Brands replace content creators with AI, when numbers tank they try to get creators back with lower pay: 'They are back in my DMs offering 40% less than what they paid me before'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Aug 25, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

The company in this story failed to realize that they no longer had the upper hand.

It seems like everyone these days is looking for a shortcut. Certain tools have found ways that companies can easily cut corners and get work done in less time than they did before. But does that mean you're sacrificing quality? Almost always. It certainly did in this situation. Customers don't like it when the companies that are selling to them treat them like they're easy to trick. Nobody wants to be bamboozled or have the wool pulled over their eyes, and AI-generated content is a huge way to do that. You may be able to summon up a video selling your product in a manner of minutes, for cheap or for free, but that doesn't mean it's going to be effective advertising. Customers can tell when you've cut corners, and they start to lose trust in the product. That's what was happening in this situation, which someone shared on the antiwork subreddit. They were a content creator who had a pretty longstanding relationship with a brand. They were providing a service for them and were enjoying the business relationship. Everything changed, though, when the brand replaced them with AI. You hear of this starting to happen, but this was an especially direct replacement. When the market responded with its takes, though, the brand came crawling back to the creators. The issue, however, is that they wanted to have their cake and eat it too. Keep reading for the story and see what commenters had to say.

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  • A woman presses the record button on her phone, getting ready to make video content
    via Daiga Ellaby For Unsplash+

    Scene shown is a visual representation.


    A woman presses the record button on her phone, getting ready to make video content

  • Brands replaced me with ai, engagement tanked AND now they are back in my DMs offering 40% less than what they paid me before. THE AUDACITYY

    so i am just supposed to be okay with this?? for two years i made content for this brand, ugc kinda videos of me talking about products.l worked with 8 brands regularly which i got through an agency .I was getting good money and thought it was stable.
    via NegotiationStrict473
  • In march the briefs stopped, i checked my email every day waiting and assumed i'd done something wrong and spent some time too going over old messages trying to figure out what.
    via NegotiationStrict473

  • It's one thing to try and fool your customers with AI, and it's another thing to burn a work bridge because of it.

    Found out through another creator four months later that they had switched to ai generating voices and fake testimonials .Like could they have not informed mee? i just stopped existing to them and had to figure out why on my own about this. i cried about it if i am being honest because it felt like a personal rejection even though it wasn't personal.
    via NegotiationStrict473
  • Then this month my phone started buzzing again and it was the same agency with same brands and it was like we never stopped talking. They gave me new briefs attached and at the bottom of each one a rate.
    via NegotiationStrict473

  • They clearly got used to having work for free... so they tried to lowball their creators.

    every single rate was lower than what they paid me before they left and when i asked the poc about why they did not contact me for months, she acknowledged the ai experiment and why it ended. Basically the engagement had collapsed, CTRs tanked because consumers could feel something was off and now
    via NegotiationStrict473
  • they are back to giving contracts to "REAL" ugc influencers (yes she said REAL ) So theres a reason companies like Icon pivoted from ai ugc to human ugc as a differentiator because the demand for human content was growing while everyone were running the other direction. Brands that raised millions specifically for ai cmo and ai ugc roles are pivoting back to human creators and rebranding it as authentic content strategy in their press releases
    via NegotiationStrict473
  • A content creator puts on makeup in front of a ring light
    via Andy Quezada For Unsplash+

    Stock photography for depiction only.


    A content creator puts on makeup in front of a ring light

  • It's tough when you need work and you're asked to accept less than you deserve.

    but i am being offered less for it than i was worth before any of this happened. So they failed, learned nothing and came back expecting a discount.I have asked them some time to think about it What do you guys think i should do?I need the money too
    via NegotiationStrict473

  • Commenters gave advice on how to handle this situation.

    randomhobo130 Name your price and let them make a decision. Your pay should be higher than what it was before IMO
    via NegotiationStrict473
  • Mustrum_R At least don't just accept the low offer. They intimately know you are needed now. I would start a negotiation with a counterproposition at a slightly higher rate than original.
    via NegotiationStrict473

  • It's true that consumers would rather be advertised to by a human.

    XorAndNot I'll imediatelly reject any product advertised using AI, not only because of principles, but because I assume it's hot garbage and they need to fake it.
    via NegotiationStrict473
  • Specific_Reindeer615 Personally i would say to speak to the liason and ask why they are offering less. than the previous agreed rates, sometimes being called on it will make them "oops my bad" and correct straight away... just remember, they did it once and can do it again
    via NegotiationStrict473

  • This commenter pointed out how this is part of a larger issue.

    jcoddinc They offered you less. because they're willing to go back to Al but they know there's desperate influencers who will take anything. This is exactly how Al is going to decimate the working environment by driving down wages. Companies will take decreased productivity for profits
    via NegotiationStrict473
  • iLaysChipz Negotiate. You have leverage here. Tell them you appreciate the business, and that you would like to continue on friendly terms at the same rate you had previously, which was $X amount per unit (hour/video/post/whateverth efuck)
    via NegotiationStrict473

  • This commenter laid out a plan of action.

    FallingSky1686 I'd respond to the agency stating that you did not appreciate being left in the cold without acknowledgment from the company but that you are willing to return to the previous arrangement. And with that said, the quote they have given for the work is too low. Please resend the brief with the previous working rate. Kind regards, etc
    via NegotiationStrict473
  • Keep it professional, keep it polite, don't let them f with you. If you accept less. money now they know they can always kick you down.
    via NegotiationStrict473

  • It's clear that they deserved more money, and that the brand was desperate.

    AlGunner Just go back and say what my rate is and if they will pay that you'll do it. Make it a bit higher than it was before to reflect cost of living increases and the fact you now know you cant be replaced by Al at the moment.
    via NegotiationStrict473

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antiwork toxic-workplace job bosses work coworkers content creator working influencer toxic-boss ai workplace bad bosses
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