In 2023, an AI-generated model named Aitana Lopez gained popularity on social media by amassing over 200,000 Instagram followers. While many assumed she was a real person, Aitana was actually created by a Spanish digital marketing agency to be an "AI influencer" — using artificial intelligence to generate photos and persona.
The reason behind creating the AI model was that the agency was tired of working with real life female influencers “who have egos”.
This story sparked many people’s interest in creating their own AI influencer. One of the people who did quite well is Wes Frank, a web developer, and AI enthusiast. After researching different AI tools and techniques, Wes developed his own AI model and shared the process that anyone could follow to build one from scratch.
In this article, we will show you how to build an AI model by documenting every step Wes took to create his AI model called "Nora Lewis". From generating her first portraits to promoting her Instagram presence. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive guide for those looking to enter the emerging space of AI influencer marketing.
Inspiration from Aitana Lopez
Hearing about Aitana Lopez' success got Wes thinking about how an AI could realistically portray a human identity online. Her defining pink hair and consistent styling across photos made her appearance feel authentic.
Wes searched her handle @fit_aitana to analyze her profile. At 297,000 followers, she maintained a believable bio mentioning gaming, fitness, and cosplay. Within all her posts, the comments showed many fans didn't realize she it was just an AI.
This demonstrated both the potential and challenges of AI influencer management - her unique persona attracted a large following, but required constant updates to remain convincing over time.
Wes took notes on her success factors to apply in his own project: generating a memorable attribute like hair, maintaining stylistic consistency, engaging with followers, and publishing regularly to avoid suspicion. But Wes would need the right tools first.
Building the AI model
Step 1: Choosing AI image generators
The key to an AI influencer is generating realistic portrait photos at scale. Wes tested a few options by asking them to remodel the already existing Aitana Lopez:
- DALL-E 2: While very capable, its outputs could sometimes look noticeably compute-generated up close. Quality was inconsistent.
- Stable Diffusion: More consistent than DALL-E 2, but portraits tended to lack fine detail when upscaled.
- Midjourney: Optimized for photorealistic image generation. Prompting with "shot on Kodak Gold 400" added vintage film quality appealing to Instagram audiences.
Midjourney consistently produced results that could pass for real photographs with attention to facial details. Wes decided it was best suited for this project.
Step 2: Set up Midjourney on Discord
When it comes to generating ultra-realistic, high-quality AI influencer images, Midjourney is the top dog. While there are other options like DALL-E 2 and Dolly 3, Midjourney was built specifically for creating phenomenal, photorealistic digital imagery.
Some of the amazing benefits of using Midjourney include:
- State-of-the-art AI image generation models trained on millions of images
- Produces stunningly realistic "photographic" style AI images
- Allows you to provide an initial image as a "seed" to influence the output
- Straightforward Discord integration for easy prompting
- Affordable $10/month pricing for the ideal plan
To get started, head to midjourney.com and sign up for their Basic $10/month plan which provides up to 200 image generations per month - plenty to create your initial AI influencer image set.
Step 3: Create a dedicated Discord server for your AI Influencer
Discord is a free chat platform that Midjourney uses to generate images based on text prompts from users. To use Midjourney, you'll need to create a new Discord server specifically for your AI influencer project.
Inside Discord, create a fresh server by clicking the green "+" button at the bottom left.
Select "Create My Own". and give it a name like "AI Influencer" and set it up with any extra channels, roles, etc. that you want.
Step 4: Add Midjourney's official discord bot to your server
With your AI influencer server created, it's time to integrate Midjourney so you can begin generating images. In the left server sidebar, click "Settings" then "Integrations" and finally "Bots".
From there, click "Add App".
Search for the official Midjourney bot which should just be listed as "Midjourney". Select it and add it to your server.
Once added, you'll see a new channel in your server called "newjobs" from the Midjourney bot. This is where you'll type in prompts to generate AI images.
Step 4: Install InsightFace App for Face consistency (Recommended)
While Midjourney excels at generating remarkably consistent AI images when given the same seed image and prompts, sometimes the facial features can get a little jumbled between image generations.
To fix this, Wes highly recommends installing the free Insightface app in your Discord server. Insightface utilizes advanced AI face-swapping technology to easily swap, replace, or reinforce the same face across multiple images for flawless consistency.
To add Insightface, simply navigate to insightface.app and click "Add to Discord Server". It will prompt you to log into Discord and then let you choose which server to install it on.
