• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, January 9, 2025

Brands continue to struggle with getting the ideal generative AI-generated content in front of consumers that will entice them to make a purchase or at the very least, inquire about products through a click or search on their website.

Some creators are optimistic, while others have a negative opinion of the technology and how it works, despite the technology offering the industry new ways to imagine, produce, and deliver messages.

There is no shortage of creator tools from Adobe, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, X, Meta and many others, as GAI quickly becomes a staple in content creation workflows.

Collectively, an influencer marketing platform, surveyed 192 creators to understand how creators view technology such as GAI and AI avatars. One thing the study did not, but should have explored, is whether GAI can create leads. (I think it can, but not in the typical way marketers might think about lead generation.) Here's what the study results found.

Some 56.8% of the creators surveyed said they use GAI tools in their content strategy and planning, and 48.4% said they use it for script writing. About 22.6% use the tools for video editing, while 17.9% use it for image editing, including platforms like MidJourney and DALL-E, which have carved out their own niches. 

About 13.7% of content creators look to specialized applications for music and audio creation, while 7.9% use it to generate thumbnails.

ChatGPT took the lead with 111 mentions by respondents for its versatility in ideation and text-based tasks when creators were asked about specific brand types.

Tools like CapCut, Canva, and MidJourney also surfaced as popular choices, while platforms Runway ML, Photoshop, and Grammarly are being used for more advanced or specialized creative tasks. Some 20.5% of creators reported not using any generative AI tools, which is a bit surprising.

Creators are between three and five times weekly, with 10.1% having integrated GAI into their daily processes, and 19.1% reporting they never use GAI tools.

The survey also explored creators’ thoughts on AI avatars, an emerging trend in branded content. Some 30.8% of creators said they were not at all interested, while 28.1% were slightly interested, and 23.2% were very interested.

Some 17.3% expressed moderate interest, and 0.5% -- just one respondent -- had already had an AI avatar, demonstrating this technology remains in the early stages of experimentation.