MUMBAI: The government on Thursday proposed mandatory declaration and labelling of any AI-generated or modified content posted by social media users in a bid to curb the rise of deep fakes online. Media platforms must have the technology to verify such content, it said. The move will impact India’s burgeoning influencer marketing business too which is increasingly relying on AI-generated content for scale.
Raj Mishra, MD and CEO of digital and influencer marketing company Chatterbox Technologies, said it was a step towards a more responsible digital ecosystem. “As the influencer and creator economy grows, distinguishing between human creativity and AI assistance is critical for maintaining audience trust and ensuring brand integrity. Clear guidelines will help both brands and influencers navigate this space better,” he said.
India’s influencer marketing business, growing at 20-25%, will touch ₹4,000 crore by 2026. Chatterbox Technologies’s faith in the influencer business has been validated by its successful listing on the BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) SME platform in early October.
A subsidiary of QYOU Media, Chatterbox Technologies has had the front row seat to India’s influencer economy for the past decade and its listing was the natural next step, Raj Mishra said. “Influencer marketing has progressed from early social media endorsements to becoming the core pillar of digital strategy for every brand. IPO capital will be deployed in technology, creator intelligence and new revenue streams and geographies. But the move raises confidence in an entire ecosystem,” Mishra said.
The creator economy is maturing. It is a structured marketing channel, said Ramya Ramachandran, founder of Whoppl working with a large traditional FMCG company to build a creator ecosystem for its brands. Attitude of brands towards influencer marketing has changed. “They are ready to experiment with new-age creators, even local ones, who offer authentic content,” Ramachandran said, citing the example of a hyperlocal mehendi design artist who started giving makeup tips and is now being wooed by A-list cosmetics brands.
Authenticity supersedes virality in brand content, Mishra agreed. “Creators from tier 2 and tier 3 towns are growing two to three times faster than those in the metros. Local language and cultural context are winning,” he said. Among influencers, the micro and nano creators at the base of the pyramid drive engagement while the top tier creators anchor big brand storytelling, he said. “The bigger trend is creator-led commerce,” Mishra added.
Ramachandran said brands are seeking RoI-driven (Return on Investment) influencer marketing. “They are asking influencers about generating sales and giving them offers and coupon codes for their audiences. Brands want influencers to move from awareness to consideration to purchase,” she said.
But India still lags behind China and the US in live commerce which allows brands to sell directly to consumers during a live broadcast. For instance, in China a Limited-edition car can be bought in an Instagram deal, said Ramachandran. “That’s not true here. We’re price-sensitive and like the touch and feel of shopping. Quick-commerce, however, is changing buying behaviour and may be the stepping stone towards live commerce,” she said.
Mishra also expects India to build creator-owned IPs (intellectual properties) soon. “It’s still nascent but creators are launching their own D2C brands or media ventures riding on their massive following,” he said.
AI-generated content and personalization will shape the creator economy in the future, Mishra said. He predicts the rise of real-time, AI-enabled multi-format storytelling in the business. However, the proposed AI content labelling rules may change that. But Mishra said the future will be about authentic creators using smart AI and not AI pretending to be creators.
Accurate measurement remains a challenge for influencer marketing in India, said Mishra. Not just that, brand discoverability, safety and tracking become critical in a cluttered market. Creator burnouts and mental health issues are real, too, Mishra said.
He is certain that digital isn’t replacing brand building. It is redefining it. “On digital, brand building is one story, one creator, one authentic connection at a time,” he said. Though long-term brand building and performance-led digital marketing functions have been treated separately, they are merging, Mishra said. “Influencer marketing sits right at that vantage point – it is like storytelling meets performance,” he said, adding that the strongest brands will not just advertise, they will co-create with the audiences.