AI chatbots are the top channel for planned increased investment next year: 38% of teams are betting on this source of traffic

Budget allocation

38%

Share of teams planning to increase investment in AI chatbots next year — the top channel for planned spend growth

Reader Note:: Self-reported. This is the share planning to increase investment, not the share already investing, and it was recorded a year ahead of the spending it describes. Video marketing and paid social follow close behind at 37% each, so chatbots top the list by a single point - read it as a tie at the top rather than a clear winner. Chatbots are also a HubSpot product, and the report's calls to action point there repeatedly.
Evidence:: Stated intention
Vendor interest:: Moderate — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
Sample:: HubSpot surveyed 1,505 marketers in September 2025 across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, spanning seniority levels and industries; fieldwork run in collaboration with the research firm Datalily. The report does not disclose how the sample splits by region, industry or seniority, so every published figure is a single global average. It does report cuts by company size - small business, mid-market and enterprise.

Good for

Reading the mood, and deciding what to test yourself.

Predicting what people will actually do. Intentions and behaviour come apart.
This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
This is an aggregated or average number that covers very different cases. Real results in a particular segment may differ.
The source says how much it looked at, but not how any of it was chosen.

Nearly half of all marketers allocate nothing to consumer research in influencer marketing, and no one allocates more than 10%

Share of respondents by % of influencer budget allocated to consumer research and analytics before campaign execution
Budget allocation range	Share of respondents (%)
0% (no dedicated research budget)	48%
1-5%	35%
5-10%	19%
10-15%	0%
More than 15%	0%

TikTok and Instagram creator video pricing varies significantly, with Instagram typically being the pricier channel by follower tier

Sponsored video price range by influencer follower count, TikTok vs Instagram Reels
Influencer follower count	TikTok video pricing low (USD)	TikTok video pricing high (USD)
1K - 10K	$50	$200
10K - 100K	$200	$1,000
100K - 500K	$1,000	$5,000
500K - 1M	$5,000	$10,000
> 1 Million	$10,000	—

61%

of marketers plan to increase their investment in creator content in 2026

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

Typical macro influencer campaigns cost $8,000 to $25,000, while nano campaigns cost $400 to $1,200

Enterprise advertisers put 63.7% of their monthly Meta spend behind winning ads, against 23.0% at micro advertisers

Meta ads: share of monthly spend going to winners, mid-range and losers, by advertiser size (%)
Advertiser size	Losers (%)	Mid-range (%)	Winners (%)
Micro (<$10K)	31.5%	45.6%	23%
Small ($10K-$50K)	25.7%	39.7%	34.6%
Medium ($50K-200K)	18.6%	28.1%	53.3%
Large ($200K-1M)	17.1%	26.4%	56.5%
Enterprise ($1M+)	13.8%	22.4%	63.7%

71%

of organizations said their influencer marketing investment increased year over year