The Future of Influencer Marketing: 7 Shifts Brands Should Prepare for in 2027

The future of influencer marketing is a channel that is bigger, more integrated with sales and paid media, and more regulated. Seven shifts stand out for 2027: influencer marketing becomes an always-on media channel, content turns into commerce, AI moves from tool to agent, self-regulation gives way to EU rules, measurement moves to connected data, creators become media companies and product partners, and recognisable faces gain value as trust gets scarcer. Brands that prepare for these shifts now will get more out of every collaboration.

This is not a list of short-lived trends – for that, read our article on influencer marketing trends for 2027. Here we look at how the way brands work with creators and well-known personalities is changing, based on the latest reports, decided rules and published forecasts.

Why is influencer marketing changing so fast?

Because it has become big money. The IAB estimated US creator ad spend at 37 billion dollars in 2025 – up 26 percent in a year and growing about four times faster than the media industry overall – and its latest forecast points to 44 billion dollars the following year. Nearly half (48 percent) of US ad buyers already consider creators a “must buy”, behind only social media and paid search.

The long-term picture is the same. Goldman Sachs Research has estimated that the creator economy could approach 480 billion dollars by 2027, up from around 250 billion dollars in 2023, with brand deals making up about 70 percent of creator revenue. In Sweden, Mediemyndigheten describes influencers as an established part of the media market that competes with traditional media for time, attention and advertising money.

What are the 7 shifts brands should prepare for in 2027?

1. From campaigns to an always-on media channel

Influencer marketing is moving from one-off campaigns to a permanent part of the media plan. In CreatorIQ’s latest State of Creator Marketing report, 66 percent of organisations increased their creator investment, and the average annual investment reached 4.8 million dollars, up 33 percent. Among brands with growing creator budgets, 52 percent funded the increase from paid media or advertising – creators are taking budget from other media, not just getting extra money.

What to do: plan creator collaborations on a yearly basis, with framework agreements, recurring faces and a budget for paid amplification, instead of buying posts campaign by campaign.

2. From content to commerce

Creator content is increasingly where people buy, not just where they discover. According to CreatorIQ, 48 percent of brands have integrated creator commerce into their strategy, and 68 percent of the brands that make it a core part report a return of three times or more. EMARKETER forecasts US social commerce sales of nearly 119 billion dollars in 2027, with TikTok Shop expected to account for nearly a quarter. Live shopping is also on the agenda: 62 percent of respondents in Influencer Marketing Hub’s latest Benchmark Report rank it among their three most effective formats.

What to do: make it easy to buy directly from creator content – with product links, shop features and offers – and test which products work best in social channels.

3. AI moves from tool to agent – and trust becomes the currency

AI is already everywhere behind the scenes. The next step is AI that acts on its own: in CreatorIQ’s latest report, brands ranked autonomous AI agents and AI-powered campaign insights as the capabilities offering the greatest competitive advantage over the next three years. At the same time, AI-related issues made up 44 percent of brand responses about the greatest threat to trust, and 47 percent said AI had increased day-to-day complexity rather than reduced it. Creators are wary too: in CreatorIQ’s 2025 research, 41 percent said their voice or likeness should never be replaced by AI.

What to do: write internal guidelines for how AI may be used in creator collaborations – and never let AI recreate a real person without explicit consent.

4. From self-regulation to EU rules

The rules are tightening at EU level. The transparency rules in Article 50 of the EU AI Act already apply, and the last deferred technical requirements for marking AI-generated content follow on 2 February 2027. The European Commission is also preparing a Digital Fairness Act, planned to be proposed before 2027, and influencer marketing is one of the areas it is expected to regulate. In Sweden, Konsumentverket sees a continued need for supervision of influencer marketing, with marketing aimed at children and young people given a prominent place.

What to do: make ad labelling, AI disclosure and documentation fixed steps in every brief and approval process, and follow the EU negotiations during 2027.

5. Measurement moves to connected data

Brands want proof, but measurement is fragmented. In CreatorIQ’s latest report, no single measurement method was preferred by more than 19 percent of brands, and integrating creator data and workflows across systems has become the top roadblock. In the Creator-Powered Funnel report, 58 percent of paid media leaders struggled to measure creator-driven paid performance separately, and teams used an average of four separate tools. Linqia found that 79 percent of marketers still struggle to measure ROI.

What to do: decide before each campaign how results will be measured, and connect creator data with sales and paid media data so you can compare channels.

6. Creators become media companies – and product partners

The biggest creators work like media houses. Mediemyndigheten describes how leading Swedish influencers have production companies, their own brands, product sales and roles in traditional media, and estimates that there are around 30,000 influencers in Sweden with at least 5,000 followers. Creators also want deeper partnerships: Sprout Social reports that influencers want long-term collaborations and to be brought into product development and creative planning earlier.

What to do: involve creators and personalities earlier – in concepts, product ideas and co-created launches – rather than handing them a finished script.

7. Recognisable faces become more valuable

As feeds fill with synthetic content and scam ads, genuine people stand out. Svenskarna och internet 2025 found that 60 percent of Swedes had seen a fraudulent ad on social media in the past year, and 40 percent of them recognised it because it used celebrities. HubSpot’s latest State of Marketing report found that 62.7 percent of marketers believe they need more unique, human-centred content to compete with AI. Real partnerships with personalities the audience already knows become a competitive advantage.

We see this in our own work. The “Coca-Cola Loves Tacos” activation with several well-known Swedish duos reached over 4.5 million views and 6,300 interactions, while the Fazer Domino launch combined creators on TikTok and Instagram with paid media and reached over 3.5 million views and 14,000 interactions. The future is not celebrities or creators – it is both, in the same plan.

How should brands prepare for 2027?

• Build a yearly creator plan with a few long-term faces instead of many one-off posts.

