# GenAI To Produce Half of Branded Social Content by 2026 | Capterra > GenAI can boost social media marketers’ efficiency, productivity, and performance. Learn how businesses can reap the benefits while managing risks. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/generative-ai-for-social-media-content --- Social Media MarketingMarketing # By 2026, Nearly Half of All Social Media Content Created by Businesses Will Be AI-Generated Written by: Molly Burke Molly BurkeAuthor Senior Specialist Analyst Experience I have been writing content for Capterra since April 2022. I cover technology trends in retail, hospitality, and custome... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/mburke/) and edited by: Carolyn Santa Maria Carolyn Santa MariaEditor Carolyn Santa Maria is a senior editor at Capterra. Carolyn has been working in content for more than five years as an editor. With her keen eye for detail, ... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/carolyn-santa-maria/) Published July 15, 2024 8 min read Table of Contents - [Businesses will substantially increase their use of GenAI](#businesses-will-substantially-increase-their-use-of-genai-for-social-media-marketing) - [Drivers of GenAI adoption](#boosted-productivity-engagement-and-efficiency-are-driving-genai-adoption) - [GenAI isn't ready to fly solo](#blandness-and-misinformation-means-genai-isnt-ready-to-fly-solo) - [How to implement AI safely and effectively](#how-to-implement-ai-safely-and-effectively) ## GenAI offers marketers immense benefits and daunting risks. Social media users are about to see a lot more AI-generated content on their favorite platforms. According to Capterra’s survey of over 1,600 social media marketers, companies around the globe will use generative AI (GenAI) to produce an average of 48% of their social media marketing content by 2026—a rise from their current average of 39%.[\*](#methodology) Companies expect GenAI to boost engagement, productivity, cost savings, and yes, human creativity. But they also worry about the consequences of potentially spreading misinformation to their audiences through AI-generated content.  Businesses can take steps to ensure they use GenAI responsibly, including creating a formal internal policy and using a human-in-the-loop strategy. Key insights - In the next 18 months, businesses across the globe expect an average of 48% of their social media content will be AI-generated. - 73% of businesses say their engagement and impressions on social media has increased with the use of GenAI, with 22% noting a significant increase. - Nearly all businesses (94%) are concerned about the risk of spreading misinformation through AI-generated content. - Maintaining authenticity is the top challenge of integrating GenAI into social media marketing strategies. ## Businesses will substantially increase their use of GenAI for social media marketing By 2026, businesses around the world that currently use GenAI for marketing purposes will increase the amount of social media content they create using GenAI, from an average of 39% in 2024 to 48%. Most will increase their spending on GenAI tools as well. Overall trends indicate that regional power users of GenAI will double down on the technology, while users in other regions will undergo more modest increases. This will dramatically increase the overall circulation of AI-generated content on social media to the equivalent of one in every two branded posts. Currently, countries with above-average use of GenAI for social content include Canada, Australia, the U.S., and Brazil. Businesses in the U.K., Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Spain are expected to make the biggest relative increases in GenAI use over the next 18 months. Notably, current power users are located in primarily English-speaking countries (excluding Brazil). This adoption trend reflects the fact that internet content—the data that AI is trained on—is largely written in English, and AI tools have historically been optimized to serve anglophone audiences. [\[1\]](#sources) Non-English speakers can, of course, still use GenAI as many tools offer translation features, and some are in development to serve a wider range of languages. [\[2\]](#sources) But English speakers have had a head start using the best-available tools in their native tongue. The global projected increase is a staggering figure that illustrates companies’ enthusiasm over AI tools and foreshadows both the efficiency and cost savings they’ll likely incur and the growing seriousness of the challenges they’ll face in ensuring the responsible use of GenAI. ## Boosted productivity, engagement, and efficiency are driving GenAI adoption Improving productivity is the primary reason businesses begin using GenAI for content development. Many users report that the tech fulfills this goal and then some, leading to easier, faster, and more efficient workflows. Businesses say GenAI enhances the creative process by helping marketers generate ideas, automate routine tasks, and find new ways to personalize content for specific audiences.   