A new report on the state of AI in technology marketing, released by Callan Consulting in April 2026, shows that artificial intelligence has moved beyond experimentation and is now embedded across most marketing operations.
The report identifies more than 70 distinct AI applications: from lead generation and personalisation to sales forecasting, market intelligence, and content creation.
According to the findings, two-thirds of respondents, who were senior marketing specialists and organisations, say AI has a “strong” or “very strong” impact on their marketing teams, double the level reported a year earlier. At the same time, half of the organisations have already restructured their marketing functions around AI, integrating it into content, research, campaign execution, and analytics.
However, creator economy experts warn that rapid adoption may have come without fully considering long-term implications, and that the first signs of backlash are already visible.
“The ad industry became a playground for AI tools,” said Donatas Smailys, CEO and co-founder of Billo, one of the largest creator marketing platforms.
“Early adopters rushed to integrate everything, but we didn’t and approached it more cautiously. A year in, the backlash against AI content is the strongest it’s been. Stepping back might be the right move now.”
Why Human‑Only Marketing Is Back
The report itself highlights a growing downside: overreliance on AI-generated content. Large volumes of similar outputs are already entering the market, increasing noise and reducing differentiation.
It warns that repeated reuse of AI-generated material risks creating “copies of copies,” gradually lowering content quality and originality across the ecosystem.
“AI is no longer a differentiator. Now everyone uses it, so the opposite is happening: human creators and real creativity are becoming premium,” added Smailys.
According to Smailys, the widespread use of AI-generated content has also shifted perception in advertising.
“When everyone started using AI visuals, advertising became ‘cheap.’ Even without labels, it’s often obvious what’s AI-generated, and it creates endless, low-quality content.”
Some brands have already begun responding to this shift by explicitly positioning themselves against AI-generated visuals.
Back to Human: ‘No AI’ is Turning into a Marketing Advantage
In a recent example, Aerie, a brand owned by American Eagle Outfitters, stated in a campaign that it would not use AI-generated bodies or people.
“When tools like Sora first appeared, AI content worked because it was unexpected,” said Smailys. “Once it became the norm, the impact faded. Human content is exclusive again. Brands that see this early are taking the lead.”
The report also points to structural challenges. While marketers report improvements in speed, output, and cost efficiency (in some cases up to 2-3x productivity gains), few are able to measure AI’s direct impact using standardized metrics.
According to Smailys, platform dynamics may play a key role in what comes next.
“Social media platforms that introduce clearer signals through detection, labelling, or prioritisation can shift value back toward higher-quality, human-led content.”
He noted that Billo has maintained a focus on human creators despite broader experimentation with AI-generated avatars.
“Our data already shows it. The shift back to human-first content is happening,” he concluded.
The report concludes that while AI will continue to expand across marketing, its long-term effectiveness will depend on how organizations balance automation with human expertise, as differentiation increasingly shifts away from technology itself and toward how it is used.
About Billo
Billo is the leading UGC marketplace founded in 2019 that connects brands with creators to produce high-performing social video ads. It is based in San Francisco, CA, and is led by the co-founder and CEO, Donatas Smailys. The platform combines the power of UGC content with a streamlined production process, helping brands increase brand awareness, drive traffic, and boost conversions with authentic creator videos on TikTok, Meta, YouTube, and other platforms.
