AI influencer history: a dated timeline, 2016–2026
AI influencer history starts with characters made by studios: Lil Miquela first posted on Instagram on 23 April 2016. From 2023, generated personas run by small agencies and single creators made the news with income figures. From 2023 the platforms added AI labels, and on 2 August 2026 the EU's labelling rule began to apply. Every event below has a dated source.
- 2016 to 2021: studio characters. Lil Miquela and Shudu were made by small studios as computer graphics, not by AI image generators.
- 2023: generated personas. An agency built Aitana López, and Fanvue promoted Emily Pellegrini. Both made the news with income figures from their owners.
- 2023 to 2026: labels and law. TikTok added an AI label in 2023, Meta and YouTube in 2024. Instagram's AI-generated profile label and the EU's Article 50 followed in August 2026.
Ten years to scale
Drawn to scale, the first seven years hold a few famous characters. The platform labels and the law all arrive after March 2023.
- Lil Miquela's first postA studio character
- Aitana López in the newsA generated persona2769 days later
- Meta's first AI labels"Made with AI"135 days later
- EU Article 50 appliesAI content must be labelled849 days later
SourceSources for each event in the timeline belowchecked
The timeline, year by year
Show
Before 2016
2003: Lu do Magalu starts as the voice of a Brazilian retailer's online shop. Magazine Luiza's character later becomes an influencer on TV, in music videos and in brand campaigns. She is drawn, not generated. Source: Ogilvy — Lu from Magalu case study
2016
Lil Miquela posts on Instagram for the first time
Trevor McFedries and Sara DeCou of the Los Angeles startup Brud created her. She is a studio-made character, years before image generators.
2017
Shudu, called the first digital supermodel, starts her career
Photographer Cameron-James Wilson made her as a computer-generated image through his company, The Diigitals.
Source: Vice — The guy who created the world's first digital supermodel
2018
Miquela takes over Prada's Instagram at Milan Fashion Week
Time lists Miquela among the 25 most influential people on the internet
2019
No event we could date from a source.
2020
No event we could date from a source.
2021
Dapper Labs buys Brud, the studio behind Miquela
The price is not disclosed. TechCrunch mentions a $125 million valuation for Brud without saying who set it.
Source: TechCrunch — Dapper Labs acquires virtual influencer startup BrudThe income figures
A directory of virtual influencers reaches 214 entries
VirtualHumans.org lists them by hand. It is the closest thing to a count from before image generators.
Source: VirtualHumans.org — Welcoming 29 newfound virtual influencersThe numbers
2022
No event we could date from a source.
2023
Warner Music signs Noonoouri, a digital artist
Her first single uses a voice made with AI-assisted technology. The human songwriters were paid royalties as usual.
Source: The National — Noonoouri signed by Warner MusicHer profile
Aitana López, built by a Barcelona agency, makes international news
The agency The Clueless tells Euronews she can earn up to €10,000 in a month, about €3,000 on average.
Fanvue promotes Emily Pellegrini, an AI persona on its platform
A Fanvue press release says she earned nearly $10,000 in six weeks. Within weeks, reprints call it $10,000 a month.
Source: Bored Panda — AI model Emily Pellegrini (quotes the Fanvue release)The income figures
TikTok’s guidelines first required synthetic media to be disclosed
Source: TechCrunch — TikTok overhauls community guidelines, adds AI policyWhat it changed
TikTok launched a label for AI-generated content
Source: TikTok Newsroom — New labels for disclosing AI-generated contentWhat it changed
The FTC's updated Endorsement Guides cover virtual influencers
A paid post by a virtual influencer has to be marked as paid, like a human creator's.
Source: FTC — Updated Endorsement Guides (June 2023)Our article Affiliate links
2024
Miss AI, the first contest for AI influencers, crowns Kenza Layli
Fanvue's World AI Creator Awards drew about 1,500 AI-generated contestants, according to the report.
