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When cases started to pop up of AI-generated images winning art and photography contests, social media exploded with the usual debates.
After all, AI already has a tenuous relationship with creatives who are afraid of being replaced. Others don’t like the idea of the technology being used to deceive. And then there are those excited for disruption, sparking conversations about how high-quality AI-generated content might be used to marketers’ advantage.
One thing is certain: the rapid advancement of AI will lead to a massive abundance of online content. When it becomes incredibly easy to create lots of high-quality video, art and text, content creators and brands will take advantage.
What’s less certain is how this influx will impact the way we value or consume social media content. Will the bad actors using these tools chip away at people’s trust? Will the democratization of quality content make it harder to stand out on social media? Will a natural lack of quality control cause interest in social media to stagnate as a result?
In addressing these concerns, influencers may have a big part to play. Since TikTok’s discovery-based algorithms became the envy of (and model for) most major platforms, creators with big followings began competing with micro-influencers (influencers with a follower count within the range of 10K–100K followers). In fact, the relationship between follower counts and view counts on any specific piece of content seems less relevant now than it has in the past.
And it’s not just TikTok. We see this on YouTube, on Instagram with Reels and on Twitter feeds that now prioritize popular content over accounts followed.
But driven by the rise of AI-generated content, these major creators may find new roles and responsibilities as consumers look to them to become thought leaders and editors, perhaps even more so than the social media platforms themselves.
A new calling
Of course, not all influencers are suited to this AI content-filled social media landscape, like those who try to game the system, manipulate the algorithms to surface their content and jump on whatever the hack-of-the-day is to get reach. But for those who are focused on their craft and who play the long game of putting out quality content day after day, their stronger relationships with their audiences will be invaluable.