A startup called Onix is building what they're calling a "Substack of bots." The concept is straightforward: pay to chat with AI versions of health and wellness influencers who can answer your questions around the clock.
These aren't just generic chatbots. They're digital twins of actual experts, trained to sound like the real person and dispense advice in their style. The influencers get a new revenue stream, and subscribers get on-demand access to expertise that would normally require booking appointments or waiting for content drops.
The business model mirrors Substack's approach. Instead of paying for written newsletters, you're paying for conversational access to AI versions of people whose advice you trust. It's a natural evolution of the creator economy meeting AI capabilities.
There's an obvious commercial angle here too. These AI experts can recommend products, which means the platform could become a new channel for influencer marketing. Whether that feels helpful or pushy will probably depend on how transparently it's handled.
For anyone using AI tools professionally, this is worth watching. It's another example of AI creating new business models around expertise and access. The question isn't whether this will work, it's how many other industries will adopt similar approaches.
The health and wellness space is a logical starting point since people already pay for coaching and personalized advice. But the same model could apply to business consultants, financial advisors, or any expert whose knowledge can be packaged into conversational AI.
