Digiday·2026-09-04

Future of Marketing: Brands want creators who can win over humans and machines at once

Two things drive creator spending now. Whether they move audiences and whether they move algorithms inside AI platforms. The second piece is moving fast enough that marketers are already building it into briefs, even though it hasn’t touched pricing yet. Right now, the focus is narrower. Understanding how a creator’s content shapes what an AI chatbot recommends, and using that to shorten the odds

Two things drive creator spending now. Whether they move audiences and whether they move algorithms inside AI platforms. The second piece is moving fast enough that marketers are already building it into briefs, even though it hasn’t touched pricing yet. Right now, the focus is narrower. Understanding how a creator’s content shapes what an AI chatbot recommends, and using that to shorten the odds