Clients are increasingly expecting guidance on AI from influencer marketing agencies

Vendor & agency management

Expectation	Agencies overall (%)	Enterprise agencies (%)
Strategic guidance on AI, automation, or new platforms	48%	52%
More focus on measurable ROI	40%	44%
Faster campaign turnaround times	40%	41%
Integration with paid media / cross-channel performance	38%	48%
Deeper creator vetting and brand safety protocols	38%	39%
Greater focus on in-person activations	33%	37%
No major changes	4%	2%

Biggest shift in client expectations of influencer marketing agencies vs last year

Reader Note:: This table asks agencies about the biggest shift in client expectations versus last year. Strategic guidance on AI, automation, or new platforms ranks first at 48% overall and 52% among enterprise agencies. Other major shifts include more focus on measurable ROI at 40% overall, faster campaign turnaround times at 40%, and integration with paid media or cross-channel performance at 38% overall but 48% for enterprise agencies. This is based on agencies’ recollection of change since last year.
Evidence:: Self-reported behaviour
Vendor interest:: High — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
Sample:: Survey of 1,723 respondents: 747 brands, 676 agencies, and 300 creators across 17+ industries and 9+ regions, conducted by Sapio Research in July 2025, with additional CreatorIQ research in August 2025.

Good for

A rough sense of size and direction, and deciding what to look at first.

Exact numbers, or saying that one thing caused another.
This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
The source says how much it looked at, but not how any of it was chosen.

Creative strategy is the top thing marketers want from an influencer partner

Hybrid (in-house + agency) was the most common way brands ran creator marketing

How brands manage creator marketing: in-house, agency, or hybrid approaches
Management approach	Share of brands (%)
Hybrid model (mix of in-house and agency)	37%
In house - using creator marketing software	24%
In house - no creator marketing software	11%
Partnering with agencies for ad-hoc activations or campaigns	15%
Full service agency	14%
Other	1%

62%

of CMOs identify finding the right external people as their biggest talent challenge

Our Substack turns the data behind these cards into full breakdowns: what changed, why, and what to do about it.

Brand safety and compliance topped agencies’ creator marketing challenges

Top Challenges for Agencies in Creator Marketing Programs
Challenge	Agencies (%)
Ensuring creator suitability, risk mitigation, or legal compliance	36%
Managing expectations from clients	35%
Finding the right opportunities for clients	32%
Demonstrating measurable impact or ROI	32%
Fueling creative and content supply chain for clients	29%

49%

of marketers plan to use a specialist influencer marketing agency to execute their work in 2026

48%

of enterprise agencies saw increased client demand to integrate influencer content across other paid channels