Virtual influencers: The future of brand storytelling in India?

In a country where celebrity brand ambassadors once dominated advertising campaigns, India’s marketing world had a tryst with a new player: virtual influencers. As these AI-powered digital personas made their presence felt on social media channels throughout 2024, can brands ignore them for long?

Challenging the conventional norms in marketing, virtual influencers have been able to amass a huge fan following already. For instance, India’s first virtual influencer Kyra by Futr Studios has amassed 2.55 lakh followers on her Instagram page. Reportedly, Kyra has already collaborated with brands like boAt and Titan Eye.

Maya, another virtual influencer, launched by Myntra, has 1.69 lakh instagram followers as on date. Similarly, the virtual influencer Naina by Avtr Meta Labs has 4.15 lakh Instagram followers.

Just a few days ago, Collective Artists Network (CAN) unveiled Kavya Mehra, India’s first virtual mom influencer, who aims to narrate relatable motherhood stories. Already, Kavya has gained 1,300+ followers on Instagram.

Moving from just another technology fad with novelty value, virtual influencers are offering real business benefits in terms of sales conversions to brands in India. However, the use of AI influencers has also been leading to debates in industry circles, especially due to questions of authenticity and long-term consumer trust.

Globally, there have been examples of virtual influencers leading to backlash. Campaign speaks to industry leaders to know what they feel about the role and relevance of virtual influencers in brand marketing.

Harmeet Singh, chief brand officer-Asia South, The Body Shop: 

AI-powered virtual influencers present an intriguing opportunity for brands to innovate, especially in a tech-forward market like India. These influencers can be a viable strategy if implemented thoughtfully. They offer precision, scalability, and round-the-clock engagement.

However, authenticity is the cornerstone of our communication. Indian consumers value real, relatable voices that align with their aspirations and experiences. While AI influencers can add a futuristic appeal, the human touch remains crucial to building emotional connections and trust.

Moreover, the challenge lies in ensuring relevance and cultural nuances, especially in a diverse market like India. To make AI-first virtual influencers viable, brands and agencies need to invest in hyper-localisation, transparency about AI’s role, and integrating these virtual personalities with real-world causes or communities to create a meaningful impact.

Riddhi Chhabria Asrani, founder, All Stars Digital:

While AI-powered virtual influencers could be exciting, they are still far from building a connection with Indian audiences. Indians tend to seek authenticity and forge emotional connections that only a real influencer can provide. Even though virtual influencers can provide creativity, they cannot add the much-acclaimed personal touch or cultural understanding that connects with the audience.

AI-powered virtual influencers can undoubtedly work with specific brands from technology or futuristic sectors. Agencies should focus on giving virtual influencers personalities, backstories and cultural values that emotionally connect with audiences. And when clubbed with real user insights, their strategy can be unbeatable.

AI-powered virtual influencers offer a unique and innovative approach to campaigns. However, the AI persona should align with the brand’s identity and connect with the audience. The key is to strike a balance between creativity and authenticity.

Such digital influencers might take over the space in 2025, especially for brands targeting a young, tech-savvy audience. However, for virtual influencers to succeed, it is vital for them to emotionally appeal to the audience. I anticipate brands will use virtual influencers alongside real influencers to attain that perfect balance between innovation and authenticity.

Dr S Narayani, business head – Fortis Hospitals Maharashtra:

As a brand custodian, I recognise the importance of embracing new technologies to stay relevant with the community. While AI-powered virtual influencers are an interesting concept, they are not likely to fully replace human influencers, especially in India. Human influencers have a unique ability to bring authentic, relatable stories to life, making their content engaging and resonating with audiences.

At Fortis, we used an AI influencer to support our #FirstCallFortis campaign. However, since the campaign's focus was to provide accurate, fact-based information to ensure timely and effective aid during emergencies, we decided that relying on AI alone could risk spreading generic or misleading content.

AI technology is advancing rapidly, and we will soon have AI-powered virtual influencers that feel more and more relatable. However, for virtual influencers to genuinely hold interest and resonate, they need to be continuously fed with fresh data and real-time insights, allowing them to adapt and stay relevant.

In 2025, brands will likely use a combination of human and virtual influencers, to educate the audiences, either alongside each other or at different stages of the campaign, catering to a wide range of audience preferences.

Avi Kumar, chief marketing officer, FNP (formerly Ferns N' Petals):

AI-powered virtual influencers bring innovation and scalability to campaigns, offering brands the ability to craft consistent messaging and engage with audiences around the clock. However, in a culturally diverse market like India, users value relatability and authenticity.

While virtual influencers can resonate with niche segments by reflecting modern experiences, they may struggle to replicate the emotional depth and genuine connection that human influencers naturally provide. Success hinges on how well these AI personas are tailored to Indian sensibilities and storytelling nuances.

AI-first influencers can work if brands ensure cultural relevance, authentic storytelling, and meaningful audience engagement. Success lies in blending real and virtual, leveraging local insights, and evolving the persona based on feedback. Without these, they risk being seen as gimmicks.

In 2025, AI-powered virtual influencers in India will likely see experimental adoption by brands seeking innovation and novelty. Early successes will drive interest, especially among tech-savvy and younger audiences. However, their growth will depend on how well they blend cultural relevance, emotional storytelling, and audience engagement. Brands that can achieve this balance will set the stage for broader acceptance.

Dr Ravinder Varma, senior brand manager at RiteBite Max Protein:

AI-powered virtual influencers offer an innovative way to engage audiences, but they must be carefully tailored to cultural sensitivities. In India, where authenticity and emotional connection are vital to consumer choices, virtual influencers should embody relatable personas. For our brand, it means aligning the virtual influencer’s personality with the goals and challenges of fitness-conscious individuals while addressing their practical, real-world needs.

Virtual influencers can succeed with thoughtful storytelling and relatable content. To ensure viability and trust, brands must leverage AI insights for locally resonant messaging, create engaging interactive content, and maintain transparency about the influencer's AI nature.

Virtual influencers offer scalability, 24/7 availability, and the ability to deliver tailored messages to diverse audiences. As a brand, we are excited about the potential of an AI influencer campaign. While we haven’t launched one yet, we are actively working on a virtual fitness coach.

An AI-driven fitness coach or lifestyle guru could showcase the benefits of protein snacks through personalised tips. This AI persona would offer personalised nutrition tips, snack pairings, and workout advice, showcasing our products as the perfect partner for an active lifestyle.

Sharddha Sonavane, head – brand marketing, VIP Clothing:

When it comes to AI-powered virtual influencers, brands are just experimenting at the moment. However, it is important to constantly scrutinise to preempt any adverse impact that virtual influencers can have on audiences. We need to check whether the influencer is setting unrealistic beauty standards or whether it is making people feel intellectually inferior.

Virtual influencers can be a viable strategy for brands. The possibilities are endless. For instance, in the fashion industry, there perhaps never was a time when a product could be designed, tested, showcased, and experimented in so many different ways through virtual influencers. The audience can be interested and appreciate if new ways to market are used intelligently.

For marketers looking to try something new, creating intrigue and conjuring up a spectacular, life-like spectacle, virtual influencers can be considered. For the practical application of virtual influencers in marketing campaigns, a good marketer first goes to the drawing board and lists out objectives, expectations, and potential returns.

We use different channels and campaigns after studying the audience's needs and preferences. Like with any other marketing effort, brands will need to be certain that this is the best way to get their message across.