Top 12 AI influencers on Instagram: who to follow and why (updated 2026)
- BRACAI
- 4 oct 2023
- 10 Min. de lectura
Actualizado: 11 ene
Ever heard of an AI influencer on Instagram? These virtual models are reshaping social media, brand marketing, and even music.
An AI influencer (also called a virtual influencer) is a computer-made character. It has a look, a voice, and a story. It posts, replies, and works with brands like a human creator.
Unlike their human counterparts, AI influencers are available 24/7, can collaborate globally without limits, and bring a novel, futuristic edge to brand campaigns.
Why should you care?
The rise of AI influencers on Instagram has been explosive, with brands, fans, and entire industries taking notice.
Back in 2023, a survey by the Influencer Marketing Factory found that around 60% of marketers had already worked with a virtual influencer. That early adoption has since snowballed into a full-fledged industry.
According to Grand View Research, the global virtual influencer market was valued at $6.06 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit $46 billion by 2030, growing at a staggering +41% CAGR. Fashion, lifestyle, and entertainment brands are leading the way, but finance, travel, and fitness are catching up.
That’s a massive market with real momentum.
At the same time, new AI tools have made it easier than ever to create virtual influencers. With just a few steps, anyone can design a character, give it a unique voice and style, and launch it as a full-fledged Instagram personality.
Our methodology: We only rank accounts that are active on Instagram (posted in the last 90 days). Inactive or blocked profiles are moved to inactive section.
Top 12 AI influencers on Instagram in 2026 👇🏼
Lu do Magalu is the most followed AI influencer on Instagram and a clear example of how virtual influencers can scale brand marketing at mass-market level.
She was introduced already in 2003 as the voice of Magazine Luiza's e-commerce platform and has since become a cultural icon in Brazil.
Lu has ~8.4 million followers on Instagram, making her the world’s most-followed virtual influencer on Instagram.
Her content focuses on product reviews, unboxings, software tips, and brand campaigns, all designed to feel approachable and practical. She has partnered with global brands like Dell and Google Pay, and has also led large-scale social initiatives such as Violentômetro Magalu, a campaign raising awareness about gender violence.
Lu do Magalu shows how an AI influencer can combine commerce, scale, and social impact, far beyond what most human influencers can sustain.
Lil Miquela is one of the most recognizable AI influencers on Instagram and one of the first virtual influencers to break into global pop culture.
Created in 2016 by Trevor McFedries and Sara DeCou, Miquela Sousa quickly gained attention as a realistic AI Instagram model blending fashion, music, and internet culture. She was later named one of Time Magazine’s 25 Most Influential People on the Internet.
Lil Miquela has ~2.3 million followers on Instagram. Her content sits at the intersection of music and fashion, with brand collaborations including Prada, BMW, and Alexander McQueen.
Beyond sponsored content, Miquela has released original music such as Not Mine and Hate Me, positioning herself as a long-running AI music influencer rather than a short-lived experiment.
In recent years, she has leaned more openly into her identity as a virtual character, speaking about topics like AI voice cloning and digital identity, reinforcing that she is not a human pretending to be real, but a virtual influencer with a clear narrative and purpose.
Emily Pellegrini, with ~543K followers, is one of the fastest-rising AI Instagram models right now. Her feed is built around glamour, luxury lifestyle, and “perfect travel” shots.
But let’s be honest: a lot of the growth comes from sexualized, fantasy-style content. That makes her a strong example of where many AI influencers on Instagram are heading, but it also makes her not brand-safe for many companies.
If you are a mainstream brand, treat Emily as a case study in what drives attention, not a default template to copy.
Noonoouri stands out in the AI influencer world for her fashion-first identity. She started with a very stylized, doll-like look, but lately she has been leaning into more realistic visuals too, closer to what you’d expect from a human creator’s feed.
With ~482K followers, Noonoouri has carved out a strong niche in fashion and activism. She collaborates with luxury brands, speaks up on causes like sustainability, and even launched music in partnership with Warner Music.
Her Instagram mixes editorial looks, bold styling, and high-production visuals. That blend is what makes her work as a virtual influencer on Instagram: she can shift style on demand, from “clearly digital” to “almost real”, without losing the brand.
Noonoouri proves a key point about AI influencers on Instagram: you don’t have to pick one look forever. The winning accounts evolve their realism as the tools and the audience change.
