How are leading influencer agencies using AI?

Exciting insights from top agencies using AI

Author

Mike Newton
January 07, 2025

AI is opening up fascinating new possibilities in influencer marketing.

Have you noticed the buzz about AI in our industry lately? It's not just talk – there's something truly exciting happening.

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, over 60% of marketers are planning to use AI in their influencer campaigns. Even more intriguing, nearly 60% report improved outcomes from AI integration.

These numbers got me curious: what are these marketers discovering?

In this inaugural issue of the Influencer Ops Accelerator, I'm sharing what I've learned so far about how innovative agencies are leveraging AI. We'll explore:

  • The surprising ways AI is enhancing creator discovery

  • How AI enables agencies to scale campaigns while maintaining quality

  • The unexpected synergy between AI and human creativity

There's so much potential here, and I'm excited to uncover it together.

Let's jump in!

1. Creator Discovery and Matching

AI isn't replacing creative minds—it's amplifying them in fascinating ways.

Ed East, Co-Founder of Billion Dollar Boy, shared an intriguing insight:

"We see [AI] as an assistance to our creative teams…The bit which we have already started to integrate AI into is in the inputs of the discovery piece. So post-creative, post-strategy, we’re now searching for creators to bring it to life."

East's team isn't using AI for big ideas. They're supercharging planning and execution.

Since he didn’t go deep into details, here's what I believe AI-powered creator discovery could look like:

  • Content deep-dive: Finding creators based on content themes, not just metadata.

  • Trend-spotting: Identifying rising stars and emerging trends.

  • Sentiment analysis: Evaluating community engagement and flagging potential issues.

  • Campaign fit prediction: Assessing audience response based on historical data.

  • Smart outreach: Handling initial contact, freeing up your team for strategy.

AI is turning creator discovery from a time-consuming slog into a precision operation. It's not replacing human judgment—it's giving your team superpowers to find the perfect creator-campaign fit, fast.

2.Scaling Without Sacrificing Quality

The creator game often feels like a logistical puzzle. Brands demand more, while agencies juggle admin and ops work. Scaling up carries risk, scaling down hurts.

Thomas Walters, Billion Dollar Boy's CEO, reveals a common challenge:

"Prospective clients often come to the agency asking how they might manage their influencer activity at a larger scale – and how they can do so efficiently."

PrettyGreen's Sammy Albon shares an eye-opening figure: major brands require "50 to 200 creators per campaign".

Here’s where AI steps in to flex its muscles. Agentic workflows act as a force multiplier in the following ways:

  • Outreach automation

  • Contract management

  • Deliverable tracking

  • Content review assistance

The exciting result: tackling bigger clients and complex campaigns without team bloat or quality compromise.

And there's more. AI works 24/7.

Albon notes clients' appetite for "scaled and always on" campaigns. AI delivers:

  • Continuous, adaptive campaigns

  • Real-time data responses

  • Round-the-clock optimization

The bottom line is thrilling: AI-equipped agencies run leaner and more profitably. They allocate budgets smarter, keep costs in check, and deliver higher ROI.

3. Let Humans Do What Humans Do Best

In the influencer marketing evolution, AI isn't just a tool. It’s a new way of doing business.

Many wonder if AI will replace their team. The exciting truth: AI is making your team more valuable than ever.

Mae Karwowski, founder of Obviously, offers a refreshing perspective:

"You're not trading in your client services team for a robot. It's just making the process smarter and more efficient, so we can spend more time focused on strategy."

Open Influence's Aynsley Moffitt reinforces this idea:

"We utilize AI so that we can focus on the more important aspects of the campaign."

My take is: 

AI is in fact replacing your team, but only in ways they want to be replaced!

AI handles:

  • Data crunching

  • Trend analysis

  • Insight generation

Your team brings:

  • Creative thinking

  • Relationship building

  • Strategic planning

  • The human touch

In this AI era, we're discovering that uniquely human skills are becoming our strongest assets. The combination of AI efficiency and human creativity opens up exciting new possibilities in influencer marketing.

Here's what you learned today:

  1. AI supercharges creator discovery, turning a time-consuming process into a precision operation.

  2. AI enables agencies to scale operations efficiently, handling large campaigns without sacrificing quality or bloating teams.

  3. AI frees your team to focus on what humans do best: strategy, creativity, and building relationships.

Don't let this knowledge gather dust. Take action:

  1. Identify one area in your workflow where AI could make an immediate impact.

  2. Research AI tools specific to that area.

  3. Schedule a team meeting to discuss implementation.

The AI landscape is evolving rapidly. Start exploring now to stay ahead of the curve.

Thanks for reading this edition of the Influencer Ops Accelerator!

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P.S. Curious about implementing AI in your agency? Book a free discovery call with me now to get started.