WTF is a ghost creator?

September 09, 2026 Forget AI-generated creators. There’s an army of people making content based solely on briefs. These “ghost creators,” or creators-as-a-service, are suddenly under the spotlight, but some marketers have actually been using them for years. TOP STORY The Creator Economy WTF is a ghost creator? Some companies are hiring creators not for their audience, but as a mouthpiece for a very specific brief. Think execution, not creativity. This is the ghost creator. OTHER THINGS TO KNOW Join AI Marketing Strategies on Sept. 24 in NYC for a day of actionable insights and real-world case studies on how brands and agencies are using AI to transform product discovery, personalization, creative, targeting and more. Up to $385 billion in U.S. e-commerce spend could be influenced by AI agents by 2030, according to Morgan Stanley. That means purchase decisions will increasingly be made by AI agents. Partner insights from Talon.One. Shoppers are growing more comfortable relying on AI solutions to help them discover and even make purchases. At the center of brands’ emerging strategies to meet these users where they are: the agentic storefront. Partner insights from Swap. Advertisement MEDIA & PLATFORMS Member exclusive Future of TV Briefing: Where have all the cord-cutters gone? This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at recent data indicating that people may be getting rid of their cable boxes but they’re not exactly getting rid of cable TV. Retail Media Rewritten How 11 retail media networks are trying to differentiate themselves to advertisers With the launch of myriad retail media networks, these new divisions of various consumer-facing companies are now fighting for ad dollars. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM TRIPLELIFT Webinar: How publishers like Sports Illustrated build revenue with first-party data Register for this webinar on Sept. 22 at 1 p.m. ET for insights into how publishers like the New York Post, Sports Illustrated and Tastemade are building sustainable revenue with first-party data. Can’t make it? Register and we’ll send you a recording after. A MESSAGE FROM AFFINITY How AI is reshaping media planning and what it means for measurement AI is changing how media gets planned, but measuring its impact hasn’t caught up — yet.    A recent panel hosted by Affinity Global and Digiday, featuring expert voices from Affinity, M+C Saatchi Performance, Omnicom Media and Razorfish, dug into what’s really shifting in advertising because of AI: smarter briefs, emerging standards like Ad Context Protocol, and inventory that’s finally accessible outside traditional programmatic buying and walled gardens.   So, what does that mean for brands and advertisers, especially when it comes to incrementality? It means getting real insight into what’s actually working — and where AI is changing the equation for marketers. Watch the panel PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM CONTENTFUL AI investments are shifting from generation to workflow automation and intelligence According to a new survey from Contentful and Benchmarker, 70%–85% of companies plan to increase investment in AI, primarily in workflow automation and AI analytics. Advertisement PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM NEXXEN How CTV becomes a practical performance channel The most proactive marketers treat each CTV campaign as a structured learning cycle: define the audience, test the creative, read the signals and refine the investment. ICYMI Member exclusive Future of Marketing: Brands want creators who can win over humans and machines at once Why creator briefs are starting to look like a map of AI search queries. Publishing in the Platform Era 5 questions facing advertisers, publishers and creators heading into fall In this week’s Digiday Podcast episode, hosts Kimeko McCoy and Tim Peterson recap the season’s biggest developments in the media and marketing industries and the questions they raise for the final stretch of 2026. The Programmatic Marketer WTF is the Amazon ad surcharge lawsuit? The Federal Trade Commission and 22 state attorneys generals are suing Amazon alleging the company secretly overcharged advertisers in its search ad auctions for more than seven years Written by Jim Cooper and Sara Jerde Were you forwarded this email? Sign up to get it daily. Advertise | Digiday+ | Events | Awards Update your email | Unsubscribe | Privacy policy