Megan Lieu is an influencer who creates content about technology and offers career advice on social media.
like a technology company microsoft and google Just as marketers try to make their products look cool, they’re also gaining new users for their AI services through social media influencers.
OpenAI, Anthropic, and metaWe also employ social media creators who post sponsored content on apps like , Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and even LinkedIn. Industry experts say rewards for such promotions can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.
AI companies have significantly increased their advertising over the past year. According to Sensor Tower, Generative AI platforms will spend more than $1 billion on digital advertising in the U.S. in 2025, an increase of 126% year over year. Influencer marketing is currently emerging as one of the next battlegrounds for users in the AI boom.
The advertising race is in full swing ahead of the year’s biggest sporting event in the U.S. Anthropic is spending millions to air a 60-second pregame spot and a 30-second in-game spot during Sunday’s Super Bowl in preparation for OpenAI’s recent decision to start displaying ads within ChatGPT.
In the emerging creator space, technology companies are paid to promote their AI tools to social media users. You can do that by posting on LinkedIn about how you use Anthropic’s Claude Code, or by posting an Instagram video about the fun things you do with Microsoft Copilot or Perplexity’s Comet assistant.
These services have come a long way since OpenAI ushered in the generative AI era with the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. Google strengthened its market position by releasing its latest model Gemini 3 in November, while Anthropic, Microsoft, and Meta continue to roll out updates.
Microsoft and Google paid creators between $400,000 and $600,000 for a long-term partnership spanning several months, said a person familiar with the deal, who asked not to be identified because the terms are private.
“What we’re seeing is a huge increase in creator spending from these AI brands,” said AJ Eckstein, founder and CEO of Creator Match, an agency that connects brands and creators. The company has partnered with several AI-focused brands, including Anthropic, HeyGen, and Notion.
“We’re seeing much more interest from AI brands every month,” he said, adding that AI companies are looking for ways to market their tools and build stronger connections with users in more authentic ways.
Representatives for Microsoft and Google declined to comment.
Anthropic has emerged as one of the most active AI companies in creator marketing. In March, the company hired Lexie Barnhorn, who previously worked at Notion, to lead influencer marketing across social media and podcasts. AI Lab has multiple brand deals with content creators.
One of these creators is Megan Lieu, who creates content about AI and technology. Liu told CNBC that his background as a data scientist helped him attract AI brands, which led to his first such deal in mid-2025.
“These brands really want their customers to know that we’re related to AI,” said Liu, who has about 400,000 followers across platforms.
Liu said the most important brand deal to date was with Anthropic to promote Claude products. Liu declined to say how much Anthropic paid her, but said sponsored content deals typically range from $5,000 to $30,000 depending on the campaign.
“If you want to take your programming to the next level, Claude Code can help you do it with the power of agent AI,” Lieu wrote in a LinkedIn post sponsored by Anthropic.
Anthropic has not commented on the matter.
“Too much money to spend”
Eckstein said AI companies are willing to spend more money than other companies. There is a lot of money. Anthropic recently raised more than $10 billion at a valuation of $350 billion, while OpenAI was valued at $500 billion late last year. Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta have market capitalizations in the trillions of dollars.
Creators can charge up to $100,000 per post, Eckstein said.
“Some of these big companies don’t want to negotiate because they have so much money at their disposal,” he said.
Google and Microsoft’s digital ad spending to promote their AI products rose about 495% year-over-year last month, according to Sensor Tower. OpenAI also increased digital ad spending by more than 10x in 2025.
Beyond sponsored posts, AI companies spend a lot of money on creators by inviting them to events, giving them early access to new tools, and paying for travel and accommodation.
“We work with creators of all kinds, including artists, filmmakers, designers, and cultural partners, giving them early access to our tools and ultimately giving them the freedom to show what’s creatively possible with AI,” an OpenAI spokesperson told CNBC.
But not all creators are open to brand deals related to AI products.
Jacques Repiarts posts about his performance at the Renaissance Faire to his 7 million followers on social media.
G. Repiarts
Some say they have declined to do business with AI companies due to ethical, environmental, or creative concerns. Some said viewers could become hostile to AI sponsorships, creating fears of a backlash or “cancellation.”
“AI is lame and unregistered,” creator Steve Sells commented on a sponsored post promoting Google’s AI video generation tool Veo. Mr. Sells did not respond to requests for comment.
About half of American adults say they are more concerned than excited about AI, according to Pew Research data released in October.
Some creators told CNBC they were trying to escape tens of thousands of dollars they could earn from AI-related sponsorship deals. Creator agency experts said the backlash tends to be strongest around tools that generate images and videos, which many creators see as a direct substitute for artistic labor.
Jack Repiarts, a content creator known as Jack the Whipper with more than 7 million followers across platforms, told CNBC that he would immediately turn down any brand deal involving AI.
“I cannot in good conscience support anything that makes it difficult for ordinary people to make a living,” Lepiarts said. Their content tends to focus on performances at Renaissance fairs.
Lepiarz said he previously turned down a $20,000 brand contract to promote an AI product promoting an image generation tool.
“Even if they came back with $100,000 or $500,000, I couldn’t say yes to that,” Lepiarts said. “It’s too far for me. The bridge is too far to cross.”
