AI vs. Human Creators: Who Wins for Instagram Engagement Rate?

Advertisers across all sectors are reckoning with the impact of AI on multiple aspects of their jobs. As brands start experimenting with using AI influencers for marketing campaigns, questions are swirling about what that means for human creators. While there’s no doubt that AI will transform the landscape, the robots aren’t taking over just yet. CreatorIQ recently released some research about AI in the creator marketing economy, including a look at top brand/AI collaborations and the resulting engagement rates on Instagram. In many cases, humans are still coming out on top.

• Aitana Lopez’s engagement rates for Instagram posts on Fortnite (4.5%), Nike (2.4%) and Patagonia (1.9%) all performed, on average, 1.03% below these brands’ respective creator communities.
• Lil Miquela's seven posts for BMW averaged a 0.6% engagement rate compared to BMW creators’ 3.6% average.
• Imma Gram’s 17 posts for Coach averaged a 0.3% engagement rate, well below the 4.6% average seen for other creators posting about the brand.
• Noonoouri’s Instagram posts for Warner Music Group averaged a 1.4% engagement rate compared to the 3.3% rate averaged by human creators posting about the brand.