I'm a man who created a sexy female AI influencer to make extra money. It's been harder and weirder than I thought.

• A man created a female AI influencer in order to make money after losing his job.
• "Kimochii" gained 43,000 Instagram followers with her racy content.
• But the creator doesn't interact with fans directly and this made it harder to monetize.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with the male creator behind AI influencer Kimochii. He asked to remain anonymous, but Business Insider has verified he created Kimochii. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I started getting interested in AI-image generation in the summer of 2023 while working as a graphic designer for a mobile app.