New research from IAB Australia finds that 61% of Australians discover brands through creators, rising to 85% among those under 40. The “Creator Connect” report, released September 17 at an event co-hosted with the Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO) to mark IAB Global Creator Week, draws on four separate data sets spanning Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK, India and Mexico.
Discovery by Generation
The generational split is stark. Among 18-29 and 30-39 year-olds, 84% and 85% respectively say they often or sometimes discover brands via creators. That figure drops to 63% for 40-49 year-olds, 38% for 50-59 year-olds, and 21% for the 60-70 bracket. Self-identification as a creator or influencer follows the same curve, from 30% among 18-29 and 30-39-year-olds down to 8% among those 60-70.
Compared with New Zealand, Australians engage more on both sides of the equation: 61% discover brands via creators versus 49% in New Zealand, and 21% self-identify as creators versus 13%.
Creators sit inside a wider discovery mix. IAB Australia’s Commerce and Discovery Report puts search and online stores as the default channels, used by 92% of Australians somewhere in their discovery, research or comparison journey. Creator or influencer content is used by 48% of Australian online shoppers at some point in that journey, rising to 72% among 18-39 year-olds, with usage weighted toward the earlier discovery stage over comparison.
What Drives Action, and What Disclosure Costs
Reputation of the promoted brand (86%) ranks as the strongest factor Australians weigh before acting on a recommendation, followed by a creator’s expertise and authenticity, both at 84%. Seeing a creator use the product, discounts and brand fit each rank at 81%, while how entertaining the content is ranks last, at 74%.
Disclosure of a paid partnership reduces intent to act by a modest margin: 44% of Australians say they are less likely to act once a post is known to be paid, close to New Zealand’s 42%. The effect is uneven by age. Shoppers aged 50-70 are 10 points more likely than the Australian average to be turned off by a disclosed partnership, at 54% versus 44%.
Across five markets surveyed for the report’s Creator Signal component (Australia, the U.S., the UK, India and Mexico), everyday consumers with real experience were the preferred creator type for AI systems to prioritize, selected by 52% of respondents globally, ahead of professional product reviewers (42.9%) and subject-matter expert creators (37.1%). Celebrities and public figures ranked last, at 12.7%. A proven track record of credibility (45.8%) and consistency over time (39.9%) outranked audience size (20.5%) as trust drivers.
Australia Lags on AI-Mediated Discovery
The report identifies a gap in how far Australians trust AI to surface creators relative to other markets. Just 23% of Australian AI users have discovered a new creator through an AI-generated result they now follow, the lowest of the five markets studied, compared with 64% in India, 38% in Mexico, and 31% each in the U.S. and the UK. IAB Australia CEO Gai Le Roy said the finding leaves room for local brands to build trust through transparency rather than through AI-driven discovery alone.
Spend Follows Behavior, Unevenly
U.S. creator marketing ad spend reached $37 billion in 2025, up 26% year over year, and IAB forecasts it will hit $43.9 billion in 2026. Creator and influencer ads and partnerships rank as the single ad format U.S. buyers most plan to increase focus on in 2026, cited by 54% of decision-makers, ahead of demographic and cohort-based targeting (53%) and publisher deals built on first-party data (48%). Creators are considered an essential channel by 48% of U.S. brands, ahead of connected TV at 40%.
That spend does not track cleanly onto where Australians say creator content matters most. U.S. ad dollars concentrate in retail ($12.3 billion) and CPG ($5.5 billion), while Australians rank travel and experiences (31.9%), food, beverage and grocery (31.2%) and fashion and apparel (30.9%) as the categories where creator content carries the most weight in their own purchase decisions.
Le Roy said the findings show creator marketing has moved to the centre of the media plan. “This data shows creators genuinely shape how consumers find and weigh up brands. The job now is building on that through partnerships people see as credible and transparent,” she said. AiMCO managing director Patrick Whitnall said the research “confirms what our members see every day,” adding that partnering with IAB Australia “gives our members access to IAB’s global data and insight at exactly the moment influencer marketing and digital advertising are converging.”
