In Barcelona, a 25-year-old pink-haired model named Aitana receives weekly private messages from celebrities asking her out. She earns up to €10,000 a month through brand partnerships and a Fanvue account. But Aitana is not real—she is entirely generated by artificial intelligence.
Rubén Cruz, founder of the agency The Clueless, created Aitana after struggling to find reliable human models. "We started analysing how we were working and realised that many projects were being put on hold or cancelled due to problems beyond our control. Often it was the fault of the influencer or model and not due to design issues," Cruz told Euronews. The agency decided to build their own influencer to avoid dependence on unpredictable talent.
How Aitana Earns Her Keep
Aitana generates income through multiple streams. Each sponsored post on Instagram earns just over €1,000. She recently became the face of Big, a sports supplement company, and also posts lingerie photos on Fanvue, a platform similar to OnlyFans. In a year and a half, she has amassed more than 343,000 followers on Instagram, with thousands of views and reactions per post. Her creators say her monthly earnings average around €3,000 but can reach €10,000.
The agency has since created two more virtual models, including Madrid singer-songwriter Lia Z., who has become the first AI to secure a record deal. Cruz recounted an incident where a well-known Latin American actor with about 5 million followers messaged Aitana asking her out, unaware she was not human.
Bringing an AI to Life
Every week, the agency team meets to plan Aitana's life: where she will go, what she will do, and which photos to post. There are no photo shoots or wardrobe changes—just a combination of AI and design experts using Photoshop to simulate her weekend in Madrid, for example. "In the first month, we realised that people follow lives, not images. Since she is not alive, we had to give her a bit of reality so that people could relate to her in some way. We had to tell a story," said the graphic designer.
Aitana was designed as a fitness enthusiast with a determined, complex character. Her pink hair and gamer side reflect the Europeanisation of oriental culture, a trend the agency identified. Her name, like that of her successor Maia, includes the acronym for AI.
Market Disruption and Criticism
The agency has received numerous requests from brands wanting their own personalised AI models. "They want to have an image that is not a real person and that represents their brand values, so that there are no continuity problems if they have to fire someone or can no longer count on them," Cruz said. He also criticised the high fees of real influencers: "Kim Kardashian makes a million euros for an Instagram photo and she doesn't cure cancer. Nobody earns a million euros for uploading a photo to a social network, it seems absurd to me."
The agency believes AI models could democratise advertising by lowering prices and helping small companies. However, critics worry that unrealistic perfection may fuel body image issues among younger audiences, and that the sexualised portrayal of AI models mirrors problematic trends set by real influencers. The agency defends its approach, saying it follows the aesthetic already established by brands and human influencers.
As AI-generated influencers become more common, they raise fundamental questions about authenticity, labor, and the future of marketing. For now, Aitana continues to earn and attract attention—both human and artificial.
