Success or failure in influencer campaigns often hinges on the careful selection of creators, a task that is increasingly being managed by artificial intelligence.
Dentsu has pioneered this trend with its AI-driven system called “Creator & Trends Studio” (CATS), which assists in making influencer selection decisions.
Since its launch in January, this tool leverages an API partnership with Meta and recommends creators by analyzing several factors, including their content focus, profile characteristics, and engagement with current social media trends.
Shenda Loughnane, global brand president at Dentsu X, shared with Digiday that the intention is to establish a framework that enables brands to effectively engage with culture through influencers in a systematic manner.
For Dentsu, CATS is integral to a newly developed “playbook” for creator marketing that highlights the cultural significance of influencers. The strategy encourages the use of paid advertising on Meta’s Partnership and Reels Trending ad formats to achieve measurable results.
Skincare brands such as Galderma and Elizabeth Arden are currently benefiting from this approach. Notably, the latter experienced a 14.3% boost in unaided ad recall and a remarkable 41% increase in sales conversions through collaborative advertising efforts.
“Brands must critically evaluate how they stand out in a ‘sea of sameness’ and strategically excel in an algorithm-driven environment,” said Loughnane.
Dentsu is not alone in leveraging AI for creator discovery; technology is becoming a crucial distinguishing factor among independent and traditional creator businesses.
Independent agency Later employs an AI system that pairs campaign briefs with potential influencers and predicts content performance based on historical engagement metrics.
“This offers a much more comprehensive overview and instills confidence that I will achieve a high Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) for my campaign,” remarked Scott Sutton, CEO of Later. He noted that the agency has been utilizing AI for influencer discovery for six months now.
This adoption of AI follows earlier technological advances in creator marketing processes. Initially, agencies like Goat, Obviously, Viral Nation, and Influencer focused on generating campaign briefs, before implementing AI to evaluate potential collaborators.
With the advent of discovery and selection tools, a significant portion of modern creator marketing campaigns is becoming automated.
For Sutton at Later, this transition is imperative as brands face a rapidly evolving market. With increasing numbers of creators involved, manual organization of campaigns is no longer feasible.
“Brands are keen to collaborate with more influencers,” he observed. “The mechanics of running creative programs effectively now necessitate leveraging a larger pool of influencers—generally smaller to mid-tier creators—in a more targeted approach.”
Walmart exemplifies this trend, now engaging “hundreds of thousands” of creators, as explained by Sarah Henry, the retail giant’s VP of content, influencer, and commerce. The selection process prioritizes engagement metrics rather than just follower counts, as she noted during her address at the ANA’s 2026 Media Conference.
Scaling such an approach would not be feasible “without overwhelming our team and our clients,” asserted Kevin Blazaitis, president of Creo. “On average, we are now working with 30 to 40% more influencers per campaign.”
Agencies implementing these tools assert that their teams continue to have oversight over AI-generated recommendations. Blazaitis even suggested that Creo’s Discovery Agent could help mitigate biases, whether political or racial, in the selection process.
“I don’t see this as replacing humans; instead, it provides them with a stronger starting point,” he explained.
However, this shift implies that the judgment, experience, and intuition once crucial for selecting creators is now reserved for high-profile collaborations.
Sutton indicated that for campaigns involving well-known figures or celebrities, closer attention remains essential. Yet, with the proliferation of nano- and micro-influencers, less intensive human involvement is often sufficient.
“In some instances, that level of detail is necessary,” he stated. “The combination of human insight and AI delivers the optimal outcome. But in cases involving large datasets, AI is exceptionally well-equipped.”
In summary, as the influencer marketing landscape evolves, the integration of AI tools is transforming the way brands select creators. These advancements not only streamline the process but also improve the effectiveness of campaigns. The collaboration between human oversight and AI presents a promising future for influencer marketing strategies.
