From Fiction To Facts: Ai’s Role In Influencer Marketing – MG Empower’s Web Summit 2024 Lisbon Masterclass

Ai’s Impact On Influencer Marketing

Last week, the MG Empower team was in Portugal to join the Web Summit Lisbon 2024, the world’s largest technology event. Alongside 70,000 attendees consisting of fellow marketing professionals and tech leaders from around the globe, we were privy to some fascinating insights into emerging technologies. And stepping into the limelight, we hosted an exclusive masterclass – “From Fiction to Facts: AI’s True Role in Influencer Marketing”.

Led by Joe McElligott, our Head of Strategy & Creative, and Andrea Cortes, our Senior Insights & Strategy Manager, the session unpacked the myths, realities, and future of AI in influencer marketing. It was an eye-opening exploration of how brands, marketers, and influencers can use AI to revolutionise campaigns today—and anticipate its impact tomorrow.

Demystifying the AI Buzz in Influencer Marketing

AI is one of the most talked-about trends in marketing today, but with so many buzzwords, claims, and promises, it can often feel overwhelming. Opening the session, Andrea Cortes acknowledged this challenge:

“We’re not AI specialists – we’re marketers who’ve spent years exploring how AI can enhance what we do. Today’s goal is to cut through the hype and uncover what AI can realistically achieve in influencer marketing right now.”

Joe echoed her sentiments, emphasising the importance of grounding AI discussions in reality:

“We’ve seen AI tools labelled as revolutionary, but many still rely on advanced search or big data techniques. What we want to explore is what AI truly offers and where its limitations lie.”

Four Key Pillars of AI in Influencer Marketing

Joe and Andrea walked the audience through AI’s effectiveness and capabilities across the four main pillars of campaign development: Strategy, Discovery, Creation, and Measurement, with talk alternating between insights, sharing real-world examples and their perspectives on each area.

1. Strategy: Becoming the Thinker

Opening the discussion on strategy, Andrea explained how AI is often marketed as a tool that can deliver real-time insights and predictive analytics to revolutionise campaign planning.
“The claims are bold – predictive analytics, advanced sentiment analysis, even forecasting campaign results. But the reality is that AI is only as good as the data it’s working with. It still struggles with things like sarcasm, humour, and cultural nuances,” she noted.

Earlier, Joe elaborated on where AI can genuinely add value:

“What AI does really well is uncovering patterns in data and helping marketers make informed decisions. It’s not about replacing human creativity but complementing it. The creative spark – the emotional resonance – still comes from us.”

2. Discovery: Finding the Right Influencers

The session then moved the spotlight toward the discovery pillar, calling it one of the hardest areas to master: “Finding the right influencer for a campaign is often the make-or-break moment. Platforms claim to use AI for influencer discovery, but many rely on basic data scraping or API access. These limitations mean the process is far from optimal.”

Andrea painted a picture of the future:
“Imagine asking an AI tool something as specific as, ‘Find five sporty influencers in India with a 5% engagement rate who’ve posted about women’s empowerment in the last six months.’ We’re not there yet, but this is where AI could truly transform discovery.”

She also highlighted advancements already being tested, such as predictive UGC analytics, which analyse content to identify which styles and formats resonate most with audiences. While AI-powered platforms claim to simplify influencer discovery through personality matching and audience alignment, the reality is still more complex.

3. Creation: Ideation Meets Execution

The discussion then touched on content creation, when Joe acknowledged influencers have been slower to adopt AI compared to brands. “Influencers thrive on authenticity. If they start relying too heavily on AI, they risk losing the trust of their audience. That’s why we see brands experimenting more with AI in creation than influencers.”

He also shared examples of how AI can enhance, rather than replace, creativity. “AI can help with ideation – brainstorming campaign concepts or suggesting creative prompts. But the final product still needs that human touch to feel authentic.”

The discussion about the concept of virtual worlds and how influencers could embrace AI in new ways is actually one of the highlights of current conversations. “Right now, influencers are largely confined to the real world, but AI could help them create immersive virtual spaces that reflect their values, personalities, and creativity. Imagine an influencer’s idealised world where their audience can interact with them in entirely new and exciting ways—this could be the next frontier.”

4. Measurement: Unlocking Campaign Success

Finally, the masterclass touched upon how AI is making strides in measuring the impact of influencer campaigns. Platforms now offer advanced analytics tools to assess performance metrics, optimise content strategies, and even forecast future results.

AI can currently analyse audience sentiment, identify trends, and suggest optimisations for future campaigns. However, it still struggles to interpret complex human emotions in responses. As tools become more sophisticated, they could provide actionable insights in real time, enabling marketers to adapt campaigns on the fly and achieve better results.

The Human Factor: Creativity Meets Technology

As much as AI offers efficiency and insights, the session emphasised the enduring importance of human creativity. AI can process vast amounts of data, but it cannot replicate the emotional intelligence and relatability that humans bring to the table. “AI enhances, but does not replace”. 

By blending the rational power of AI with the emotional depth of human creativity, brands can unlock new possibilities while staying true to their essence.

Key Takeaways from the Masterclass

1. Cut Through the Hype: AI is a powerful tool, but not every platform claiming to use AI is delivering true innovation. Look beyond buzzwords to find tools with real capabilities.
2. Balance is Key: Use AI to enhance your strategy, discovery, creation, and measurement processes, but always infuse campaigns with human creativity.
3. Prepare for the Future: AI’s role in influencer marketing is still evolving. Brands and influencers that experiment with today’s tools while planning for tomorrow’s possibilities will stay ahead of the curve.

Watch the Full Masterclass

For an in-depth exploration of these insights, watch the full version of our Web Summit Lisbon 2024 masterclass on YouTube and learn more about how MG Empower is redefining the boundaries of influencer marketing with AI—today and tomorrow.