While creator and influencer generated content is playing an increasingly important role in how Irish consumers discover and research brands, significant gaps remain around trust, authenticity and transparency, according to new research from RED C for IAB Ireland.
The research, The Creator Effect, which was unveiled at the IAB Ireland Creator Marketing Summit earlier this week, found that creator content can influence consumers throughout the purchase journey, with its strongest impact coming at the discovery and research stages.
Among heavy online media users, 38% said creator content had prompted them to research a product or brand further, while 36% had discovered a new brand or product through creator content. A third, 33%, had subsequently visited a brand’s website or social media channels. Creator content also has a potentially negative influence, with 32% saying they had avoided a product or brand after seeing a bad review.
Further down the purchase funnel, 22% of heavy users said creator content had prompted them to try a product for the first time, while 19% had purchased a product or service. Some 22% had gone on to recommend a product to others. In addition, one in three, 33%, had followed a tip, tutorial or piece of advice shared by a creator.
The RED C findings underline the scale of the potential audience for creator marketing. Seven in 10 Irish adults are classified as heavy online media users, meaning they engage with at least one of social media, YouTube, podcasts or blogs and online articles multiple times a day. Usage rises sharply among younger consumers, reaching 89% of 18 to 24-year-olds and 81% among those aged 25 to 34, compared with 48% among the over-65s. Women also recorded higher heavy usage, at 73%, compared with 67% of men.
Creator content is also substantially more influential among these heavy media users, according to the RED C research. Some 34% said content from creators and influencers feels more relatable than content produced by brands, compared with just 15% of non-heavy users. Meanwhile, 31% said creator content helps them make decisions about brands, products and services, and the same proportion said recommendations from creators they follow are trustworthy. The corresponding figures among non-heavy users were 16% and 15%.
However, the research identifies a sizeable disconnect between what consumers want from creators and what they believe they are currently getting, particularly when commercial partnerships are involved.
Unsurprisingly, authenticity is regarded as important by 72% of Irish adults, while 68% place importance on transparency and the clear disclosure of advertising or commercial partnerships. Human-generated content is important to 72%, while 64% value credibility and expertise and 62% regard relatability as important.
Yet only 17% of adults believe sponsored creator content currently feels authentic, rising only slightly to 20% among heavy online media users. Similarly, just 21% of adults believe creators and influencers are transparent about their paid partnerships, despite more than two-thirds saying this transparency is important.
The research also found that there is a similar gap when it comes to relatability. While 62% believe relatable content is important, only 23% feel creator content reflects real-life experiences. Even among heavy online users, where the importance attached to relatability rises to 68%, just 26% believe creator content reflects their lives and experiences.
With AI slop already finding its way into social media users feeds, the findings also suggest creators and brands will need to tread carefully when using artificial intelligence. Almost three-quarters of adults, 72%, believe creator content being human-generated rather than AI-generated is important, although 48% say they already frequently encounter content which has been created or modified using AI. Among heavy online users those figures rise to 77% and 54% respectively.
The research also points out that disclosure is particularly important. Some 80% believe creators should clearly state when AI has been used to create or substantially modify content. Only 33% are confident they can distinguish human-created content from AI-generated material, while 31% are not confident they can do so, with the remainder neutral or unsure.
The research suggests that greater honesty could help address many of these concerns. Honest reviews, which highlight both positive and negative aspects of a product, were identified by 47% of respondents as the leading driver of trust in creator content. Appearing independent and not overly commercialised and clearly disclosing paid partnerships were each cited by 32%, followed by alignment with personal values at 28% and long-term relationships with brands at 27%.
For relatability, showing both positive and negative experiences was again the most important factor, cited by 39%. Consumers also favour creators who are similar to themselves in lifestyle, age or interests, at 27%, while everyday or “day in the life” content and the use of humour and personality were each cited by 25%. Local or culturally relevant content, including content reflecting an Irish context, was important to 22%.
The RED C research was based on a nationally representative sample of 1,005 adults aged 18 and over, with fieldwork carried out between July 2 and July 7, 2026.
Its conclusions point to both the opportunity and the challenge facing brands investing in creator marketing: creators have become powerful engines of brand discovery, but trust and relatability cannot be assumed. The research concludes that audiences continue to prefer human-generated content and that honesty remains the foundation of effective creator marketing.
Gavin Costello, research project manager at RED C Research & Marketing, said: “Creators have real influence across the consumer journey, particularly when it comes to discovery. They are powerful discovery engines, connecting audiences with brands and products in an increasingly crowded digital landscape. Audiences clearly value the role creators play, while also having strong expectations around what makes content credible. The opportunity for the industry is to build on that influence through partnerships that feel honest, transparent and genuinely relevant.”
For IAB Ireland, the findings underline the opportunity for the industry to focus on credibility, relevance and longer-term relationships alongside reach.
Suzanne McElligott, CEO of IAB Ireland, said: “Creator marketing has moved well beyond being a niche part of the digital landscape. These findings demonstrate the genuine influence creators can have on how Irish consumers discover and consider brands. The opportunity now is to build on that influence through best-in-class partnerships that audiences recognise as credible, transparent and authentic, while ensuring new technologies such as AI are used in a way that protects trust. We look forward to working with our Creator Marketing Council to further develop Ireland’s Creator Marketing Industry.”
