YouTube Publishes New Insights Into the Rise of Virtual Influencers

YouTube has published a new report into the rising significance of virtual influencers and how AI-generated or digitally-enabled entities are gaining traction, both on YouTube and more broadly.

Which may sound farfetched, it’s a little strange to consider that non-human characters are somehow building bigger followings than real people online.

But in a rising number of cases, these digital characters are driving big success, despite not being attached to an actual human presence.

As per YouTube:

“Last year a sample of just 300 Virtual Creators on YouTube earned over 15 billion views across videos, live streams, and Shorts, with one billion of those views coming from the U.S. alone.”

YouTube’s report highlights various virtual characters that are gaining big taction, including Nuero-Sama, Hatsune Miku, and Code Miko, who YouTube defines as a “Virtual Human.”

Indeed, YouTube has a whole overview of the different kinds of virtual creators, and the various forms of digital characters that are gaining traction.

The technology powering these characters is constantly improving, and you’re undoubtedly going to see more and more of these characters emerging over time, providing a whole new consideration for influencer marketing and outreach.

Which YouTube says that all brands and marketers should be keeping in mind:

“This is another example of how the internet rapidly transforms niche trends into mainstream phenomena. This fundamental mechanic suggests that mainstream culture is simply a patchwork of subcultures. Marketers and brands, like viewers, should focus on their personal relevance.”

Eventually, AI-generated humans will be largely indistinguishable from digital creations, which will open new doors to content creation, where virtually anything is possible, enabling more ways to connect.

We’re already seeing similar on TikTok, where virtual characters can now sell products on live streams, 24/7, or at Meta, which is developing AI avatars of creators. These may take the human element out of social media to some degree, but maybe they’ll make up for it in terms of “always on” engagement, responsive, personalized interaction, limitless creative possibilities, and more.

It’s an interesting overview of the trend, which, again, is only going to become more significant as AI tools continue to improve.

You can check out YouTube’s latest Culture and Trends report here.