Read Creator Economy’s Coming of Age Moment, a special package that analyzes the risks influencers and the brands they work with face today and how they can evolve to suit the market.
When Claire Hunter launched her fashion-focused Instagram account, The Endless Hunt, in November 2025, she knew her approach wasn’t in line with trends.
Created to support her personal shopping business, the account focuses on emerging designers and niche aesthetics, from small jewelry labels like Sophie Bille Brahe and Kano to stand collar jackets and zebra stripes. But back then, social media was full of sameness. Shoppers and creators were jumping on the viral microtrend and sharing their ducks. Still, she received message after message from her followers telling her they liked her content and how refreshing it was.
“People want to support up-and-coming talent and discover brands that don’t have a lot of presence on the internet yet,” Hunter said, adding that her most popular videos are those featuring lesser-known designers.
As feeds become increasingly filled with AI-generated content (often referred to in less favorable terms as “AI slop”), influencers who create human connections with their followers seem poised to act as an antidote.
But navigating the wave of AI expansion in content, shopping recommendations, and more will present unique challenges. Creators are not only competing with other posts in their feeds, but also with the growing capabilities of platforms like LLMs like ChatGPT and Daydream, an AI-powered shopping search engine. To stay relevant, creators should emphasize their unique points of view rather than following trends and strive to build on the trust they have with their followers.
“AI doesn’t understand taste,” says LJ Northington, founder of Aesthetic, an AI-powered creator shopping platform. “There’s a magic to that, where humans can really understand how other humans feel when they wear that clothing.”
But AI isn’t the only thing creators will be competing with. As with any profession, they need to be comfortable using AI tools to support their workflow. And AI-driven startups are proliferating, helping with everything from matching brands with influencers to automating social media campaigns.
Reliable sense maker
As consumers are exposed to content and options from a myriad of brands, not to mention the brands that create ducks, AI has become a critical tool for filtering out the noise and narrowing down the entire internet’s valuable options to a select few for a given search.
However, while nearly three-quarters of consumers now use AI while shopping, according to a global study by risk intelligence firm Riskified, AI remains primarily a research tool used to compare prices and product attributes. Only 13% actively used it to make purchases. “Searching with a tool like ChatGPT means considering all your options,” says Vicky Boudreau, founder of influencer marketing platform Heylist.
Influencers, on the other hand, are often the last step before purchasing. Hunter gave the example of a shopper deciding between two coats. They are more likely to choose the one that has the support of the creator.
“Creators are that thread of trust, the last filter before someone clicks buy,” Hunter said. “The last person is the one who lets them overcome the hurdle and gives them permission to buy the work.”
As AI-generated content becomes more sophisticated and increasingly difficult to distinguish from human images and videos, content from creators that consumers already know and trust will likely become even more influential, Boudreau said.
However, this is not without its challenges. Especially as LLMs like Google’s Gemini and ChatGPT roll out more tools designed to facilitate checkout via AI, and more brands invest in agent AI bots that can shop on behalf of consumers.
Creators need to further differentiate themselves to maintain their position as the trusted guide to purchasing. That means staying ahead of the curve and providing education on niche brands and aesthetics that may not yet have captured the attention of your audience. This means viewers won’t want to use AI to search for them. You can also delve into your own sense of style while showing viewers how to mix and match unexpected pieces, like self-proclaimed “wardrobe whisperer” Sarah Corbett Winder, known for her funky and colorful pattern combinations.
“The creator economy will shift more towards curators” rather than just “someone who can get in front of the camera and create content,” Northington said.
AI as a facilitator, not a replacement
AI also has a lot of potential for creators, especially as tools to support their work, such as video and script editing and brainstorming. However, there must be limits to these uses. The worst-case scenario is that the AI-assisted content feels generic or compatible with the “slop” already present in your feed.
“In 2026, viewers will be very focused on nuance: the lived experience of the creator, the sense of humor, the rhythm,” said Idalia Sarsamendi, founder of creator consulting firm Idalia.
Creators can instead leverage an AI-driven platform that allows them to operate more efficiently and monetize their content more easily. New startups and established influencer marketing companies alike are rolling out new tools and services that incorporate AI. Heylist, Fohr, Agentio, and Statusphere all use AI to connect brands with creators related to their expertise, simplify campaign management, and measure performance. Other companies, such as affiliate platforms ShopMy and LTK, are incorporating AI into the process to automatically update online shopfronts with shopping recommendations that are most relevant to consumers, making them more likely to make a purchase.
Some tools, like Aesthetic’s FindGPT, try to bridge the gap between creators and AI platforms, allowing creators to earn a cut of purchases inspired by their content, even if the items are unlinked or similar but not an exact match.
Given the rapid growth of both the creator economy and AI technology, we are likely to see more platforms that blend the two in the future.
“We want to help people use AI not as a writer but as a taste amplifier and facilitator – a custodian,” Northington said.
