in waves: create your influencer for free now, and their team starts when your spot opens.
Free to create, no card needed. The first 1,000 get 100 extra credits.
A simple formula for AI influencer bios that make strangers follow: what they post, a line of personality, an honest AI line and a reason to tap. With examples by niche and platform.
