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Sumnima Kandangwa

Freelance Editorial Assistant for Style by SCMP


Aitana López is one of the most talked-about influencers at the moment. Since her Instagram account @fit_aitana was created in 2023, featuring lifestyle and beauty content, the pink-haired, 20-something Spanish woman has amassed over 300,000 followers at the time of writing.

Aitana hits the gym often, has her own skin care line and has attended major shows at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year. Most importantly, she’s not real.
Created by Rubén Cruz, the founder of influencer agency named The Clueless, Aitana López is a hyperrealistic AI influencer. Not only was she raking in over US$11,600 a month in 2023, she’s also attracted the attention of prominent male celebrities who’ve apparently tried to slide into her DMs without realising that she’s AI-generated.
“One day, a well-known Latin-American actor texted to ask her out. This actor has about 5 million followers and some of our team watched his TV series when they were kids,” Cruz told Euro News in a 2023 interview.
Her Instagram bio states “virtual soul” and links to @theclueless.ai and @open_artai.

According to Cruz, Aitana was created when the agency was struggling to find reliable influencers. “We did it so that we could make a better living and not be dependent on other people who have egos, who have manias, or who just want to make a lot of money by posing,” he said.
Despite the rise in anti-AI sentiments, Aitana is just one of several AI “influencers” who are taking over social media. Here are a few that have been on our radar.
@grannyspills

Created by Blur Studios, Granny Spills is a fun mix of Elle Woods and Regina George if they were in their 80s. Sassy, successful and always wearing pink, Granny Spills is easily one of the most successful AI influencers, regularly sharing unfiltered life advice to her 2 million followers on Instagram.
“Flowers die, honey. My Chanel bags are forever,” she says in one dating advice video. In other clips, she can be seen supposedly crowd-surfing at the hip-hop festival Rolling Loud or doing a keg stand at a frat party. She is also seemingly “friends” with a bunch of major celebrities – in a recent post, she posed for snaps with Justin and Hailey Bieber while wearing a “Future Mrs Bieber” crop top.
Blur Studios also have a host of other AI influencers including Joey on the Street, who is depicted doing street vox-pop style videos.
@shudu.gram

According to her Instagram bio, Shudu Gram is the world’s first digital supermodel. Since she joined the platform nine years ago, in 2017, Shudu has garnered awe for her beauty and for championing South African culture. Early posts show the virtual model wearing neck rings, similar to the ones worn by the Ndebele people of southern Africa.
The problem is that Shudu, who boasts thousands of Instagram followers and has been tapped by brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton and more, was created by a white man. British fashion photographer Cameron-James Wilson developed Shudu with the help of CGI and AI. “There’s a big kind of movement with dark-skin models,” Wilson told the New Yorker in a 2018 interview. “So she represents them and is inspired by them.”
While Wilson’s Shudu has been enjoying a level of success only few influencers ever get the chance to, her posts have also attracted criticism directed at Wilson. “White people just love exploiting Black faces and cultures for personal gain,” one commenter wrote under a post. Another seemed to criticise the AI influencer movement as a whole: “You’re taking away opportunities from people who actually deserve them, from people who are not a robot, [but] real life people.” The New Yorker published an essay in 2018 unpacking the criticism around the model, too.
According to an academic study conducted by The City University of New York in 2017, the same year as Shudu Gram’s debut, only around 6 per cent of models walking during fashion month are Black.
@millasofiafin

Created by an anonymous Finnish “agent” in 2023, Milla Sofia is yet another wildly popular virtual influencer. She originally fronted an advertising campaign for a Finnish online store brand.
Since then, Milla Sofia has expanded her range: she’s a musician, fashion model and influencer all in one, and has amassed nearly 600,000 followers on her Instagram account at the time of writing. She also boasts over 16,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, with her most streamed track being “Where I Begin”.
@emilypellegrini

With over 540,000 followers on Instagram at the time of writing, AI-generated influencer Emily Pellegrini reportedly earned nearly US$10,000 in a little over a month from Fanvue, a British paid subscription service where AI content is common.
“I asked ChatGPT ‘what’s the average man’s dream girl’ and it said [long] brown hair and long legs, so I made her exactly how it said,” Emily’s anonymous creator told the Daily Mail in 2024.
“They think she is real. They invite her to Dubai to meet and eat at great restaurants,” the creator said, adding that they’ve created an AI sister for Emily named Fiona.


