Will AI make influencers less popular?

AI is unlikely to make human influencers broadly less popular. A more likely outcome is that it changes which kinds of influencers perform best: AI-generated or virtual creators may win more of the polished, highly controlled, brand-safe, and always-on campaigns, while human influencers keep an advantage where audiences want real experience, personality, and trust.

In practice, that means:

• AI influencers can be cheaper, easier to control, and available 24/7.
• Human influencers still have a strong edge in authenticity, lived experience, and community connection.
• AI tools will also help many human creators work faster by handling editing, translation, scripting, and admin.

One important caveat: if an audience clearly sees that content is AI-generated or heavily AI-assisted, trust can be lower for some kinds of recommendations, especially product endorsements. Also, disclosure and labeling rules for AI-generated media are evolving and can vary by platform and jurisdiction, so exact requirements may change and it’s best to check the official source.

So the most likely result is not that influencers become less popular overall, but that the market splits: some brands will use AI personas, while many audiences and categories will continue to value human creators because they feel more genuine.