"Went to Coachella?" Turns Out to Be Fake... AI Influencers Earning Tens of Millions of Won

As the world's largest music festival, Coachella, is underway, a flood of social media content featuring the festival as a backdrop is being posted. Amid this trend, it has emerged that "AI influencers," who do not actually exist, are uploading content as if they attended the festival and earning profits in the tens of millions of won.

Images posted on Instagram by AI influencers Grannisfields and Lil Miquela. Instagram

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According to the UK’s Daily Mail on April 14 (local time), some AI influencers were found to be making over 40,000 dollars (approximately 60 million won) in profits during Coachella through subscription revenue and brand sponsorships.

These AI influencers post photos on their social media that appear to show them enjoying the festival or posing with famous celebrities, creating the impression that they actually attended the event. However, most of this content consists of AI-generated images.

AI influencer Grannisfields uploaded photos staged to look as though she was with celebrities such as Kylie Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, and Kendall Jenner. Lil Miquela, who has 2.3 million followers, also released an image that appeared to be taken in front of the Coachella Ferris wheel, sharing content that made it seem as if she had actually visited the festival.

As AI technology has advanced, photos and videos have become so sophisticated that it is difficult to distinguish them from reality, and some users mistake these composites for genuine images. Online, there are growing concerns about confusion, with comments such as "Many people have no idea this is AI." In the comment sections of these influencers’ social media accounts, users are reacting with questions like "Is this photo real?" and "I can’t tell if it’s AI or real."

However, industry experts note that this trend is becoming established as a new marketing strategy. They believe that leveraging major events like Coachella is highly effective. Louis Davey, founder of the AI influencer management company Pixel, explained, "From a brand’s perspective, it’s possible to achieve the same promotional effect without inviting a real influencer."

He added, "AI influencers are very likely to change the way brand marketing is done in the future, and the revenue potential is enormous."

The AI influencer market is indeed growing rapidly. This month, more than 2,500 people participated in the "AI Influencer Awards," where winners receive prizes of over 90,000 dollars (about 130 million won).

Meanwhile, the Coachella Festival is a major music event held in Indio, California, and this year, it is taking place over two weekends: April 11-13 and April 18-20.

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