Generative AI has rapidly transitioned from a buzzword to an essential tool for creatives, enhancing various stages of the creative process, from ideation through to execution. This shift is particularly evident in the creator economy, where content production is intensive, and audiences are young and tech-savvy. The adoption of generative AI has become a competitive necessity, with those not leveraging it falling behind their peers who are gaining critical insights and advantages from its use.
Our research, encompassing over 6,000 creators, consumers, and marketers across the US and UK, reveals that almost every creator (91%) now regularly uses generative AI in their content creation. Similarly, a significant proportion of marketers have commissioned AI-designed creator content. The data underscores the profound and growing influence of AI on the creator economy.
Positive Reception and Real-World Impact
Generative AI's influence on the creator economy is overwhelmingly seen as a positive, with 75% of marketers and 69% of creators agreeing. This sentiment is likely a result of the positive engagements that four out of five creators report on their AI-designed content, with our own analysis supporting this finding: across three AI-driven campaigns conducted by Billion Dollar Boy, we found consumer engagement rated two to five times higher than average.
Consumers are more divided on the positive influence of generative AI, although they remain more positive (34%) than negative (18%). Consumers have expressed the benefits through the prism of greater diversity and quality of creative assets, with 35% of consumers agreeing and only 19% disagreeing.
Drivers of Generative AI’s Success
Our exploration of generative AI in the creator economy has demonstrated that it particularly excels in creating captivating designs that stand out in crowded digital environments.
Its unlimited creative potential allows brands to express their identities in novel ways, beyond the realms of possibility in the real world. This is a particularly useful use case when expressing intangible or conceptual products like fragrances.
AI’s ability to produce multiple versions of assets at speed and scale also helps brands to address creative fatigue, helping them meet the demand for more content without significantly increasing investment or workload.
Tools and Adoption
As creators become increasingly familiar with using the technology, their confidence in it grows. This is translating into a growing exploration of other emerging tools.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, our research found that ChatGPT (46%) and Google AI (39%) are the most popular AI tools, typically used for tasks like script and caption writing.
But the findings also unveiled a significant number of creators are using more progressive image editing tools for creative functions like Photoshop's Generative Fill (33%) and Adobe Premiere Pro (31%), along with DALL-E (21%), MidJourney (20%), Descript (20%), and Runway ML (18%). These tools enable creators to push the boundaries of their work, enhancing both the quality and diversity of their output. The data also suggests that creators are using or exploring multiple tools at the same time.
Internally, within Billion Dollar Boy, our creative team is using a range of tools to help us translate intangible ideas in our heads to brands on screen. For example, MidJourney has streamlined the ideation process and brought creative ideas to life, creating detailed mock-ups or storyboards; meanwhile, ElevenLabs has helped us to create AI generated Voice Overs and draft versions of branded audio.
Challenges and Future Prospects
Despite the enthusiasm for generative AI in the creator economy, there are concerns about its potential oversaturation in the market. While 82% of creators agree that AI will speed up content creation and 79% believe it will reduce their workload, there is a risk of prioritising quantity over quality. The key to navigating this challenge lies in strategic and thoughtful use of AI, ensuring that outputs are vibrant and engaging rather than generic.
The future of the creator economy looks promising, with 70% of marketers planning to increase their spending on AI-generated content in the next year, and 65% intending to reallocate budgets from other marketing channels. This investment will likely enhance the quality and diversity of creative outputs, benefiting consumers and fostering a more dynamic and inclusive creator economy.
This uptick in investment means the emphasis is now shifting from early adoption of AI to best-in-class adoption. Success will come to those who refine their AI-generated content to align with their brand identity, resonate with their audience, and add genuine value.
By Henry Crisp, Associate Creative Director at Billion Dollar Boy
