Web Summit 2026 runs from 9 to 12 November at the MEO Arena in Lisbon. The programme is split into 17 tracks, and three of them matter most to anyone working with creators.

• Marketing Summit Billed as "The future of marketing has stopped clicking", it covers four themes: search through AI answer engines, AI as the working layer of marketing, creator-led trust and culture, and data and privacy after cookies

• New Media Summit Its theme is "The fight for the feed"

• Creative Summit Its theme is "Creativity in the age of infinite generation"

The Marketing Summit page names speakers including Rob Gaige of Reddit, Tiffany Rolfe of R/GA, Jonathan Adashek of IBM, and Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire alongside Toto Wolff of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team.

The creator session sums up its argument in one line about Gen Z: "They trust people they follow, not brands that talk at them." It covers partnerships with micro and nano influencers as well as AI-generated personas, and treats authenticity and co-creation as essentials.

The most quoted figures come from IAB, the US digital advertising trade body. Its 2025 Creator Economy Ad Spend & Strategy Report, published on 20 November 2025, puts US creator ad spend at:

• 2021 $13.9 billion

• 2024 $29.5 billion

• 2025 $37 billion, up 26% on the year before

• 2026 $44 billion projected, in IAB's January 2026 report on measurement in the creator economy

IAB says that growth is about four times the 5.7% it projects for the media industry overall. Its figures count only money brands put into creators on purpose: sponsored content, paid amplification of that content, and planned ads next to creator content. They leave out affiliate income, subscriptions, tips and merchandise, so they are narrower than some other estimates.

The same report found that 48% of ad buyers call creators a "must buy", behind only social media and paid search. "Leveraging the Creator Economy to connect with audiences is no longer experimental for marketers – it's essential," said IAB chief executive David Cohen.

These are US numbers. In the UK, the Advertising Association and WARC reported that total ad investment rose 9.3% to £11.7bn in the first quarter of 2026. Their next edition is due this month.

The clearest public statement from a large advertiser came from Unilever. In March 2025, new chief executive Fernando Fernandez spoke in a fireside chat with Barclays analyst Warren Ackerman, published on Unilever's website.

"Our spending on social [media] will move from 30% to 50% of our total spend," he said. "We will work with 20 times more influencers." His reason: "Today, brands by default are suspicious," so building systems where "others can speak for your brand is very important."

That is the same idea as the Web Summit session on trust. People listen to someone they already follow, and paid social is how a brand gets that person's post in front of more of the right people.

Spend is rising, but brands are open about what still gets in the way. The IAB research points to three problems.

Finding the right creators

A third of brands say identifying the right creators is their biggest hurdle. When they choose, creator reputation (58%) and audience fit (56%) come top. IAB's Zoe Soon called the matchmaking "often more art than science". It is why platforms are building tools for it, such as the creator search tool inside YouTube Studio we covered recently.

Proving it worked

40% of buyers rank overall return on investment as their top measure for creator campaigns. Yet IAB's January 2026 report says the industry "still lacks the measurement standards, currencies, and financial rigor" to plan creators like other media, and points to "fragmented metrics, siloed platforms, and proxy-based ROI". Brands are asking for better attribution, consistent reporting and fraud prevention.

Using AI without losing the person

Nearly three in four creator ad buyers use AI or plan to within a year, mostly for editing, briefs and personalising content. But 95% of advertisers have concerns about AI in creator marketing, and the top worry is losing human connection.

Whatever is said on stage in Lisbon, the published research already points to a few things worth building into next year's plans.

• Budget for paid social from the start IAB counts paid amplification as part of creator spend. Agree usage rights and how long the brand can run the content as an ad before anything is filmed

• Choose on reputation and audience fit Follower numbers come after who the audience is and whether the creator is trusted by it

• Agree the measure before launch Decide what success looks like, where the numbers come from, and how you will compare them with your other channels

• Label every paid post The ASA prefers a clear "Ad" label at the start, seen before anyone taps "See more". Words such as "gifted" or "sponsored" are unlikely to be enough, and a brand can be held responsible alongside the creator

• Keep the person at the centre Use AI for edits and briefs if it helps, but the reason audiences listen is the creator

For brands that want content made by real customers too, our guide to user-generated content covers how it fits alongside creator work. Through creator management and talent campaigns, 22 IMPACT matches brands with people from our talent roster and handles the brief, the contract and the delivery.