Digital Perfection vs. Human Connection: Can AI Influencers Represent Luxury Brands?

You have probably heard how AI is the future. It is not. It is the present, and it has been for some time now. The difference is that now we are starting to experience the democratization of this helpful tool and its impact on our lives: we marketers should begin wondering sooner rather than later about the revolution it will generate in our field. For decades, the faces of celebrities, athletes, or fashion icons have been chosen to represent a brand's values and attributes, to be ambassadors of a strategy that aims to make consumers identify and resonate emotionally with what we represent. Nevertheless, those days may be over, as there is a new player in town: AI influencers.

In the world of luxury brands, where perfection is a quest and more than usually demanded, having AI influencers that are flawless, tireless, and easily customizable sounds like a dream, doesn't it? They can echo the desired brand narrative to the letter. These attributes have already brought us one of the first examples of this personas; Lil Miquela, a Brazilian-American popstar, an icon that has erupted as a successful fictional character that has collaborated with Calvin Klein, Prada, and BMW, brands which represent a club we hope we can buy ourselves into. But let's step back and think about this for a moment: if the essence of luxury isn't just in what you buy but how it makes you feel, can an AI, no matter how advanced, personify that admired aspiration figure that represents an exclusive lifestyle? Or even "someone" real enough to make customers establish an emotional connection? Or is it just a innovative but pointless tool that will soon fade away?

I asked five top voices in marketing from all over the world and a special additional contributor their opinion on the subject and their help in providing some insight into the question of whether AI influencers can ever truly embody the luxury experience or if the human touch will still be essential in our future for high-end brand storytelling that connects brands and audiences? Here is what they said:

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Brynne Piesco, a seasoned marketer with a flair for storytelling, a passion for digital media and currently a Manager at The Walt Disney Company thinks the following:  “AI can significantly enhance marketing efforts by analyzing trends and optimizing campaigns, but it can never fully replace the human touch. For true brand resonance, storytelling should be shaped by people, for people. The personal and emotional nuances that connect with audiences will always be best conveyed through human creativity and insight”

Anthony Miyazaki, brand strategist and marketing educator, shared the following: “I see AI influencers for luxury brands as the next logical step in a process that has been shifting in that direction for the past 30 years. Luxury brands maintained a long history of using spokespeople with a certain air of elegance and sophistication to represent them and portray the qualities of the brand. As the affordability of very expensive products spread among various degrees of the nouveau riche, many brands broadened what it meant to own luxury and similarly broadened the nature of their spokespeople. Around the same time, the advent of social media brought about a shift regarding whom consumers would accept as a spokesperson – or influencer – for any brand. More recently, the growth of AI personas has followed a natural progression for younger audiences who have been willing to welcome highly animated characters as human surrogates, complete with the understanding that even their human influencer counterparts are not necessarily as ‘real’ as they portray themselves to be. In the end, the combination of new consumer audiences, broadened views of luxury, and the acceptance of AI characters as human surrogates has set the stage for AI influencers to represent luxury brands with great success”

Mateo Cardenas, marketing leader at Audi with experience in companies such as Procter and Gamble and Cinemark, expressed his position on the subject: “Today, emotional and personal connection is something precious in luxury brands. A prestigious brand is generally synonymous with authenticity, and for that, you need true experiences. Looking at it globally, I don't think we're yet in a moment where an avatar inspires you more than a real person, a human connection. An influencer generated by artificial intelligence generates an artificial connection for you (which is easy to replicate or make "perfect"). It can definitely captivate a segment of customers and has a growing audience; However, I do not consider it to be more relevant than traditional influencers and I doubt that in the short, or even medium term, they will surpass them. From a personal opinion, I hope that human connections always prevail and are more successful than artificial ones; without detracting from all the great things that artificial intelligence brings us, a powerful tool with seemingly endless possibilities”.