Milla Sofia – @millasofiafin
Milla Sofia is a Helsinki-based AI influencer on Instagram with ~479K followers. She is known for clean, “Scandi” visuals, but her growth has also leaned into more sexualized glamour content. That works for attention, but it is not brand-safe for many companies.
What makes Milla different from many AI Instagram models is that she is also pushing into music. Her songs are on Spotify and YouTube, and her content mixes AI fashion, short video edits, and original tracks.
Milla is a good example of where virtual influencers on Instagram are heading: part model, part creator, part media project. Just be clear on the vibe before you use her as inspiration.
If you search for Milla Sofia AI influencer, this is one of the biggest AI music accounts on Instagram.
Imma is a Japanese AI influencer on Instagram created by ModelingCafe in Tokyo. With ~387K followers (Jan 2026), she has one of the most recognizable looks in the space: the pink bob, modern street style, and a very “Tokyo” visual identity.
Imma works because she feels like a real cultural character, not just an AI Instagram model doing pretty photos. Her feed blends fashion, events, and collaborations, and she has worked with brands like Lenovo, IKEA, and Magnum.
She is also proof that virtual influencers can move beyond Instagram. She has shown up in mainstream media, which is still rare for AI characters.
If you search for Imma AI influencer, she is one of the best-known virtual influencers in Japan.
Aitana Lopez is Spain’s best-known AI influencer on Instagram and has ~386K followers and a strong digital presence built around gym, lifestyle, and bold pink-haired styling.
But like several fast-growing AI Instagram models, Aitana also leans into sexualized content. She monetizes via Fanvue (including ambassador-style promotion), which makes her a strong case study in what drives attention, but not brand-safe for every company.
On the mainstream side, she has been linked to big-name fashion and sportswear aesthetics and frequently uses Barcelona and Costa Brava backdrops to anchor the character in a real place.
If you search for Aitana Lopez AI influencer, she’s one of the clearest examples of a virtual influencer that blends fitness, lifestyle, and paid adult-leaning monetization in one package.
N A I N A – @naina_avtr
NAINA is one of the most recognizable AI influencers from India.
Based in Mumbai, she has ~375K followers and a clear identity built around modern Indian fashion, culture, and storytelling.
Naina’s feed mixes glamorous fashion shoots with cultural moments tied to festivals and everyday Indian life. That “local-first” approach is what makes her work as a virtual influencer: she feels rooted in a real context, not just a generic AI Instagram model.
If you search for Naina AI influencer, she’s a strong example of how AI influencers can be deeply localized and still appeal globally.
Ana Zelu – @anazelu
Ana Zelu (about 308K followers) is a Mediterranean-themed AI influencer on Instagram with a clean mix of fashion and travel. Think sunsets, city walks, café culture, and coastal backdrops that look like they were made for brand campaigns.
She’s part of the Zelu duo (with Mia Zelu) and the positioning is clear: digital storyteller + AI influencer, built for lifestyle content in Europe.
Shudu Gram, with ~238K followers, is one of the most famous virtual models on Instagram. Created by James Wilson of The Diigitals, she is known as the world’s first digital supermodel.
Her feed is high-fashion and editorial-first. Big lighting, strong art direction, and visuals that feel closer to a magazine shoot than a normal influencer account. That’s what makes Shudu different from many AI influencers on Instagram: she is not trying to look casual or relatable. She’s built to look iconic.
Mia Zelu – @miazelu
Mia Zelu, with ~233K followers, is the other half of the Zelu duo. Her content is full of travel, fashion, and golden-hour photography across Greece and Croatia.
Compared to Ana, Mia often feels a bit more pop and playful. More everyday scenes, more “in the moment” vibe, and more personal creator energy, even though she’s an AI Instagram model.
As a rising AI Instagram model, Mia complements Ana Zelu with playful captions and audience engagement, making the Zelu sisters a strong emerging brand.
Rozy Gram – @rozy.gram
Rozy Gram, with ~169K followers, is South Korea’s leading AI influencer on Instagram. She is known for her emotional expressions, earning the nickname GamSeong JangIn (“expression expert”).
Her content has a strong character feel: fashion, street looks, and expressive “story” moments that lean more K-culture than generic AI model aesthetics. She’s also a good example of a virtual influencer used for more than marketing. Rozy has done visible activism work too, including ambassador-style campaigns (for example with Plan International Korea).
If you search for “Rozy Gram AI influencer”, she’s one of the clearest Korea-based examples that blends fashion content with a bigger narrative.
