Earlier this month, the Swedish-based music company Epidemic Sound published a report finding that fewer social-media personalities were using AI tools like chatbots or transcription software in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Epidemic Sound surveyed 1,500 creators who were actively monetizing their content, including YouTubers, podcasters, and social-media influencers, to gather information on current trends in the industry.
While 84% of the content creators said they were leveraging AI-powered tools and applications for content creation, the survey also found that usage of top AI tools had dropped year over year:
Here are the top AI tools currently in use by creators, according to the survey:
- Image or video recognition software: 46.5% in 2024 versus 64.9% in 2023
- Automated transcription tools: 32.8% in 2024 versus 57.4% in 2023
- Chatbots or virtual assistants: 32.2% in 2024 versus 55.6% in 2023
- Personalized recommendation engines: 32% in 2024 versus 53.9% in 2023
Tools like Midjourney and Adobe Firefly were introduced to make content creation easier and more accessible. However, out of the hundreds of creators Epidemic Sound surveyed, 48.9% expressed concerns about the quality of AI-generated content, 38.5% worried about lack of originality, and 33% were concerned about plagiarism that AI could bring to the table.
28.7% were also worried about the technology’s ethical implications, such as the risk of data privacy and proper crediting.
Creators are shifting strategies due to their concerns about AI
Some creators told Business Insider earlier this year that they had cut back on their AI use due to concerns about accuracy, bias, and online security.
For example, creator Noah Jennings said using AI to generate content designs was actually more time-consuming than coming up with the ideas himself.
Others, like lifestyle creator Joseph Arujo, had relegated using tools like ChatGPT for administrative tasks like formatting emails for corresponding with brands rather than creative work.
Meanwhile, the generative-AI tool Sora has alarmed some of the creators and filmmakers BI spoke with, with its high-tech text-to-video capabilities.
“Now, instead of starting from scratch, many will be hired to ‘clean up’ work started by AI,” Alex Piper, head of the production company Night Studios, told BI. “That means less overall staff and far fewer hours for the ones who still get the call.”
Other creators had stopped using AI altogether for reasons like a lack of inclusivity.
“We don’t have enough Black people working in AI and developing these tools, so that’s going to be reflected in the finished products that we see,” creator Kahlil Greene said. “AI has a long way to go before it’s at a place where people like me feel comfortable using it, and I don’t know if we’ll ever get there.”