GenAI’s social media performance is so satisfactory that many businesses view it as a complementary, or even superior, tool vis a vis human marketers.  - Ninety percent of businesses using GenAI for social content say the tech has saved them a moderate to significant amount of time.  - Nearly three-quarters (73%) say the use of GenAI-assisted content has increased their engagement and impressions.  - Most businesses claim that GenAI-assisted content performs as well (34%) or better than (49%) content created solely by humans.  The use of GenAI has driven the ongoing human versus bot discussion home to 40% of businesses, who say their use of GenAI has made it challenging to maintain the value of human creativity within their organizations. While that on its face seems like a pretty bad sign for humans employed in marketing roles, it belies all the human-led work these same businesses say they have to do to ensure the quality of their GenAI content. The prevalence of errors and misinformation in AI-generated content means these tools will need human supervision for the foreseeable future.  ## Blandness and misinformation means GenAI isn’t ready to fly solo  Superhuman performance notwithstanding, GenAI comes with risks. Significant oversight is essential to ensure the quality and safety of the content it creates. For example, many businesses (43%) say maintaining the authenticity of AI-generated content is a top challenge. So is ensuring that AI-generated content actually resonates with audiences (35%). GenAI’s frequently bland or off-brand output needs editorial tweaking to be post-worthy. Then there’s the burden of preventing the spread of AI-generated misinformation. Most businesses, but not all, take the responsible route and review AI-generated content before publishing it on social media. And while most businesses say GenAI saves them time overall, many (39%) say the amount of effort required to edit and review AI-generated content goes above and beyond what they expected, something that businesses thinking about buying [GenAI software](https://www.capterra.com/generative-ai-software/) should factor into the total cost of adoption. Even with all that careful work to clean up AI-generated content, nearly all (94%) businesses worry about GenAI accidentally harming their reputation. Over two-thirds (67%) of businesses using GenAI for social media (including those who don’t review content before publishing) report instances of quality-control issues lurking within the content, including factual errors, plagiarism, bias, or straight-up nonsense. And while the remaining third claim not to experience these issues, they probably just haven’t looked hard enough.  Again, native language makes a difference: Businesses in primarily English-speaking countries are significantly less likely to report factual errors or nonsense responses than otherwise, likely because AI tends to be better trained in English. That said, businesses in anglophone countries _are_ more likely to have accidentally exposed proprietary information through their AI-generated content. So, sure, it’s impressive that GenAI can churn out memes faster than your canniest social media intern on their best day. But if those memes need significant revision because they’re boring, nonsensical, or offensive, you are still only as productive as that intern’s editing bandwidth. And do you trust an intern to know how to protect sensitive info, should the AI choose to blab about it? The reality is that GenAI presents businesses with serious challenges that are both practical (ensuring AI-generated content looks cool) and existential (ensuring it doesn’t leak company secrets to social media platforms). Though many are optimistic about GenAI’s potential, businesses can’t yet rely on _unsupervised_ GenAI to rescue them from the engagement doldrums or to wipe out their marketing payroll.  ## How to implement AI safely and effectively It would be silly to deny the benefits of GenAI for social media marketing. It saves time and money while increasing productivity, and experts generally consider it to be highly useful for content production. [\[3\]](#sources) But experts also caution that GenAI could be a poor fit for businesses that do not effectively mitigate its inherent risks. Here are some steps businesses can take to ensure they use GenAI safely and responsibly. ### Create a formal company policy for the use of GenAI Creating a formal internal policy on the use of GenAI at your organization helps align stakeholders on use cases and best practices. It’s good to have one on hand when hiring new marketing employees or contracting with agencies or freelancers. An internal policy is a great way to establish a human-in-the-loop standard at your business to ensure the safety, legal compliance, and brand alignment of AI-generated content. Businesses that have policies in place for GenAI use, whether informal or formal, are more likely to report that GenAI: - Saves them time on marketing initiatives - Improves engagement metrics - Yields a competitive advantage Revisit your GenAI policy as needed, such as when upgrading to more advanced tools or if your business’s use of GenAI broadens in scope. ### Always include an editing or review step in the content publishing workflow Don’t run the risk of publishing boring or misleading content—practice a human-in-the-loop strategy by always having a person check GenAI output before posting it on social media. Companies that leverage GenAI content using a human-in-the-loop strategy are significantly more likely to report that GenAI: - Boosts efficiency - Reduces turnaround time of content delivery - Increases engagement and impressions ### Use both internal and external metrics to measure GenAI’s effectiveness Yes, you should track the performance of your AI-generated content on social media. But if you let external metrics speak for your marketing team’s overall experience using GenAI tools, you’re only getting half the story. Measuring success internally is crucial to understanding the true cost of your GenAI tools, as well as retaining talent and maintaining employee morale in today’s increasingly automated marketing landscape. Business leaders should keep in mind that GenAI is a powerful technology best used to support, not fully replace, human marketers. Check in with your marketing team about the following quantitative and qualitative metrics, as they relate to your GenAI tool(s): - Frequently encountered errors or issues - Time/effort spent editing or reviewing AI-generated content - Ease of use - Recurring or unexpected costs GenAI should help your creative staff get more done, not bog them down with the busy work of tweaking mediocre bot-generated content. If your marketers feel as if your GenAI tool isn’t helpful, find out why and make some changes. ## As use of GenAI increases, make informed investment decisions Businesses across the world will prioritize GenAI in their marketing workflows in the coming years. They’ll face some hurdles as AI tools continue to evolve and will need to rely on internal policies, conduct data-driven performance evaluations, and remain realistic about what their AI tools can handle. That said, they will likely unlock cost savings, increased productivity, and other benefits as a result of using GenAI. Businesses interested in [GenAI software for social media](https://www.capterra.com/generative-ai-software/?features=6ee3e7ff-b6d9-4b82-a3d4-ba9e060236c0) should carefully consider investments in this space, prioritizing vendors with excellent user reviews. If you’re not sure where to get started with GenAI, consider working with a social media marketing agency that provides AI-powered services. * * * **Methodology** \*Capterra’s GenAI for Social Content Survey was conducted in May 2024 among 1,680 respondents in the U.S. (n: 190), Canada (n: 108), Brazil (n: 179), Mexico (n: 199), the U.K. (n: 197), France (n: 135), Italy (n: 102), Germany (n: 90), Spain (n: 123), Australia (n: 200), and Japan (n: 157). The goal of the study was to learn more about the impacts of generative AI on social media marketing strategies. Respondents were screened for marketing, PR, sales, or customer service roles at companies of all sizes. Each respondent indicated their use of generative AI to assist with their company's social media marketing at least once each month. Sources 1. [How language gaps constrain generative AI development](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-language-gaps-constrain-generative-ai-development/), The Brookings Institution 2. [Mistral, a French A.I. Start-Up, Is Valued at $6.2 Billion](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/11/business/mistral-artificial-intelligence-fundraising.html), The New York Times 3. [When Not to Use Generative AI](https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/when-not-to-use-generative-ai), Gartner * * * ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Authors [### Molly Burke](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/mburke/) Molly Burke is a senior analyst and writer for Capterra. She covers customer experience and marketing in the retail and restaurant industries, with a focus on how emerging technology is transforming the way everyday people shop. Her insights on generative AI, social media, and other tech trends have been featured in The New York Times, Vogue, BBC, CNBC, Forbes, and the Financial Times, among other publications. [### Carolyn Santa Maria](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/carolyn-santa-maria/) Carolyn Santa Maria is a senior editor at Capterra. Carolyn has been working in content for more than five years as an editor. With her keen eye for detail, technical experience, and cross-team collaborative expertise, she has developed new content types, briefs, and processes for a variety of different projects and teams. She has edited a large variety of content, including research reports, white papers, eBooks, email marketing campaigns, and many other types of technical papers. 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