Brands
A Brand’s Guide to Influencers in 2026
Report summary
While a majority of people say there are too many influencers online, people are still following hundreds of them and deeply engaging with their content.
The landscape is changing quickly though, as the idea of an influencer becomes ubiquitous, and AI becomes a bigger part of the social media and content creation experience. As the technology evolves, consumers are looking for transparency around how content is made, and who is funding it.
Morning Consult’s report A Brand’s Guide to Influencers in 2026 explores the evolving relationship between consumers and the influencers they give their attention to. Based on two surveys — one conducted among 2,253 U.S. adults and one conducted among 1,050 Gen Zers — this report provides insights for brands who are developing, evaluating or evolving their influencer strategy.
Key Takeaways
- Social media is still an influencers’ playground: Most consumers associate influencers with social media creators but as the term becomes ubiquitous, expanding to platforms like podcasting, it’s losing some specificity.
- Influencer fatigue is real: People may be following hundreds of influencers, but more than half of adults say there are too many out there, signaling a growing fatigue.
- Long form video is deepening connections: Many Gen Zers and men say that long form video is their preferred influencer content type, resulting in a greater feeling of connection and understanding with the influencers they follow.
- AI use is expected, but so is transparency: Social media users aren’t surprised when the influencers they use leverage AI to create content, but they expect more transparency than they’re getting about its use.
Data Downloads
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Methodology
The data in this report draws from two surveys conducted Aug. 4-9, 2025, the first among 2,253 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points and the other among 1,050 Gen Zers, with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
The survey interviews were conducted online, and the data was weighted to approximate populations of adults based on age, gender, race, educational attainment, region, gender by age and race by educational attainment.
About the author
Lindsey Roeschke is an analyst whose work focuses on behavior and expectations of consumers in the travel & hospitality and food & beverage categories, particularly through a generational and cultural lens. Prior to joining Morning Consult, she served as a director of consumer and culture analysis at Gartner. In addition to her research and advisory background, Lindsey has more than a decade of experience in the advertising world. She has lived and worked in seven cities across four continents.
