PRophet released AI Agentic Search for InfluencerMarketing.AI (IMAI) in May, introducing conversational search capabilities that change how brands discover and engage with creators. The new feature allows marketers to use natural language queries to find relevant influencers, moving beyond traditional filtering systems to deliver more precise matches in less time.

“Real value appears when AI connects briefs to full campaigns. That includes intent-based creator matching, automated risk and fraud checks, assisted outreach, and ROI measurement,” says Eran Nizri, founder and CEO of IMAI.

Eran, an experienced entrepreneur who founded the influencer management agency LEADERS before launching IMAI, has spent more than a decade working in influencer marketing. In 2024, both LEADERS and IMAI were acquired by Stagwell Inc., with IMAI now powering PRophet Influence, a component of Stagwell’s AI-powered communications technology suite. This acquisition brought together Eran’s influencer marketing expertise with Stagwell’s broader communications technology ecosystem, creating an integrated solution for brands operating in the creator economy.

The acquisition also aligns with Eran’s vision of using artificial intelligence to solve the most persistent challenges in the creator economy. “Most executional work, such as searching, vetting, contracting, and reporting, will be automated,” he explains, describing how AI is changing traditional workflows. “Teams will shift effort into community management and long-term relationships, integrating influencers as part of the brand community.”

Rather than spending countless hours manually searching for potential partners, reviewing engagement metrics, and negotiating contracts, AI tools like IMAI’s Agentic Search allow teams to focus on strategy and relationship-building.

The Power of AI Agentic Search

The interface moves beyond traditional keywords and filters to deliver dynamic, human-like conversations that help marketers identify the right creators with improved speed and accuracy.

“For marketers, this means transforming complex campaign requirements into accurate creator recommendations in seconds, rather than days or weeks,” Eran explains. The system’s conversational interface enables users to pose natural-language queries, such as “Show me fashion influencers in Paris with high engagement on TikTok,” and receive real-time, accurate results.

Key features of the AI Agentic Search include smart filtering, which automatically applies the most relevant filters based on user input, memory, and context awareness that remembers past searches and preferences for increasingly personalized recommendations. Additionally, it offers seamless native integration within the IMAI platform, requiring no additional training or onboarding.

Powered by AI technology and drawing from IMAI’s extensive creator database, AI Agentic Search evaluates multiple performance indicators to identify creators most likely to deliver results for specific campaign objectives. The technology doesn’t just save time; it enhances match quality by processing information in ways that enable marketers to make more informed decisions.

This launch follows IMAI’s enhanced 12-year brand safety look-back and advanced performance measurement capabilities, addressing the industry’s pressing challenges while expanding the capabilities of AI for marketers seeking precision, speed, and strategic insight in creator discovery.

Beyond the Buzzword

While “AI-powered” has become a ubiquitous term in marketing technology, Eran is clear about where artificial intelligence truly adds value in the creator economy.

“Buzzword use is anything that stops at vanity metrics and does not link to commercial outcomes,” he says, distinguishing between superficial applications of AI and those that drive meaningful business results.

According to Eran, the real value emerges when AI connects all aspects of the influencer marketing process, from brief development to campaign measurement. This includes intent-based creator matching, automated risk assessment, fraud detection, and precise ROI measurement.

The Human-AI Partnership

Despite the power of AI to automate many aspects of influencer marketing, Eran emphasizes that human expertise remains essential. Rather than replacing discovery teams, IMAI’s technology augments their capabilities, enabling professionals to focus on strategic decision-making and relationship-building.

“By 2030, agentic planning with predictive ranges and built-in safety will be standard in any language and any market,” Eran predicts. However, he also identifies potential pitfalls, noting that “the mistake will be treating engagement rate as a universal KPI.”

This insight reflects a thoughtful understanding of how metrics must change as AI affects digital interactions. As machine-generated content becomes more common, traditional engagement metrics may become less reliable indicators of genuine audience connection.

Future Outlook

Eran envisions a creator economy where AI not only streamlines workflows, but changes how brands, agencies, and creators interact. His perspective is shaped by more than a decade of experience in the field, from his early days at Allenby Concept House to his current role leading IMAI after the Stagwell acquisition.

“As AI blurs human and machine interactions, people will prefer video conversations, face-to-face meetings, and offline experiences that connect back to digital campaigns,” he says. “Brands that merge online efficiency with offline communities will lead and be successful.”

According to Eran, one of the primary effects of AI on the creator economy will be a shift in the relationships between brands and creators. As automation handles more of the tactical aspects of influencer marketing, both brands and creators can focus on building deeper, more strategic partnerships.

As a member of the Forbes Technology Council since 2021 and the holder of patents for matching market influencers with brand advertisers and ranking users in social networks, Eran has worked to improve the collaboration between brands and creators.

Global Expansion and Integration

IMAI’s roadmap reflects this vision of integrated, AI-enhanced influencer marketing. “We will scale agentic search [AI Agentic Search] globally, deepen campaign execution end-to-end, and launch commerce integrations with Amazon, TikTok Shop, and additional partners,” Eran shares, outlining his plans for the platform’s continued development.

The global expansion will make these AI-powered capabilities available across different languages, regions, and cultural contexts. This is particularly useful for multinational brands operating in diverse markets around the world.

For all the technological capabilities of IMAI, Eran remains focused on practical business outcomes. Success is measured not by the complexity of the AI models, but by their ability to deliver tangible improvements in campaign performance.

“Success means faster time to shortlist, better matches at equal or lower CPA, and transparent audit trails that let CMOs defend spend,” he explains, emphasizing the importance of accountability in influencer marketing.

With IMAI and its AI Agentic Search, Eran and his team aim to standardize new AI-powered tools to transform how brands discover, engage with, and measure the impact of creator partnerships. “Brands that merge online efficiency with offline community will lead and be successful,” Eran predicts, articulating a vision where technology enhances rather than replaces human connection.

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