Itana is one of the world's most popular AI models, known for her stylish pink hair.

The BBC's cyber correspondent Joe Tidy reports.

A photo shoot with no model.

She's not late though, she doesn't exist.

Itana is an AI model.

Since she was created around a year ago, she's amassed a big following and is making thousands a month for her Barcelona-based agency.

We intend to always try to make it as similar as what an influencer would do.

We take a picture with me in the image and we have to replace it with AI, so we have to play a little bit with lights and shadows to make it as real as possible.

Maybe Barcelona as a background is going to be more interesting.

Touch-ups used to take around a day, but now it's a few hours because of how the AI has improved so much.

Here's the final product.

The studio says they can get thousands of pounds a month for sponsored posts and endorsements with Itana.

Her virtual life is built for her mostly male fans, a key demographic for these AI models.

Some find the message they're sending to boys and girls troubling.

I see huge issues with the rise of AI models and influencers.

I think they're setting an unrealistic beauty standard that is close enough to being real that a lot of people who follow them don't realise they're not real, especially teenagers, young teen girls.

Itana is marketed as a fitness-loving woman who lives a healthy lifestyle.

She's even been sponsored by nutrition and sports brands.

Is there a problem where you're promoting a body image of someone that is, you know, in many ways perfect, and there are some people, some of your followers, that say, I wish I had that body?

In the beginning we tried to make more curvy models, for example, or more not standardised models, and clients didn't like that.

But you can see this everywhere in publicity.

Comparing her to the rest of the influencers, she looks the same as the rest.

The agency started creating more models with more diverse looks, including some men too, although apparently marketeers aren't as interested in male AI models.

The latest project is for a major car company.

The brief is to design an AI model to be the face for an in-car AI voice assistant, a very 2024 assignment.

Joe Tidy, BBC News.