Creators Now Rival Search for Gen Z Product Discovery, Small Accounts Convert as Well as Famous Ones, Survey Finds

A new Morning Consult survey of 6,283 U.S. adults finds that 67% of Gen Z and 60% of millennials bought a product in the past year because an influencer endorsed it, and that creator posts (33%) now trail online search (37%) by just four points as Gen Z’s top method for finding new products. The survey, conducted Sept. 17 to 22, 2026, carries a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point for the full sample.

Smaller Creators Convert as Often as Famous Ones

Among all adults, 44% bought a product in the past year because a well-known influencer or creator endorsed it, and the same share, 44%, did so because of a smaller influencer or creator. Among Gen Z, well-known creators drove purchases for 67% of respondents against 65% for smaller creators, a gap within the subgroup’s margin of error. Celebrity endorsements converted buyers at similar rates: 65% of Gen Z bought because of a celebrity on social media and 62% because of a celebrity in an ad.

Trust in Creators Is Closing the Gap With Word of Mouth

Trust in influencers has risen 13 percentage points among Gen Z and millennials since 2019, from 51% to 64%, while trust in celebrities rose 18 points, from 40% to 58%. Trust in friends and family among this cohort fell over the same period, from 84% to 78%, narrowing the gap between a friend’s recommendation and a creator’s from 33 points in 2019 to 15 points in 2026. Overall, 49% of all adults trust influencers they follow “a lot” or “some,” compared with 64% of Gen Z and 63% of millennials.

Authenticity, Not Fame, Drives Conversion

Asked what makes them more likely to buy a product an influencer recommends, 62% of all adults cited actually using the product, 61% cited seeming honest and trustworthy, and 60% cited category expertise. Being very famous or popular moved only 40% of adults, and physical attractiveness moved 39%. Among Gen Z, the same traits scored higher across the board: 75% for product use, 76% for honesty, 75% for expertise, versus 54% for fame and 54% for attractiveness. Separately, 64% of adults agree that endorsers only say good things because they’re paid, yet 56% of Gen Z and millennials say an endorsement makes them more willing to try a new brand.

Creators Still Trail Celebrities in Raw Favorability

Of 90 celebrities and creators tested for net favorability, the highest-ranked creator, Sean Evans, posted a net favorability of +16, placing him behind 46 traditional celebrities topped by Denzel Washington at +55. MrBeast, the most-named favorite influencer in an open-ended question with 316 unweighted mentions against second-place Kai Cenat’s 107, scored +11 on net favorability and a +5 purchase lift. In the same open-ended question, 3,202 adults named a favorite influencer, scattering across 1,787 distinct names, 1,482 of which were named only once.

Gender Splits Sharply on Who Adults Follow

Men converge far more tightly around a small set of influencers than women do: 33% of male respondents named one of the 10 most-cited creators as a favorite, against 15% of women. Men also named almost exclusively male creators, with 94% of men’s answers naming a man versus 6% naming a woman, while women split 57% men to 43% women. Gaming and streaming creators made up 17% of men’s named favorites, while beauty and lifestyle creators accounted for 17% of women’s answers.

Appetite for AI Influencers Is Receding

The share of adults who say they’re at least somewhat likely to follow an AI-generated influencer fell from 36% in August 2025 to 30% in September 2026. Millennials saw the steepest decline, from 54% to 43%, while Gen Z held flat at 42%. At the same time, 39% of adults say they trust AI chat recommendations, within five points of the 44% who trust favorite celebrities, and 9% of adults, rising to 12% among Gen Z and millennials, already name an AI assistant as a main way they discover products.

Platform Following Remains Deep and Broad

YouTube leads influencer following across every generation, reaching 78% of Gen Z, 67% of millennials, and 52% of all adults. Attention is also fragmented: 44% of Gen Z follow 50 or more creators and 17% follow 200 or more, while 13% follow more than 300.

Image source: Morning ConsultThe full report can be found here