The news: Marketers are pouring more money into AI-generated creator content—even as audiences show signs of fatigue, according to exclusive data from a Billion Dollar Boy report due to be released later this week.

Key insights: 79% of marketers boosted AI investment in the past year, and 77% plan to shift more ad budget from traditional creator content toward AI-driven campaigns over the next 12 months.

• Nearly three in four believe AI will expand total creator economy ad spend in 2026, suggesting it’s now viewed as a growth engine, not a cost saver.
• AI adoption is also near-universal among creators: 87% say they used AI tools more this year, and 86% expect to use them even more next year.
• The efficiencies are tangible—81% of marketers report better cost control, and 73% say AI-assisted content outperforms human-only work.

Yes, but: AI is clearly reshaping how creator content is made and monetized, but it’s also testing audience tolerance.

• Consumer enthusiasm for AI-generated creator work has dropped from 60% in 2023 to 26% in 2025, as feeds overflow with what viewers deride as “AI slop”—uninspired, repetitive, and unlabeled content.
• Still, audiences aren’t rejecting AI outright. Thirty-eight percent of consumers say it can improve content quality, and 41% credit it with increasing representation and diversity in creator media.

Younger consumers remain more open to the technology—40% of 25–34-year-olds prefer AI-enhanced content—but overall trust and excitement are cooling. That shift marks the end of AI’s honeymoon phase in creator marketing and the start of what Billion Dollar Boy calls a “post-AI” economy, where success depends on transparency, intent, and creative quality.

Zooming out: Platforms are trying to balance adding AI features while maintaining creator authenticity.

• YouTube’s new Edit with AI feature exemplifies the trend of platforms using AI to speed creator output and grow ad inventory—but it also risks worsening “AI slop” fatigue, flooding feeds with low-effort, lookalike content that could erode authenticity and trust.
• Similarly, LinkedIn’s BrandLink push reinforces the finding that authenticity now trumps automation—showing how creator-led, trust-based content can cut through the AI-driven sameness flooding digital feeds.

What this means for marketers: The takeaway isn’t to spend less on AI—it’s to use it better.

• Creators and brands that use AI to augment originality rather than replace it will retain audience trust and engagement. Efficiency gains can’t come at the expense of authenticity.
• AI has already made production faster and cheaper, but the next challenge is ensuring it also makes content better.
• Marketers should treat AI as a creative co-pilot—one that helps scale fresh ideas, not churn out more of the same.
• As audiences grow more discerning, campaigns that show a clear human touch will stand out in feeds flooded with algorithmic sameness.