June 12, 2026  |  SIGN UP

Jim Cooper
DIGIDAY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The first real test of the balance between human and machine is starting to unfold across the creator economy. The expanding, fertile and emotionally charged marketing sector is, as we report this morning, going through an existential crisis: To clone or not to clone.

One camp is licensing AI-derived digital twins to take brand deals, talk to fans and even show up to meetings as proxies. In opposition are creators who are greatly unsettled to discover AI versions of themselves out in the wild — trained on their content but built without their consent.

What’s causing this rift? Large language models have gone from text to audio and video generations in the blink of the eye. That development and the rush to capitalize on creator-based marketing has put pressure on brands to have their creators be everywhere and everything in service of the marketing while potentially compromising the integrity of the one thing all creators trade on - authenticity.

Enter the digital twin, the attack of the clones.

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THE RUNDOWN

AI clones are creating a new fault line in the creator economy

AI clones (authorized or otherwise) can act as stand-ins for creators, and if they aren’t given the proper guardrails, can potentially go wildly off-script. This could be bad for both brand deals, the creator’s reputation, and even their bottom line.

BEYOND ADS

AI ‘girlfriend ads’ are fueling a new wave of MFA sites

These sites are running suggestive creative featuring AI-generated women who promote personalized companionship and customizable AI personas. But when users click they’re funneled to paid search results and low-quality, AI-generated content: pages stuffed with ads from real brands.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM CLINCH

Why unified systems lead to AI performance gains

When the workflow is connected through a unified operational layer, AI can unlock the full value of engagement data across the campaign lifecycle, turning it into a continuous optimization loop.

MARKETING ON PLATFORMS

Agency AI pitches are starting to face harder questions

Ahead of this month’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, a team of technology and product experts at 3C Ventures examined agency AI platforms and published a paper concluding that while the language has become increasingly standardized, the underlying capabilities remain far harder to assess.

A MESSAGE FROM EX.CO

Publishers are confronting AI search problems with new video formats

According to Statista, global video ad spend is projected to hit $236 billion in 2026 — the single largest format category in digital advertising.

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THE BUSINESS OF AI

Reuters and Time adopt bot-blocking whitelists to rein in AI crawlers

It’s a strategy already adopted by publishers like People Inc. at the beginning of this year and The Atlantic at the end of last year. Reuters and Time made the decision to block bots by default last month.

THE SPORTS MARKETING PLAYBOOK

ICYMI: Coca-Cola’s AI-powered José Mourinho campaign could signal a shift in celebrity partnerships

The Coca-Cola Company, ahead of the FIFA World Cup, announced the launch of a “José vs. Mourinho” social content series. But instead of featuring José Mourinho, the incoming manager of the Real Madrid soccer team, the series will be hosted by Mourinho’s AI clone.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM PIANO

AI adoption accelerates across the publishing industry

According to a new Digiday and Piano survey, 76% of publishers are piloting or experimenting with AI on the business side of their organizations, but only 18% are deploying AI tools across multiple business functions.