• Negotiate usage rights for paid media and commerce in the original agreement.

• Test creator commerce – product links, shop features and live formats – where it fits your category.

• Write AI guidelines and make AI disclosure part of every brief.

• Agree on a measurement model and connect creator data with sales data.

• Combine recognisable personalities for reach and trust with creators for depth and volume.

What does this mean for Swedish brands?

The shifts are global, but the Swedish market has its own conditions. According to Mediemyndigheten, 43 percent of Swedes follow influencers – 79 percent among 15–24-year-olds – and Swedes are quick adopters of new technology: 40 percent used AI tools in 2025, according to Svenskarna och internet. At the same time, strict rules on ad labelling and an audience that values authenticity make transparency non-negotiable. For Swedish brands, the winning formula for 2027 is local, well-known faces, clearly labelled collaborations and content planned for both organic and paid distribution.

Key takeaways

• Influencer marketing is becoming an always-on media channel that takes budget from other media.

• Creator content is turning into a sales channel through creator and social commerce.

• AI is moving from tool to agent, which makes trust and transparency more important.

• EU rules on AI transparency and influencer marketing are tightening in 2027.

• Real, recognisable people gain value as synthetic content grows.

Frequently asked questions

What is the future of influencer marketing?

A bigger, more integrated and more regulated channel. Influencer marketing is becoming a permanent part of the media plan, increasingly linked to sales, measured with connected data and governed by clearer rules on labelling and AI.

Will AI replace influencers?

The data so far suggests not. AI is mainly used to make work with real people more efficient, while many large brands remain cautious about virtual influencers. As synthetic content grows, genuine people become more valuable.

Will influencer marketing be more regulated in the EU?

Yes. The AI Act’s transparency rules are being phased in through 2 February 2027, and the European Commission is preparing a Digital Fairness Act that is expected to cover influencer marketing.

Do celebrities have a place in the future of influencer marketing?

Yes. Well-known personalities deliver reach, recognition and trust – qualities that become more valuable as feeds fill up. The strongest plans combine them with creators who add depth and volume.

Want to prepare your influencer marketing for 2027 – with Sweden’s best-known personalities, creators and paid media in one plan? Contact Collabri at info@collabri.se.

Sources

• IAB – Creator Economy Ad Spend to Reach $37 Billion in 2025, Growing 4x Faster than Total Media Industry (2025): https://www.iab.com/news/creator-economy-ad-spend-to-reach-37-billion-in-2025-growing-4x-faster-than-total-media-industry-according-to-iab/

• IAB – Digital Ad Revenue Climbs to Nearly $300B as IAB Celebrates 30 Year Anniversary (2026): https://www.iab.com/news/digital-ad-revenue-climbs-to-nearly-300b-as-iab-celebrates-30-year-anniversary/

• Goldman Sachs – The creator economy could approach half-a-trillion dollars by 2027 (2023): https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/the-creator-economy-could-approach-half-a-trillion-dollars-by-2027

• Mediemyndigheten – Influencers på den svenska mediemarknaden (2026): https://mediemyndigheten.se/rapporter-och-analyser/influencers-pa-den-svenska-mediemarknaden/

• CreatorIQ – State of Creator Marketing 2026–2027 (2026): https://www.creatoriq.com/white-papers/state-of-creator-marketing-trends-2027

• EMARKETER – Influencer marketing set to surpass $13 billion by 2027 (2025): https://www.emarketer.com/content/influencer-marketing-set-surpass--13-billion-by-2027

• Retail Dive – TikTok Shop is driving social commerce growth (2025): https://www.retaildive.com/news/tiktok-shop-drives-social-commerce-growth/807665/

• Influencer Marketing Hub – Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2026 (2026): https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report/

• CreatorIQ – Creator Marketing Enters the Era of Efficacy (2025): https://www.creatoriq.com/press/releases/creator-marketing-enters-the-era-of-efficacy-brands-demand-scalable-roi-as-creator-budgets-surge-171-creatoriq-report-finds

• Paul, Weiss – EU Finalises Transparency Rules for AI-Generated Content (2026): https://www.paulweiss.com/insights/client-memos/eu-finalises-transparency-rules-for-ai-generated-content

• Covington & Burling (Global Policy Watch) – What to Watch in 2026: Key Developments in EMEA Consumer Protection (2026): https://www.globalpolicywatch.com/2026/02/what-to-watch-in-2026-key-developments-in-emea-consumer-protection/

• European Economic and Social Committee – Digital Fairness Act (2026): https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/our-work/opinions-information-reports/opinions/digital-fairness-act

• Konsumentverket – Fortsatt stora brister i marknadsföring som sker genom influencers (2026): https://www.konsumentverket.se/nyhet/fortsatt-stora-brister-i-marknadsforing-som-sker-genom-influencers/

• CreatorIQ – Creator Content Now Powers 44% of Paid Media Creative (2026): https://www.creatoriq.com/press/releases/creator-powered-funnel-report-2026

• Linqia – 2026 State of Influencer Marketing (2026): https://www.linqia.com/2026-state-of-influencer-marketing/

• Sprout Social – The State of Influencer Marketing Report: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/influencer-marketing-report/

• Internetstiftelsen – Svenskarna och internet 2025: Annonsbedrägerier (2025): https://svenskarnaochinternet.se/rapporter/svenskarna-och-internet-2025/annonsbedragerier/

• Internetstiftelsen – Svenskarna och internet 2025: AI – Artificiell intelligens (2025): https://svenskarnaochinternet.se/rapporter/svenskarna-och-internet-2025/ai-artificiell-intelligens/

• HubSpot – 2026 State of Marketing (2026): https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/hubspot-blog-marketing-industry-trends-report

This article was written with the help of AI and reviewed by Collabri.