Index methodology · 09 OCT 2026

How we score

The AI Fame Index is an index methodology, not objective truth. Weights are choices. Here is every one of them, in plain language.

Fame Score

How big a character already is. Mostly audience size and how much their posts usually get liked, plus their single biggest moment, whether they keep posting, how long they have been around and how recognisable they are.

  • followers (log scale: 1K=0, 10M=1)30
  • avg likes last 12 posts (log: 100=0, 1M=1)20
  • max likes on any analysed post (log: 1K=0, 10M=1)20
  • consistency: posts in last 30d / 20 (capped at 1)10
  • longevity: max(days since first visible post / 730, (log10(posts)-1)/2.5)10
  • recognizability: 40% verified badge + 60% manual rating (0-5)10

Momentum Score

How much attention is happening right now. It looks only at the last 14 days: recent likes (we take the lower of two averages so a fading account cannot coast), the biggest recent post, posting rhythm, follower growth for new accounts, and how recently they posted.

  • recent engagement = LOWER of (avg likes, last 14d) and (avg likes, last 12 posts), log: 100=0, 1M=1. Using the lower value penalises accounts that are decaying inside the window35
  • top post likes in last 14d (log: 1K=0, 10M=1)25
  • posts in last 14d / 14 (1 post/day = full)15
  • followers gained per day since first visible post (log: 100/day=0, ~31.6K/day=1). Only when first visible post <=60 days old AND >=50% of posts were analysed; else 015
  • recency: 1 if last post <=3 days ago, linear to 0 at 30 days10

Index score

The overall ranking. It blends Fame, Momentum, Distinctiveness and how complete our data is, so a well-documented, distinctive character can outrank a slightly bigger but thinly documented one.

  • Fame Score35%
  • Momentum Score30%
  • Distinctiveness Score20%
  • Data sufficiency (0-1 x 100)15%

Distinctiveness

Four analyst ratings from 0 to 5: how recognisable the look is, how clear the personality is, how much lore there is, and how much the character interacts with other characters. Added up and scaled to 100. This is the most subjective part of the index, and it is labelled as such everywhere.

Data sufficiency

Five checks, each YES (1), PARTIAL (0.5) or NO (0): is the identity clear, do we have enough posts for Fame, are there recent dated posts, did we load the full history, and did we observe links to other characters. The average is the sufficiency score. Thin data pulls the index score down instead of being guessed.

Labels you will see

OBSERVED

Seen directly on Instagram: profile, captions, tags, counts.

INFERRED

An analyst interpretation of observed material, or a rule applied to it (relationship types, current phase, status).

UNKNOWN

Not verifiable from Instagram, such as tickers reported only by press.

Momentum labels

ON FIRE 80+ · HOT 68+ · RISING 58+ · STEADY 45+ · COOLING 25+ · DORMANT below 25.

Live status

From the latest captured post, never faked as realtime. Active today = posted on the capture day. Posting = within 3 days. Breaking out = posting and in a hot or rising phase. Cooling = a decaying phase or 2+ weeks quiet. Dormant = no post for over 30 days.

Definitions

  • Avg/median likes & comments = the 12 most recent NON-PINNED posts. Posts whose like count is hidden by the owner (Instagram returns a placeholder of 3) are excluded from like averages and counted in 'Likes hidden'.
  • Posts last 7d counts every post; posts last 14d / 30d exclude pinned posts and only count posts inside the analysed sample (lower bound when the sample is shorter than the window).
  • 14-day window = posts dated on/after 2026-09-25 12:00 UTC.
  • Engagement rate = (avg likes + avg comments) / followers. Engagement level: Very high >=5%, High >=2%, Medium >=0.5%, Low <0.5%.
  • Reel view/play counts are NOT exposed to non-owners on Instagram web -> not captured (UNKNOWN). Likes are used as the reach proxy.
  • Distinctiveness Score = (visual + personality + lore + cross-character) manual ratings (each 0-5, blue inputs) / 20 x 100. Ratings are analyst judgements based on the observed posts/bios.
  • Recognizability rating (0-5, blue input) = analyst judgement: verified badge, press coverage found (non-IG, see SOURCES), and how often other characters reference the account.
  • Data sufficiency = (YES=1, PARTIAL=0.5, NO=0) averaged over the five flags in DATA SUFFICIENCY.
  • Rankings (TOP sheets) only include rows with Inclusion status = INCLUDED; ties are broken by row order.
  • OBSERVED = seen directly on Instagram (profile, captions, tags, counts). INFERRED = analyst interpretation of observed material. UNKNOWN = not verifiable from Instagram.
  • Followers/likes are point-in-time snapshots (2026-10-09, UTC+8) and change hourly for fast-growing accounts.