Creator Ad Spend Hits $37B as Marketers Lean on AI and Push for Better Measurement, IAB Says

Creator ad spend to hit $37B as marketers lean on AI for scale, says IAB

Creator marketing isn't a side bet anymore. U.S. ad spend in the creator economy is projected to reach $37 billion this year - up 26% from $29.5 billion in 2024 and nearly triple the $13.9 billion spent in 2021, per a new Interactive Advertising Bureau report.

The channel now ranks third in importance behind paid search and social. Nearly half (48%) of ad-spend decision makers surveyed call creator content essential to their plans.

Why budgets are moving

Marketers point to two things: personalization at scale and the trust creators have with their audiences. That combo is hard to beat for attention and engagement.

Top goals are clear. Building brand awareness (43%) and reaching new audiences (41%) lead the list. Nearly a third prioritize online sales and conversions, and 40% rank overall ROI as the top KPI - proof creators are being held to performance standards, not just reach.

The bottleneck: finding the right creator

The biggest friction point is selection. A third of advertisers say "finding the right creator" is their top challenge. Reputation (58%) and audience alignment (56%) are the top filters, but the ecosystem is fragmented - different partnership models, siloed budgets, and uneven standards make apples-to-apples evaluation tough.

Advertisers are asking for better attribution, consistent reporting, reliable creator discovery and vetting, and stronger audience authentication standards.

AI's role: scale with guardrails

AI is quickly becoming standard in creator workflows. Nearly three-quarters of buyer teams are using it now or plan to within a year. The top use cases: content editing (49%), creator briefs (46%), and content personalization (45%).

Still, 95% have concerns about AI in creator campaigns - especially the risk of losing human connection. Transparency, measurement, and standardization are also hot topics.

What to do next: a practical playbook

• Set clear roles for creators in your mix: awareness, audience expansion, lower-funnel conversion, or all three with distinct briefs and KPIs.
• Adopt a tiered creator strategy: a few flagship partners for brand equity, plus a deeper bench of niche creators for targeted reach and testing.
• Codify selection criteria: reputation signals, audience fit, content quality, past brand collaborations, brand safety checks, and sentiment analysis.
• Use AI with intention: speed up briefs, edits, and variants - but keep final creative approvals human to protect tone and authenticity.
• Build a measurement spine: standard UTM structure, link-based and pixel-based tracking, creator whitelisting, and post-campaign incrementality checks.
• Tie payouts to outcomes: blend flat fees with performance bonuses tied to ROI, conversions, or qualified traffic.
• Amplify winners: move top-performing creator assets into paid social and retail media with creative whitelisting and budget behind them.
• Strengthen audience authentication: verify reach and demographics, and compare against your ICP and first-party data segments.
• Push for consistency: align partners on reporting templates, disclosures, and content rights upfront to reduce back-and-forth.
• Plan for brand safety: define red lines, set review gates, and keep a crisis protocol ready.

Measurement checklist (use it every time)

• One brief, one KPI hierarchy (primary and secondary), one tracking plan.
• Pre/post creative testing for lift, not just vanity metrics.
• ROAS/ROI and CAC side by side with quality metrics (saves, shares, comments sentiment).
• Creator-level benchmarking to guide renewals and fees.

The bottom line

Creator spend is surging because it works - but it only scales with better selection, cleaner measurement, and smart use of AI. Get the process right, and you'll keep the human connection that makes creator content convert while gaining the efficiency your plan needs.

For the full context and standards work, explore the IAB's resources at iab.com. If your team is leveling up its AI skills for creator workflows and measurement, see our marketing-focused training paths here: AI Certification for Marketing Specialists.