Let’s cut to the chase: AI is massively transforming how influencer marketing works. It now handles the grunt work of creator discovery, turning guesswork into data-driven matchmaking. Instead of manually hunting through Instagram profiles, algorithms scan performance metrics, audience alignment, and content sentiment to serve up curated talent lists. 

But as powerful as it is in pattern recognition, AI is far from infallible. It can't identify the diva who'll ghost your campaign or the creator who actually moves product.

The real AI revolution lies in the development of bespoke data infrastructure. Too many brands are still running creator programs like garage sales, scattered across platforms they don't own, with performance insights trapped in PowerPoints. Smart brands are building creator relationship systems that mirror their own CRM approach, creating searchable histories that reveal which partnerships actually drive growth.

Brands that still treat creator marketing as a side hustle will quickly find themselves on the bench. The winners are building dedicated tech stacks, centralising data, and leveraging AI to glean deeper insights that serve to amplify human creativity rather than replace it.

— Jeanette

Starting this week, public photos and posts from professional Instagram accounts will automatically appear in Google search results. Unleashed from the confinement of the app’s often unfathomable algorithm, photos and Reels are set to gain new visibility across the open web, opening the door to wider discovery, stronger organic growth, and long-tail visibility far beyond the feed.

The move is symptomatic of a broader trend in social media — long the case on YouTube, and instinctive amongst TikTok’s Gen Z warriors —  that sees audiences increasingly use their favourite apps for search. But not only. Beyond social media, AI apps like ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity are surfacing product recommendations, reviews and content within a more conversational and context-aware experience.

For creators, the shift transforms captions, alt text and hashtags into searchable assets, giving SEO a central role in the content strategy.

For influencer marketers, Instagram’s decision offers a new strategic opportunity: the merging of influencer marketing with classic SEO tactics. Content must not only be authentic, visual and story-driven to surface in AI tools’ search results, but structured and described in a way search engines can index.                                                                                                                                                                                    — Sophie

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