Gen Z mostly doesn’t care if influencers are actual humans, new study shows

AI influencers could actually benefit brands looking to connect with Gen Z consumers.

Credit: Noam Galai / Getty Images

A new study has found that Gen Z may value AI and authenticity on social media differently than older generations. Analytics firm Sprout Social’s 2024 Influencer Marketing Report gathered feedback from 2,000 respondents across the US and UK about their experience consuming social content.

Even as governments grapple with the regulation and roll out of AI, survey respondents were evenly split in their feelings about a brand working with an AI influencer. While 27 percent of respondents said they would be “indifferent” to it, 37 percent said it would make them more interested in the brand and 37 percent said it would make them distrustful of the brand. The report notes that 46 percent of Gen Z respondents, specifically, said they would be more interested in a brand that worked with an influencer generated with AI.

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The report also underscored a generational divide in perception around “authentic” marketing, which is of less value to Gen Z. While the report says that “about half” of Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers said they valued influencer authenticity, only 35 percent of Gen Z said they did.

So what do Gen Z care about? For them, it’s actually more of a numbers game. The report notes that 47 percent of Gen Z respondents said that they valued an influencer’s follower count.

Elizabeth is a digital culture reporter covering the internet’s influence on self-expression, fashion, and fandom. Her work explores how technology shapes our identities, communities, and emotions. Before joining Mashable, Elizabeth spent six years in tech. Her reporting can be found in Rolling Stone, The Guardian, TIME, and Teen Vogue. Follow her on Instagram here.

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