Meta said it would label AI images by reading C2PA and IPTC signals
Source: Meta Newsroom — Labeling AI-Generated Images on Facebook, Instagram and ThreadsWhat it changed
YouTube required creators to disclose realistic altered or synthetic content
Source: YouTube Official Blog — Disclosing AI-generated contentWhat it changed
Meta announced the first "Made with AI" labels
Source: Meta Newsroom — Our Approach to Labeling AI-Generated Content and Manipulated MediaWhat it changed
TikTok started auto-labelling AI content from C2PA metadata
Source: TikTok Newsroom — Partnering with our industry to advance AI transparency and literacyWhat it changed
"Made with AI" was renamed "AI info" after it mislabelled real photos
Source: Meta Newsroom — Our Approach to Labeling AI-Generated Content and Manipulated MediaWhat it changed
The AI Act entered into force, starting the clock
California’s AI Transparency Act (SB 942) was signed
Source: California Legislative Information — SB 942 AI Transparency ActWhat it changed
2025
Kapwing estimates Lu do Magalu's sponsored posts at $2.5 million a year
An estimate from her follower count, not a payment. Many pages now quote it as her earnings.
Source: Kapwing — Virtual influencers: the most followed and top-earningThe income figures
Mia Zelu goes viral at Wimbledon, and many viewers think she is real
Her profile said she was AI-generated, but the note was hidden behind a "Read more" button.
Source: Tennis.com — AI influencer Mia Zelu went viral at WimbledonHer profile
TikTok let viewers turn AI content down, and added invisible watermarks
Source: TikTok Newsroom — More ways to spot, shape and understand AI-generated contentWhat it changed
The AI Act’s prohibitions and AI literacy requirement started applying
2026
Fanvue raises a $22 million Series A and reports about 250,000 creators
The figure counts human and AI creators together.
Source: Fanvue — Series A press release (Business Wire, 12 Jan 2026)Our article Affiliate links
OpenArt and Fanvue launch the AI Personality of the Year Awards
A prize pool of more than $90,000, with entries open until 19 April 2026.
Gartner: 35% of US consumers rely on influencers less because of AI
A survey of 1,006 people, about AI-generated content in general.
Source: Gartner — 35% of consumers rely on influencers less due to AIThe numbers
X added a "Made with AI" label that creators set themselves
Source: Techweez — X rolls out “Made with AI” labelWhat it changed
The "AI creator" label became "AI-generated profile"
Source: Instagram Creators — AI-generated profile labelWhat it changed
India made platforms label AI-generated media and ask users to declare it
Source: Freshfields — India targets deepfakes and AI-generated content (IT Rules 2026)What it changed
The final Code of Practice on labelling AI-generated content was published
Source: European Commission — Code of Practice on transparency of AI-generated contentWhat it changed
Article 50 transparency obligations started applying
Who was the first AI influencer?
Lil Miquela is the usual answer. She first posted on 23 April 2016 and was made by the Los Angeles studio Brud. Lu do Magalu is older: she began in 2003 as the voice of a Brazilian retailer's online shop. Neither was made by an AI image generator. Both were built by teams with 3D or drawing tools, which is why the older name for them is virtual influencer. What counts as an AI influencer explains where the line between the two words runs.
When did generated AI influencers start to earn?
The first income figures in the news are from November 2023. Aitana López's agency named up to €10,000 in a month, and Fanvue said Emily Pellegrini earned nearly $10,000 in six weeks. Both figures came from the owners, and both grew when other outlets retold them. Every income claim, checked traces each figure to its first source.
Contests followed: Miss AI in 2024, run by Fanvue, and the AI Personality of the Year Awards in 2026, run by OpenArt and Fanvue with ElevenLabs. Both were contests for AI personas.
What the rules changed for AI influencers
The earliest platform rule in our change log is TikTok's, from March 2023: realistic synthetic media had to be disclosed. TikTok added an AI label that September, and Meta followed in 2024. In 2026 the rules turned to the account itself: Instagram now limits the reach of profiles that show an AI-generated person without the AI-generated profile label, and the EU's Article 50 asks you to label realistic AI content wherever you post it.
The AI label matrix shows what each platform asks of you today. New changes are added to the change log first, and then to this timeline.
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