The German National Tourist Board has created a perky AI avatar named Emma who can suggest travel tips in more than 20 languages – but the real influencers aren’t happy.

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) has unveiled its first artificial intelligence influencer. The virtual ambassador, named Emma, has been designed to promote Germany as a travel destination to international audiences around the clock.

Emma, presented as a tech-savvy Berlin resident in her mid-30s, shared travel experiences and inspiration through her Instagram channel @EmmaTravelsGermany.

The AI-generated influencer aims to combine technological innovation with authentic German travel experiences.

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Petra Hedorfer, CEO of the GNTB, says this development is part of the organisation’s broader digital strategy. “Artificial intelligence applications are an invaluable asset, providing supplementary technological support for our brand communication”.

Developed in partnership with agency Startup Creator, Emma utilises advanced deep learning algorithms and large language models to chat with followers in more than 20 languages.

By the end of the year, the AI assistant will be integrated with germany.travel and the GNTB Knowledge Graph, enabling access to real-time tourism data.

The GNTB insists that Emma has been designed to complement the tourism board’s existing influencer marketing efforts, which generated 148 million impressions last year.

Emma’s role is to optimise travellers’ customer journey rather than substitute authentic experiences and personal encounters in Germany, it says.

Yet, rather than inspiring wanderlust, it has enraged followers who see the AI influencer as a threat to real creators, reports The Daily Mail

by Olivia Palamountain | GLOBETRENDER