AI Personality awards launch with USD $90,000 prize

OpenArt, Fanvue and ElevenLabs have launched the AI Personality of the Year Awards 2026, inviting thousands of AI-generated personalities to compete for a USD $90,000 prize fund.

The programme brings together three companies from different parts of the AI creator market: image and video generation, subscription monetisation and synthetic voice tools. It aims to recognise the people behind AI influencers as virtual personalities become a larger part of the online creator economy.

Industry estimates cited by the partners value the AI influencer sector at more than USD $30 billion this year, within a broader creator economy projected to reach USD $1 trillion by 2030. One organiser said the number of AI influencers worldwide has risen from the thousands 18 months ago to the millions today.

That growth has pushed AI-generated personalities further into mainstream online culture. Some have built large followings, secured brand deals and started earning subscription income alongside human creators on established platforms.

According to Fanvue, AI influencers such as Aitana Lopez can generate more than USD $20,000 a month from brand partnerships and direct-to-fan subscriptions. The company argues that virtual creators are increasingly competing in the same market as human celebrities, with both appearing on its platform.

Judging panel

The awards will be judged by figures from marketing, entertainment and the AI creator community. The panel includes Andrew Bloch, Gil Rief, Sergi Cerrato and Kevin Van Witt, creator of The Monster Library.

Entries will be assessed on four criteria: quality, social clout, brand appeal and inspiration. Category prizes will also be awarded for AI entertainers, lifestyle creators, comedians, fitness experts and fictional personalities.

OpenArt says more than 9 million creators use its platform each month. That scale helps explain why it sees room for a formal awards programme around AI personalities, particularly as more creators use generative tools to build recurring characters and media formats.

"With such a large community of creators exploring the possibilities of AI on OpenArt, our platform is focused on democratizing virtual storytelling," said Chloe Fang, Head of Strategy & Partnerships at OpenArt.

"Our goal is to empower everyone to build a personality, a world, and a community around it, without needing a studio budget or production team."

Fang linked the awards to OpenArt's earlier work with AI creators.

"The overwhelming enthusiasm at our Summit in January clearly demonstrated the need for greater acknowledgment of this community, so we decided to launch the AI Personality of the Year awards with Fanvue and ElevenLabs."

For Fanvue, the awards reflect what it sees as a growing commercial model around virtual personalities. Subscription platforms have become a key way for online creators to turn audiences into recurring revenue, and AI creators are now entering that system.

"The commercial potential of AI Influencers is huge," said Will Monange, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fanvue.

"This industry is powered by imaginative individuals, creators who may prefer not to be public-facing themselves, leveraging AI to realise their visions and scale and monetise them on Fanvue.

"We're seeing AI Influencers across genres, from music to acting, sport and lifestyle, join the platform, engage with fans and monetise content."

Market shift

ElevenLabs' involvement reflects how AI personalities are increasingly built with multiple tools rather than a single generator. Voice, visuals and subscription distribution are becoming more closely linked in the creation and monetisation of virtual characters.

"This industry is moving at a rapid pace. 18 months ago the number of AI Influencers globally was in the thousands, but now we're looking at millions. The progress over the past year has been staggering, and we're excited to help spotlight and support the next wave of talent emerging in such a rapidly evolving space," said Matty Shimura, Head of Chroma Awards at ElevenLabs.

The market already has some precedent for formal recognition. Fanvue's World AI Creator Awards previously ran the Miss AI competition, which drew more than 2,500 entries. Kenza Layli, an AI influencer presented as supporting women in the Middle East, won that title and has returned as an ambassador for the new programme.

The latest awards suggest the sector is moving beyond novelty towards a more structured economy with its own tools, revenue models and industry markers. With prize money on offer and judges from both creative and commercial backgrounds, the programme aims to position AI influencers as a distinct category within the online creator business.