Rumor mill: TikTok working on ad deals for virtual influencers

While a potential ban or divest ultimatum looms, TikTok continues to innovate. The Information reports that the platform has been speaking with advertisers and agencies about AI-powered virtual influencers who may wind up competing with human influencers for ad deals.

TikTok touts itself as a platform where creators can stand out and build a following. But the company has begun discussing with advertisers an artificial intelligence-powered feature that would generate avatars to star in videos—virtual influencers that would potentially compete with human creators for ad deals.

The feature, which is still under development and could change, would generate a script for a video ad based on a prompt submitted by the advertiser, as well as an AI-generated influencer to perform in the video, according to an advertiser who has seen plans for the tool. TikTok Shop merchants could also use the AI influencer tool to promote their goods, said two other people told about the idea by TikTok staff.

Full story at The Information or MediaPost.