How I Made a Fake AI Celebrity & Got Brands to Pay Me (No Face, No Followers)

 How I Built a Celebrity AI Clone & Got Brands to Pay Me (No Face, No Followers)

      - "Broke, faceless, and follower-less — but still got paid. Welcome to the Gen Z AI hustle." -

I Made $3K Selling to an Imaginary Girl in 30 Days

No gimmick. No clickbait. Unadulterated internet-era genius and a plunge into technologies now disrupting how people make money online. Here's the truth: I made $3,000 in a month by creating a completely AI-generated influencer — no real face, no starting followers, and definitely no marketing degree.

I'm not a technologist or an expert in social media. I'm a 21-year-old former college dropout who was jobless, broke, and burned from attempting to secure internships I didn't even care about. What I did have? Time, curiosity, and a good Wi-Fi signal.

And I took that and turned it into a virtual character who got brand endorsements, gained followers, and made money — while I remained in my hoodie, off-camera, utterly incognito.

This is exactly how I did it — all the dollars earned, all the mistakes, and all the tools.

SEO Keyword List

These are the exact words I've used to maximize this whole post and my outreach campaign. If you're ranking or attempting to gain traction, sprinkle these around here and there wherever you can:

     •  AI influencer

     •  make money with AI

     •  synthetic AI model

     •  faceless Instagram grind

     •  AI content

     •  passive income through AI

     •  Gen Z side hustle

Step 1: Creating Your AI Influencer Persona

What is the biggest mistake humans make? Rushing visuals first and defining the character last. I spent a whole evening crafting my fake influencer's personality — and it totally turned everything around.

Develop a Realistic Character

Here's what to pin down prior to creating anything:

    •  Name: You would prefer it to be unique, current, and not too ordinary. Mine was Luna Kaï.

    •  Age: Keep between 19–24 — most companies desire this demo.

    •  Location: Choose somewhere inspiring. I chose Paris.

    •  Hobbies: Make her relatable. Think journaling, skincare, thrifting, matcha lattes.

    •  Vibe: Soft-spoken, introspective, gentle — a la early Tumblr meets clean girl style.

I wrote it like I was writing a protagonist. Because that's what this is — a narrative people can follow.

Step 2: Building Your AI Model (Images, Voice, Videos)

This section was truly mind-blowing. We're at a point now where we can create photorealistic humans, voice them, and make them come alive by animating them into talking videos. Here's the process I used to create Luna.

Image Generation

Tools I Used:

     •  Midjourney (V6) to generate the background image

     •  Remini to enhance it into something selfie-like

     •  Canva for post and feed design

Prompt Sample:

 - "Portrait of a Gen Z woman, soft freckles, natural makeup, Parisian street style, DSLR depth, cozy lighting" -

After generating a few base faces in Midjourney, I enhanced my top picks in Remini. The difference? Insane. It made her look like someone who actually took the photos on an iPhone.

Next, I designed 3–5 Canva carousels of quotes, highlight book covers, and moodboard graphics to populate her profile.

Voice Creation

Tools I Used

     •  ElevenLabs for premium AI voices

     •  Murf.ai for editing and long scripts

I wrote short headings like:

      - "Skincare is how I slow down." -

Then layered her voice over reels and stories. It was calming, soft, and kind of hypnotic — exactly what performs well in the niche I was targeting.

Video Production

Tools I Used:

      •  HeyGen for lip-synced AI avatar videos

      •  CapCut to insert transitions, overlays, and a soft filter

The secret was to keep it short. Short video clips of "her" journaling in her diary, sipping tea, or showing off a product — with narration. Simple cuts. No pitches.

