---
id: "question-ai-impact-on-authenticity"
type: "open-question"
source_timestamps: ["§ Originality: From Scripted Control to Storytelling Freedom"]
tags: ["artificial-intelligence", "future-trends"]
related: ["concept-co-created-authenticity", "claim-ai-can-enhance-originality", "concept-originality"]
resolution_path: "Empirical studies comparing consumer trust levels between human influencers using AI tools versus fully synthetic virtual influencers."
sources: ["attention"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-attention"
originDay: 4
articleStem: "hbr-foci-65-influencer-marketing-trust"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/12/how-to-do-influencer-marketing-that-customers-actually-trust"
sourceTitle: "How to Do Influencer Marketing That Customers Actually Trust"
---
# How will fully AI-generated influencers impact co-created authenticity?

**Open question.** The source notes human creators can use custom GPTs to enhance [[concept-originality|originality]] without losing authenticity (see [[claim-ai-can-enhance-originality]]). But it leaves open how the [[framework-5-dimensions-authenticity|five dimensions]] and [[concept-co-created-authenticity|co-created authenticity]] apply to **fully virtual / AI-generated influencers** — a growing segment of the $24B industry.

**Possible resolution path.** Empirical studies comparing consumer trust between **human influencers using AI tools** vs. **fully synthetic virtual influencers.** Enrichment context: research on virtual influencers (e.g., Lil Miquela, Imma) suggests some consumers accept them, but many still place **higher trust in human influencers**, especially for experience-based recommendations — plus risks of homogenization and undisclosed deepfakes.