Creators Have A Complicated Relationship With AI

AI has become part of many creators’ daily workflows, with most creators already using it and many expecting to increase usage. Creators use AI to enhance or market content, generate ideas or scripts, and in some cases create fully AI-generated content. The reported numbers do not capture how creators decide where AI belongs in their businesses. For creators starting out, AI can function like an unpaid business partner for tasks that are time-consuming, such as drafting contracts, writing captions and blog posts, and formatting content across platforms. This leaves less time for the core content creation that creators originally pursued.

"It's impossible to scroll through Instagram, Threads, to TikTok for more than a couple minutes without landing on a post from a creator who is sharing their favorite ChatGPT prompts or announcing that Claude Cowork is their newest team member. Artificial intelligence has quickly moved from a buzzword to part of many people's daily workflow, even for creators who job is to, well, create."

"According to Epidemic Sound's "The Future of the Creator Economy Report 2026," which surveyed 3,000 creators across the US and UK, 94% of are already using AI in some way. Nearly three-quarters of them expect to increase that usage over the next year. The creators who are using it are utilizing it's accessibility in many ways too from the 46% of creators who are using it to enhance or market their content to the 44$ who are getting AI's help to generate ideas or scripts."

"However, what the numbers can't fully capture is the nuance behind how creators actually think about where in their business AI actually belongs (and where it doesn't). For many creators, especially those who are just getting their business off the ground, AI had become the business partner they haven't been able to budget for yet. Creating content comes off as a lot of fun and glamour, but the reality is a lot of drafting contracts, writing captions and blog posts, formatting captions and content across platforms, etc."

Read at Forbes