Tools & Resources Table

Tool	What It Does	Link
Midjourney	Create hyper-realistic images	https://midjourney.com
Remini	AI-enhance and upscale selfies	https://remini.ai
ElevenLabs	Generate realistic AI voice	https://elevenlabs.io
HeyGen	Talking AI videos (avatars)	https://www.heygen.com
Canva	Design carousels & story posts	https://canva.com
ManyChat	Set up automated DMs & comments	https://manychat.com
CapCut	Reel/video editing with effects	https://capcut.com

"just copy and paste Link"

Step 3: Creating an Account from Scratch

If you think that you have to go viral to grow, reconsider. You just have to look natural and normal.

My 0 to 12.4K Followers in 30 Days Plan

    •  Posted visual reels on a 48-hour interval

    •  Provided extra voiceovers for tales 3–4 times weekly

    •  Commented on popular pages within her niche

    •  Utilized ManyChat to auto-respond to DMs with links

    •   Hashtag blending: 2 trending, 3 niche, 5 micro-niche per post

My hashtag formula:

#genzinfluencer

#softaesthetic

#parisvibes

#facelesshustle

#moodycontent

I never pursued virality. I created loops: reels → stories → comments → replies → more engagement.

Step 4: Monetizing Your AI Influencer

Brands crave content. And they don't so much care who created it — as long as it's desirable.

How I Made My First $3,000

    •  $500 from a natural skincare business (2 reels)

    •  $800 from a UGC agency for product videos on hand

    •  $1,700 from a wellness brand for reels + story + moodboard

I placed "Luna" as an emerging Gen Z influencer. After I had 10+ posts and a couple of reels set up, I began pitching brands.

Case Study Analysis

Client: Health startup   Deliverables: 2 reels, 1 story   Timeline: 5 days   Flat rate: $1,700

DM Most of Time I Sent:

  - "Hey! I'm Luna Kaï, Parisian Gen Z influencer who loves skincare and dreamy atmospheres. I've noticed your brand — would love to chat with you about a dreamy campaign." -

They loved the pitch. I recorded the content on CapCut and HeyGen, and was paid through PayPal under my LLC.

Outreach Templates

DM Template 

  - "Hello [brand name], I am a lifestyle content creator with a soft feed aesthetic. If you're looking for collabs or UGC photos — I'd love to talk to you about making something happen." -

Email Template

Topic: Let's Collab — GenZ Aesthetic Creator

Hello [Brand],

Hi, I'm [Your AI Name], a Gen Z creator from [City], and my niche is aesthetic reels, wellness, and skincare. They are fond of soft-core storytelling and are inclined towards peaceful visuals.

Would be happy to develop UGC or co-create content for your future campaign.

IG: @[handle]

Thanks a lot,

[Your AI Persona Name]

Mistakes to Avoid

    •  Don't make everything too neat – that's a warning sign

    •  Rotate outreach messages to avoid spam flags

    •  Use a business name on contracts rather than a made-up person

    •  Be wary of AI tools that watermark or preserve metadata

    •  Alternate gritty tales and quote posts in order to generate realism

Motivation for Broke Gen Z Hustlers

I know that feeling of being on your bed at 2AM, tired, broke, and swiping through TikToes of people who appear to be lightyears ahead.

This side business did not need fame, talent, or luck. Some time spent learning and experimenting. I went from zero to thousands by inventing a character that didn't exist — and the only thing holding you back is procrastination.

Don't wait. Don't overthink. You may be camera-shy, socially awkward, or just plain invisible — and still make something genuine.

You just have to start.

  - Your online persona may prosper despite your real life appearing to stand still. -

TL;DR — Key Takeaways

  1. You can make an AI influencer and get paid without ever being on camera.

  2. The secret is to create a plausible personality and aesthetic brand.

  3. Employ tools like Midjourney, Remini, HeyGen, and CapCut to create all the content.

  4. Prioritize simplicity and plain growth loops — not virality. 

  5. Monetize with UGC provides shoutouts, affiliate links, content resale, and offers. 

This is no longer a dream — it's a blueprint. Create your own Luna. And when you do, make her unforgettable.

Thank You