Inactive or unavailable AI influencers on Instagram
To keep this blog post relevant, we only rank AI influencers who are active on Instagram.
We move a profile to this section if:
It has not posted in the last 90 days
The account is unavailable (blocked, deleted, or restricted)
Here are some well-known AI influencers we do not include in the main ranking:
Kenza Layli – @kenza.layli: inactive since August 2025. Miss AI 2024 winner
Lalina – @viva_lalina: unavailable as of January 2026. Previously reached ~340K
K/DA - @kda_music: inactive since 2020
Thalasya - @thalasya: inactive since 2020
Qai Qai - @realqaiqai: inactive since 2023
Bermuda - @bermudaisbae: inactive since 2020
Leya Love - @leyalovenature: unavailable as of January 2026
Kyra - @kyraonig: last post on March 29, 2025
Miss AI 2024 is worth calling out because it pushed several AI creators into the mainstream. But awards do not guarantee long-term activity. Two of the most notable profiles linked to Miss AI 2024 (Kenza and Lalina) have since become inactive or unavailable on Instagram, which is why they are listed here.
Travel is a fast-growing niche for virtual influencers. For brands, it is a shortcut to scalable content across places, languages, and campaigns, without flying a crew around the world.
Major outlets have already covered the rise of AI travel influencers, including The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Top AI travel influencers on Instagram👇🏼
Sena Z – @sena.zaro (Cenizaro Hotels & Resorts)
Sama – @samaonthemove (Qatar Airways)
Emma – @emmatravelsgermany (German National Tourist Board)
See the full ranking: top AI travel influencers on Instagram.
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Ethical considerations of AI influencers
AI influencers can be powerful, but they also raise real ethical questions.
The big ones are:
Transparency. People should know they are engaging with an AI character, not a human
Accountability. A character cannot take responsibility. The team behind it must
Trust. Do not fake real-world claims, locations, or experiences
In short, the long-term win is not tricking people. It is building a virtual influencer people choose to follow, even when they know it is AI.
Future of AI influencers
AI influencer marketing is only going to grow. Here is what to expect:
More AI influencers as tools get easier and cheaper
More brand-owned characters as companies build influencers they control
More competition, which will make quality and storytelling matter more
A clearer split between human and AI, where humans lean into authenticity and AI leans into consistency and scale
Expansion into more niches, especially travel, fitness, and retail
More focus on ethics and disclosure as audiences get smarter
The future is a blend of human creativity and AI production. The winners will treat this like a real media product, not a gimmick.
Conclusion: AI influencers on Instagram
The line between virtual and real is blurring fast. AI influencers on Instagram are not just a novelty. They are changing branding, entertainment, activism, and culture.
With global reach, 24/7 availability, and fast content production, virtual influencers give brands new creative power. As the tools improve, expect more sophisticated characters, more competition, and bigger questions about trust and transparency.
Want our help to create your own AI influencer for your business? Simply send us an email to get started.
FAQ
What is an AI influencer?
An AI influencer (also called a virtual influencer) is a digitally created character powered by AI and CGI. They exist only online, usually on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, where they engage audiences, promote brands, and create content, just like human influencers.
Who is the most followed AI influencer on Instagram?
Lu do Magalu with 8.1M followers.
How are AI influencers created?
AI influencers are made by generative AI image tools such as Midjourney and Leonardo AI.
The process typically includes
Designing the influencer’s look and personality
Building a backstory and brand identity
Generating consistent images or videos
Launching and managing social media profiles
This mix of AI technology and storytelling brings the virtual persona to life.
Are AI influencers real?
Not biologically, but their online influence is very real. AI influencers can attract millions of followers, land global brand deals, and even shape trends in fashion, music, and lifestyle.
Who creates AI influencers?
AI influencers are often the brainchild of tech companies, artists, and digital creators who use advanced CGI and AI technologies. Some AI influencers are created by dedicated teams while others may be the passion projects of individual artists. Feel free to contact us if you need help to get started.
How do brands benefit from collaborating with AI influencers?
Brands can tap into the unique audiences of AI influencers, which often consist of tech-savvy and forward-thinking individuals. Moreover, AI influencers are not constrained by physical limitations, enabling global collaborations without geographical restrictions. They also offer a novel and futuristic edge to brand collaborations, making them stand out in today's crowded marketing landscape.
Do AI influencers have emotions?
They can simulate emotions through captions, voice, or animations — but they don’t feel or think like humans. Their “emotions” are generated by algorithms and scripts, designed to create relatability with audiences.