AI blogger in Australia gains 400,000 followers and sells non-existent recipes

A story is spreading across Australian social media that highlights the new risks associated with the use of artificial intelligence. A fictional culinary influencer has accumulated a significant audience in a short time and begun to derive financial benefit from their "followers," despite not physically existing.

Virtual influencer and his business

In July 2026, an account belonging to a tanned blonde named Kai Bradley appeared on Instagram. The character posted videos with recipes for healthy dishes and talked about healthy eating. The audience grew to 400,000 followers, which allowed the "blogger" to launch the sale of his own cookbook, Kai’s Kitchen. Despite the fact that characteristic AI artefacts are noticeable in the video clips — unusual body movements, food disappearing from the frame — the content is actively consumed. The videos receive thousands of likes and hundreds of comments from real people who perceive the author as a living person.

Customer complaints and investigation details

Journalists from the Australian publication news_com_au established that Kai Bradley is a completely virtual character. At the time of the investigation, he was selling a 67-page e-book containing 52 recipes. The journalists were unable to determine whether the appearance of a real person had been used in his creation.

Many buyers leave negative reviews. One of them, Steph, reported that she paid 27 Australian dollars (approximately 1,500 rubles) for the collection but had not received it even after several weeks. At the same time, she was convinced that she was communicating with a real influencer. Other clients complain that the book lacks recipes from popular videos, which is why they made the purchase in the first place.

Geolocation and content labelling

According to Instagram data, the account is managed from the United States, while the character positions himself as an Australian. Although the platform provides for the labelling of content created with the help of AI, most of Kai Bradley’s clips do not have such markings.

The problem of distinguishing reality from the digital

Against the backdrop of the growing popularity of AI technologies, the number of such virtual bloggers is increasing, making it difficult for users to distinguish fictional characters from real people. A study published in October 2026 in the academic journal Social Media + Society showed that experiment participants distinguished real photographs from AI-generated ones no better than by random guessing.

Another study conducted by the company Clutch in 2026 revealed that 86% of those surveyed had encountered AI content on social media, but only 40% were aware of the existence of virtual influencers. At the same time, such characters can be used not only to attract an audience but also to sell goods of dubious quality or fraudulent schemes.