Image source: IAB The full report can be found here
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
New research from IAB Australia finds that 61% of Australians discover brands through creators, rising to 85% among those under 40. The “Creator Connect” report, released September 17 at an event co-hosted with the Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO) to mark IAB Global Creator Week, draws on four separate data sets spanning Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK, India and Mexico.
Discovery by Generation
The generational split is stark. Among 18-29 and 30-39 year-olds, 84% and 85% respectively say they often or sometimes discover brands via creators. That figure drops to 63% for 40-49 year-olds, 38% for 50-59 year-olds, and 21% for the 60-70 bracket. Self-identification as a creator or influencer follows the same curve, from 30% among 18-29 and 30-39-year-olds down to 8% among those 60-70.
Compared with New Zealand, Australians engage more on both sides of the equation: 61% discover brands via creators versus 49% in New Zealand, and 21% self-identify as creators versus 13%.
Creators sit inside a wider discovery mix. IAB Australia’s Commerce and Discovery Report puts search and online stores as the default channels, used by 92% of Australians somewhere in their discovery, research or comparison journey. Creator or influencer content is used by 48% of Australian online shoppers at some point in that journey, rising to 72% among 18-39 year-olds, with usage weighted toward the earlier discovery stage over comparison.
What Drives Action, and What Disclosure Costs
Reputation of the promoted brand (86%) ranks as the strongest factor Australians weigh before acting on a recommendation, followed by a creator’s expertise and authenticity, both at 84%. Seeing a creator use the product, discounts and brand fit each rank at 81%, while how entertaining the content is ranks last, at 74%.
Disclosure of a paid partnership reduces intent to act by a modest margin: 44% of Australians say they are less likely to act once a post is known to be paid, close to New Zealand’s 42%. The effect is uneven by age. Shoppers aged 50-70 are 10 points more likely than the Australian average to be turned off by a disclosed partnership, at 54% versus 44%.
Across five markets surveyed for the report’s Creator Signal component (Australia, the U.S., the UK, India and Mexico), everyday consumers with real experience were the preferred creator type for AI systems to prioritize, selected by 52% of respondents globally, ahead of professional product reviewers (42.9%) and subject-matter expert creators (37.1%). Celebrities and public figures ranked last, at 12.7%. A proven track record of credibility (45.8%) and consistency over time (39.9%) outranked audience size (20.5%) as trust drivers.
Australia Lags on AI-Mediated Discovery
The report identifies a gap in how far Australians trust AI to surface creators relative to other markets. Just 23% of Australian AI users have discovered a new creator through an AI-generated result they now follow, the lowest of the five markets studied, compared with 64% in India, 38% in Mexico, and 31% each in the U.S. and the UK. IAB Australia CEO Gai Le Roy said the finding leaves room for local brands to build trust through transparency rather than through AI-driven discovery alone.
Spend Follows Behavior, Unevenly
U.S. creator marketing ad spend reached $37 billion in 2025, up 26% year over year, and IAB forecasts it will hit $43.9 billion in 2026. Creator and influencer ads and partnerships rank as the single ad format U.S. buyers most plan to increase focus on in 2026, cited by 54% of decision-makers, ahead of demographic and cohort-based targeting (53%) and publisher deals built on first-party data (48%). Creators are considered an essential channel by 48% of U.S. brands, ahead of connected TV at 40%.
That spend does not track cleanly onto where Australians say creator content matters most. U.S. ad dollars concentrate in retail ($12.3 billion) and CPG ($5.5 billion), while Australians rank travel and experiences (31.9%), food, beverage and grocery (31.2%) and fashion and apparel (30.9%) as the categories where creator content carries the most weight in their own purchase decisions.
Le Roy said the findings show creator marketing has moved to the centre of the media plan. “This data shows creators genuinely shape how consumers find and weigh up brands. The job now is building on that through partnerships people see as credible and transparent,” she said. AiMCO managing director Patrick Whitnall said the research “confirms what our members see every day,” adding that partnering with IAB Australia “gives our members access to IAB’s global data and insight at exactly the moment influencer marketing and digital advertising are converging.”
Image source: IAB
The full report can be found here
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