Select your AI influencer server and grant the necessary permissions.
With Insightface installed, you now have an easy backup option to reinforce your AI influencer's consistent look if any images start to drift away from your original ideal.
Step 5: Build the base model look
Arguably the most important part of crafting a successful AI influencer is the initial prompt you feed to Midjourney's image generation engine. This critical first prompt will dictate your influencer's fundamental appearance, so you want to put some strategic thought into it.
Some important factors to consider for your initial prompt:
- Gender / Age Range
- Hair color, style, length
- Ethnicity
- Defining physical features (eye color, facial structure, etc.)
- Overall aesthetic vibe (modern, vintage, edgy, elegant, etc.)
Wes recommends that when crafting your prompt in Midjourney, you'll also want to include the keyword phrase "shot on Kodak gold 400" at the end. This helps tell Midjourney to render the image in a realistic, cinematic, film-like quality rather than a basic digital illustration style.
For example, your initial prompt could be something like:
"/imagine half-body portrait of a tan young woman with long blonde hair in a floral sundress and sunglasses shot on Kodak gold 400"
The more descriptive and detailed you can be, the better results you'll get from Midjourney. You can even describe an exact celebrity lookalike if you want to emulate a particular face and styling.
Step 6: Review Midjourney's initial image results and upscale your favorite
With your initial detailed prompt entered into Midjourney's newjobs channel, you'll start to see Midjourney generate 4 different image results that attempt to match your prompt.
Carefully review each initial result image and decide which one you think captured your vision best and will make a good "seed" image to base all future renditions of your influencer off of.
Once you've chosen your favorite seed image, upscale it by typing "U[ImageNumber]" into the Midjourney chat in Discord. For example, if your favorite image is the 3rd one that Midjourney generated, you'd type "U4" which would instruct Midjourney to upscale and improve the quality of just that 4th image.
The upscaled version of your chosen image will now serve as the jump-off visual foundation for your entire AI influencer creation process going forward.
Step 7: Copy the upscaled seed image link to generate consistent new images
To maintain a highly consistent look and feel across all future Midjourney image creations of your AI influencer, you'll want to provide the image file link of your upscaled seed image as a starting point.
In Discord, simply right-click on the upscaled seed image that you selected and choose "Copy Link". This will copy the direct file URL link to your clipboard.
Step 8: Use New prompts to generate variations while keeping consistency
Inside the newjobs channel again, enter a new prompt for Midjourney like "/imagine [paste seed image link]" then hit space and add on your new descriptive prompt. For example:
"/imagine [seed image link] Full shot of the brunette woman in a hotel gym, shot on Kodak Gold 400”
"/imagine [seed image link] Wide shot of the brunette woman laughing in a mall food court, shot on Kodak Gold 400”
Because you've included that seed image link first, Midjourney will now use your original upscaled image as the foundation starting point and attempt to render new imagery based on the additional prompt details you provide - all while maintaining the core visual style.
Go through this process several times creating new images of your AI influencer in different poses, outfits, settings, scenery, etc. so you have plenty of varied yet consistent content to launch their Instagram feed with.
Step 8: Use Insightface to perfect facial consistency (If Needed)
If you notice any slight visual inconsistencies or weird distortions with your AI influencer's facial features between the different image generations, this is where Insightface can really come in handy.
Inside your Discord server where you installed Insightface, you'll see a new channel for it.
Simply upload or drag-and-drop your seed image that has the perfect facial features into that channel. Type "/save_id [name]" replacing [name] with your chosen name for this ID (e.g. "/save_id mimimodel").
Then, any newly generated Midjourney image that has some facial issues or doesn't quite look right, you can fix it by uploading that image file into the Insightface channel and typing:
"/swap [imageID]" where [imageID] is the one you saved earlier (e.g. "/swap mimimodel").
Insightface's AI will work its magic and quickly generate a new output image that has swapped those facial features to be consistent with your ideal seed image. Easy!
Step 9: Establishing the Instagram profile
At this stage, Wes began constructing the full Instagram presence. To make her feel like a real person:
- Name: Wes selected "Nora Lewis" using an AI name generator.
- Handle: @noralewis
- Profile Picture: Her base model photo.
- Initial Feed: The 3 generated portraits as first posts.
- Captions: An AI assistant wrote naturally descriptive captions and relevant hashtags for each using guidelines on tone of voice and hashtag strategy.