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AI “influencers” Emily Pellegrini, Shudu Gram and Milla Sofia. Photos: @emilypellegrini, @shudu.gram, @millasofiafin/Instagram

A photo of “Aitana López”, posted in May. Photo: @fit_aitana/Instagram

Aitana now has 391,000 followers on Instagram. Photo: @fit_aitana/Instagram

Granny Spills is an AI influencer who was designed to be in her 80s. Photo: @grannyspills/Instagram

Shudu Gram, an AI-generated supermodel, wearing Chanel. Photo: @shudu.gram/Instagram

Milla Sofia depicted playing the guitar and promoting her song “The Way You Stayed”. Photo: @millasofiafin/Instagram

AI influencer Emily Pellegrini. Photo: @emilypellegrini/Instagram

Meet Victoria Beckham’s lookalike niece, Libby Adams, who just turned 28

Victoria Beckham’s niece, Libby Adams, just turned 28. Photos: @libbyyadams/Instagram

Libby Adams poses with her siblings, Finlay, Quincy and Tallulah. Photo: @libbyyadams/Instagram

Libby Adams enjoying a holiday. Photo: @libbyyadams/Instagram

Libby Adams in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: @libbyyadams/Instagram=

Meet Megan Lawless, who plays Sarah in Obsession, Curry Barker’s hit horror film

Megan Lawless plays Sarah in Obsession. Photos: Getty Images via AFP, @isaiahsofyne/X

Megan Lawless in December 2025. Photo: @themeganlawless/Instagram

Michael Johnston, Curry Barker, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless and Andy Richter at a Los Angeles screening of Obsession. Photo: AFP

Megan Lawless wearing Haider Ackermann. Photo: @themeganlawless/Instagram

Who is Jonathan Andic, son of Mango founder Isak Andic, arrested over his father’s death?

Jonathan Andic, the son of late Mango founder Isak Andic, was named a suspect and arrested over his father’s death. Photo: Getty Images

Pedestrians walk by the entrance of a Mango shop in Barcelona, in February 2024. Photo: AFP

Mango’s C-suite at a 2025 press conference. The image on the right depicts founder Isak Andic, who died unexpectedly in 2024. Photo: AFP

Catalan regional police officers escort Jonathan Andic as he arrives at a court in Martorell, near Barcelona, Spain, following his arrest on May 19. Photo: AFP

Isak Andic, founder of Mango, at the Spanish fast-fashion brand’s fall/winter 2011 show in Paris. Photo: AP Photo

Spanish clothing retailer Mango is one of Europe’s largest fashion groups with nearly 2,800 stores worldwide. Photo: AFP

Jonathan Andic leaves court after paying €1 million (US$1.16 million) in bail on May 19. Photo: Getty Images

Hacks’ Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs’ most viral red carpet looks

Hacks co-stars Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs know how to turn a red carpet appearance into a viral moment. Photos: Getty Images; AFP; @paulwdowns/Instagram

Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs at the American Music Awards in Las Vegas in May. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Hacks co-stars Paul W. Downs and Megan Stalter perfectly skewered Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet’s viral Chrome Hearts look. Photo: @paulwdowns/Instagram

Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner at a special screening of Marty Supreme, in Beverly Hills last December. Photo: Reuters

Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs at the LA premiere of Hacks season five, in April. Photo: Getty Images

Megan Stalter’s hoop skirt and coffee cup ensemble at the 2025 VMAs. Photo: @megsstalter/Instagram

Megan Stalter went back to basics at the 2025 Emmy Awards. Photo: @megsstalter/Instagram

Megan Stalter at the Actor Awards in Los Angeles in March. Photo: Getty Images

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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce kiss during a game between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers this month. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Maisie Peters was an avid reader as a child. Photo: @maisiehpeters/Instagram

Maisie Peters released her third studio album, Florescence, this year. Photo: @maisiehpeters/Instagram

Maisie Peters began writing songs from a young age. Photo: @maisiehpeters/Instagram

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These women supposedly attend Paris Fashion Week and get invites to top restaurants, but here’s the catch: they’re not real


These women supposedly attend Paris Fashion Week and get invites to top restaurants, but here’s the catch: they’re not real.


5 AI ‘influencers’ on social media, from models to a granny friendly with the Biebers

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}These women supposedly attend Paris Fashion Week and get invites to top restaurants, but here’s the catch: they’re not real

These women supposedly attend Paris Fashion Week and get invites to top restaurants, but here’s the catch: they’re not real