Data: Creators winning the TV screen
October 14, 2026



Precisify, the cross-platform media intelligence specialist, has released Precisify Insights: Influencer, a report examining how creator content captures attention, builds trust and influences purchase decisions across generations, platforms and categories.

Drawing on Precisify proprietary panel research spanning Gen Alpha through Millennials, the report finds creator influence extending from attention into trust and purchase behaviour: 80 per cent of US Gen Alpha say influencer videos have driven purchase requests, while affluent US adults now trust creators more than friends and family for in-depth product reviews.


That influence is concentrated on YouTube, which leads creator viewing across key age groups and markets. Among US teens, 66 per cent say they like watching videos from their favourite creators on YouTube, while 65 per cent of Millennials say the same. YouTube also leads Gen Alpha creator viewing across the US, UK, Germany and Australia.

YouTube’s role now reaches into AI search. YouTube is cited 200 times more than any other video platform across AI search experiences, according to Search Engine Land, making creator content one of the most influential sources behind AI-generated answers. As consumers increasingly turn to AI tools instead of traditional search, creator partnerships are no longer just a brand marketing channel; they are becoming an AI discoverability strategy.

“Creator influence is no longer confined to a single platform, generation or point in the purchase journey,” said Christian Dankl, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Precisify. “What stands out in this research is how consistently that influence carries from attention into trust and action. YouTube sits at the center of that behavior across key audiences, giving brands a much clearer opportunity to understand where decisions are being shaped and reach people in those moments with greater precision.”

Trust is creators’ competitive edge

Underpinning that influence is trust. Among affluent US adults surveyed, 38.4 per cent say they trust content creators most for an in-depth product review, ahead of friends and family at 29.5 per cent, brand ambassadors at 23.1 per cent and celebrities at 8 per cent. Almost 90 per cent say seeing a real-time test of a luxury product by a creator makes them feel more confident in its quality than a polished commercial on broadcast TV or VoD.

Creator attention is translating into action

The findings show creator influence extending well beyond entertainment. Among US Gen Alpha, 80 per cent say they have asked their parents for something after seeing someone they like make a post or video about it, while 76 per cent of Gen Alpha aged 10-12 remember ads created by influencers. Separately, 77 per cent of parents say their child has asked for something they saw in an ad during co-viewing.

That influence also extends into adult decision-making and highly considered categories. Among main household earners surveyed, 50 per cent say influencers have an impact on the financial decisions they make, while 22 per cent begin researching a new financial product on YouTube. Among affluent US adults, more than half use influencer videos on YouTube to help make the final distinction when choosing between two luxury brands.

For advertisers, the findings point to a broader shift in how creator media should be evaluated. Influencer content is not simply competing for views; it is earning trust at multiple points in the decision journey, giving brands an opportunity to connect creator voices with audiences already demonstrating category interest and purchase intent. Precisify’s data shows which audiences have an affinity with a brand or category, and with YouTube’s new Creator Partnerships API, it can now show what a creator’s audience is interested in and which creators have already spoken about a brand or its competitors.

“Influencer marketing works because the relationship between a creator and their audience is built over time, and that trust can become incredibly powerful when the partnership feels natural,” said Mark Bassett, Head of Influencer at Precisify. “The opportunity for brands is to look beyond follower counts and broad reach and understand which creators genuinely fit the brand, where their audiences are showing intent and how creator content is influencing decisions throughout the journey.”

Creator attention is also increasingly moving across screens. More than one-third of Gen Alpha watch influencer videos on a phone or tablet while also watching TV, while 71 per cent of affluent US adults surveyed say their time spent watching YouTube on a TV screen increased over the past year.

“For brands and agencies, the takeaway is that creator media can’t be treated as a standalone awareness channel anymore,” commented Denis Crushell, Chief Commercial Officer at Precisify. “People are using creator content to discover products, build confidence and make decisions, and as LLMs draw more heavily on YouTube, it’s increasingly shaping what they recommend too. That makes understanding audience intent, context and creator fit critical to turning influencer investment into something brands can plan, measure and scale.”