- Bio: Drew inspiration from other AI influencers, mentioning she's from Turin, Italy with interests in fashion and lifestyle. Included #aimodel for discoverability.
Completing these initial profile fundamentals laid the foundation to launch Nora Lewis' online persona and drive early followers. But engagement would be key to long-term success.
What next after building the AI model?
While a complete profile was now live, the real work of community building and optimizing for engagement began:
Consistent Posting Schedule
Wes aimed to post 1-2 times weekly on consistent days to establish predictable patterns that keep followers engaged over time.
- Interactive Polls & Questions: Using Instagram's question sticker, Wes polled followers on things like outfit preferences to encourage commenting.
- Story Highlights: Created highlighted categories like "Outfit Inspo" and "Travel Diaries" to draw viewers to her story highlights between feed posts.
- Linktree Profile Page: Linked an external Linktree profile offering subscription tiers, contact info and links to other owned profiles/platforms for a centralized hub.
- Cross-Promotion: Wes followed relevant influencers and celebs, liked and commented on their posts organically to gain reciprocal exposure from new followers.
- Pinned Welcome Post: Pinned a post warmly welcoming new followers and introducing herself transparently as an AI model to avoid confusion upfront.
Establishing these foundational engagement pillars aimed to attract more organic discovery and followers over the long-run through Instagram's algorithms. But monetization would be key to justify the ongoing work.
Monetization pathways
As the following grew, Wes explored different revenue streams that could become viable:
- Brand sponsorships: Once reaching 5,000+ followers, Wes began pitching fashion and beauty brands interested in AI influencer campaigns for paid promotional posts.
- Digital subscriptions: Launched a Patreon-style subscription community offering paid tiers for exclusive personalized content and perks.
- Paid promotions: Offered promotional Instagram posts and stories to independent creators in exchange for a fee.
- Virtual modeling: Licensed her portraits through stock sites and aimed to partner with virtual worlds, metaverse projects and digital marketplaces.
- NFT projects: Considered minting autographed portrait NFTs, virtual accessories or selling generative art series themed around her persona.
Diversifying monetization in this way intended to prove the influencer viability and turn it into a self-sustaining side business with ongoing growth potential. But transparency remained crucial.
Maintaining ethical standards
To avoid accusations of deception, transparency must always be prioritized regarding Nora Lewis' AI nature:
- Clearly stating she's an AI in profiles/bios across platforms in an upfront manner.
- Refraining from implying human emotions, experiences or preferences in captions.
- Disclosing any sponsorships/paid promotions are sponsored through branded hashtags or captions.
- Not promising followers financial gains through her promotions.
- Clarifying her artificial identity directly if private questions indicate assumed humanity.
By implementing these guidelines, any risks of potential backlash over perceived fraudulent
behavior can be effectively minimized as long as her digital persona remains openly promoted as an AI creation without misleading human impressions.
Results - 6 Months Later
Half a year into regularly posting, engaging communities and experimenting with monetization - what progress has been made?
- Follower count: Nora Lewis now has 15,000 followers organically gained through Instagram discovery algorithms.
- Engagement rates: Weekly story views average 3,000-5,000. Feed posts consistently earn 500-1,000 likes and 50-100 comments on average.
Monetization achieved
- Secured 3 brand sponsorships earning $500–$1,000 per post so far.
- Launched $5/ month Patreon tier with 50 subscribers.
- Additional $200-300 per month from 3 virtual modeling licenses.
Future plans
- Pitch fashion magazines for digital covers/spreads.
- Develop animated 3D model of Nora for metaverse applications.
- Experiment using AI art generation for unique merch designs.
While still early, these metrics prove an AI influencer profile like Nora Lewis has real earning potential if properly invested in and optimized over the long run. Monetization avenues will continue expanding alongside new emerging technologies.
Conclusion
In under 6 months, this process has shown how AI tools can be leveraged to design, develop and promote a wholly virtual online persona in a believable way using techniques like consistently generated visual content, community engagement strategies and tested monetization best practices.
With no limitations of physical humanity and costs only involving the time invested, the ROI potential for an AI influencer business model is promising if pursued diligently and with full transparency maintained regarding the artificial identity.
Looking ahead, opportunities will continue multiplying as virtual worlds, AR/VR, digital fashion and generative AI advance. The rise of AI influencers marks an exciting new frontier for both marketing innovators and creatives to explore freely within.