Arturo Tapia Montero, digital Marketer and Engineer, specializing in creating Marketing Systems supported by data and Artificial Intelligence, mentioned the following: “While artificial intelligence is now an incredible tool that allows us to save time on tasks, it is still a challenge to be able to replicate attitudes and the treatment that a salesperson has with their clients. Even more difficult if we talk about selling luxury items, AI can help with technical descriptions, reasoning about the handling of some objections in the sales process, creation of fictional stories if we want to talk about sales supported by storytelling, but artificial intelligence still cannot demonstrate how a luxury item can make you feel, it cannot make you feel very important and exclusive, it cannot sell status basically. Only the body language, tone of voice, and presence of a salesperson can achieve that”.

Stephen Torres, master in Marketing and Commercial Management at ESIC and now an Insights & Strategic Planning Specialist at Red Bull also shared his input: "AI is going to be a tool for everyone and everything to be more efficient. I think that AI influencers can actually capture the essence and image of brands. There are so many examples of AI influencers like Miquela, who has over 2.6 million followers on Instagram, worked with many brands, and also was part of the Coachella team. This is just starting, and it's working amazingly, so being able to connect with the consumers should be achievable if the brand has a consistent marketing plan behind the scenes".

As you can imagine, the additional contributor had to be AI itself; when I asked ChaGPT about this topic, this is the answer I was given: "AI influencers can reflect the polished image of luxury brands, but they cannot replace human influencers. Luxury is built on emotional connection, heritage, and storytelling, all of which AI lacks. While AI offers control, adaptability, and global reach, it lacks the real, relatable experiences and personal depth that human influencers bring to the table and make luxury aspirational and meaningful. So, no—AI influencers cannot fully capture the essence of luxury. The future of luxury branding lies in blending AI's efficiency with the irreplaceable human touch."

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We all acknowledge the importance of the human component in interactions. As Brynne pointed out, your audience should know your storytelling is shaped by genuine people with truthful experiences, or you will only generate, as Mateo pointed out, an artificial, meaningless, and easy-to-replicate "connection." I agree that there has to be a human root and a strong essence that rely on real experiences that storytellers have seen or experienced to inspire their work and, therefore, be able to create stories that often end up feeling even more real than life itself. Still, we must remember that through the years, the world's creatives have made stories come in different successful formats with characters transcending their fictional realm: cartoons, comic strips, graphic novels, and video game characters that feel alive, just like you and me. The connections we make with those are far from artificial, and they also participate in the advertisement business. 

I agree with Arturo's argument that AI can struggle to sell a feeling as we are aware these personas do not possess such a thing; they are -at the moment-  only zeros and ones. Right now, some of the experts mentioned is too soon to see a change in how things are done; however, as we move further into this empowered digital age, the lines between the physical and virtual worlds are blurring, and I foresee that once individuals grow accustomed to creating their avatars or enhanced versions of themselves in the digital realm, the distinction of what is real and not will fade away (or stop to matter), and then, the familiarity with this type of beings will eventually make possible AI influencers to gain more ground; just like Stephen mentioned, there are already successful examples of this and as long as the brand has a consistent marketing plan behind the scenes, it should be achievable to establish a connection.

In an increasingly virtual world, even reality is negotiable. As Miyazaki insightfully noted, if we have a new generation of consumers who readily accept AI characters as human surrogates—and who already question the 'realness' of flesh-and-blood influencers—the stage is set for AI to play a leading role, not just in luxury, but in all brand experiences. Steve Jobs once said, 'The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.' But what if the next great storyteller isn't human at all? What if it's a virtually created character that composes narratives and has a lifestyle that echoes more deeply than ever before? It may be time to set our minds to welcome a future where it's not just the stories we tell that evolve—but who, or what, tells them: AI influencers.

Note: AI-generated image through ChatGPT, "hyper-realistic AI influencer that represents luxury and sophistication"

Are you interested in learning more? Don't miss my newest article, in which I discuss how premium pricing defines luxury and how you can adapt your price depending on your goals!

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Can AI influencers represent luxury brands?

• Yes
• No

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The ideas and perspectives expressed in this article belong to their authors and do not reflect the views of any organization or entity they are affiliated with. All brand names, logos, and trademarks mentioned in this post are the property of their respective owners. This post is not endorsed or sponsored by any of the brands mentioned.

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