53% of C eatives Usi g AI Have Used It o Key Clie t Wo k Without Telli g the Clie t
E vato-AI-c eativity- epo t
E vato AI & C eativity Repo t
Melbou e, Aust alia, Nov. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Su vey of ove 1,000 c eative p ofessio als i 103 cou t ies eveals 58% ow use AI eve y day, yet ove half of AI use s have used it o key clie t wo k without telli g the clie t, a d taste, ot p ompti g, is what d ives quality.
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WHAT: E vato, the leadi g all-i -o e c eative asset toolkit empowe i g millio s of c eatives wo ldwide with c eative stock a d AI-powe ed tools, eleases its seco d a ual Beyo d the Hype: The State of AI i C eative Wo k epo t. F om expe ime t to eve yday tool: what cha ged fo c eatives i a yea . Based o a su vey of 1,033 c eative p ofessio als ac oss 103 cou t ies a d te ito ies, as well as i te views with leadi g c eatives, i cludi g &Walsh fou de Jessica Walsh, the epo t tests six assumptio s the c eative i dust y holds about AI. I each case, the data says somethi g mo e specific.
WHEN: Tuesday, Novembe 10th
WHY IT MATTERS:
AI is o lo ge a expe ime t fo c eative p ofessio als. 87% ow use it at least occasio ally, a d 58% say it’s a daily habit, up 9 poi ts f om last yea . But adoptio has out u the ules. Ove half of c eatives who use AI have used it o key clie t wo k without telli g the clie t, a d ma y o ga izatio s still have ’t set a policy. Fo b a ds a d age cies, that’s a t ust issue a ivi g faste tha the ules fo ha dli g it. The fi di gs also challe ge some of the i dust y’s favo ite assumptio s. Six i te c eatives use AI age ts, yet ve y few let them u a y pa t of the wo k alo e. Nea ly th ee times as ma y c eatives say taste d ives quality as say p ompt skill does. A d AI is payi g c eatives back i time, ot mo ey.
Fo E vato CEO Hichame Assi, the fi di gs a e e cou agi g.
“Almost eve y c eative we hea d f om is usi g AI at wo k ow, but ve y few a e letti g it u u checked,” said Assi. “Eve with the pace of cha ge a d the p essu e to delive , they’ e watchi g it closely a d keepi g the fi al say, which tells me the taste a d judgme t that c eatives b i g a e just as impo ta t as eve .”
KEY FINDINGS:
Adoptio Has Out u the Rules – 53% of AI use s have used it o key clie t wo k without telli g the clie t, a d most of them see o p oblem with that: 46% have do e so a d do ’t thi k it eeds disclosi g, while o ly 7% felt u comfo table about it. Fo mal guida ce has ’t caught up. Eve i o ga izatio s of 250+ people, 40% have o w itte AI policy a d o ly 49% have ead o e. The most expe ie ced c eatives a e the most t a spa e t: 53% of those aged 50+ always tell clie ts, compa ed with 40% ove all.
C eatives Keep the Fi al Cut – Age tic AI has go e mai st eam, with 59% of AI use s a d expe ime te s usi g age tic tools (36% egula ly). But o ly 4–11% let AI ha dle a y stage of thei wo k with little i put. Fo ge e ati g, it’s just 7%. “Di ecti g closely” is the most commo app oach at five of six stages of c eative wo k. Editi g is held tightest (15% ha ds-off), yet 42% expect to use mo e AI i that a ea ext yea .
Taste Out a ks P ompti g – C eatives a k taste a d judgme t as the top d ive of quality (53%), followed by c aft (49%). P ompt skill comes last of eight d ive s (19%). Whe AI co cepts get d opped, it’s because they missed the b ief (34%) o had e o s (32%). O ly 5% we e d opped fo lacki g huma feeli g. C eatives ge e ate a media of five optio s a d Keep a thi d of those.
Fo Jessica Walsh, fou de a d c eative di ecto of &Walsh, the adva tage wo ’t come f om the tools. “The tools a e goi g to keep getti g easie a d mo e accessible, so k owi g how to use them wo ’t be what sets c eatives apa t,” said Walsh. “Bei g able to ecog ize g eat wo k whe you see it is ot somethi g you ca p ompt, o lea ove ight.”
AI Pays i Time, Not Mo ey – 49% of c eatives say AI makes them faste , but o ly 7% say it t a slates i to i c eased ea i gs, with 16% ea i g the same fo less effo t. Amo g c eatives whose ates cha ged this yea , speed (34%), eputatio (31%), a d c eative di ectio (30%) all out a ked AI skills (25%). Mea while, 18% say clie ts expect AI wo k to cost less.
Stock a d AI Do Diffe e t Jobs – C eatives choose stock whe it feels mo e authe tic (48%) o is bette quality (48%), a d ge e ate whe they eed somethi g customized (40%) o othi g i the lib a y fits (38%). Cost ba ely comes i to it: o ly 15% ge e ate to avoid lice si g costs, a d just 6% adopted AI because it’s cheape .
Rathe tha eplaci g o e a othe , stock a d AI a e i c easi gly used togethe i the same p oject. “C eatives a e ’t choosi g betwee stock a d AI. They’ e usi g both,” said A ly Pa opio, Head of C eative a d B a d Ma keti g at E vato. “They’ll sta t with eal footage o a image, the iff o it with AI, adjusti g the g ade, swappi g the backg ou d o exte di g the shot u til it matches.”
AI’s Weak Spot Is Co siste cy, Not Soul – Visual co siste cy is the ha dest thi g to get ac oss to AI (56%, with 31% calli g it the si gle ha dest), ahead of authe ticity (43%) a d o igi ality (37%). The challe ge fo c eatives is ’t maki g AI feel huma . It’s maki g AI wo k hold togethe ac oss a p oject.
DOWNLOAD: The Beyo d the Hype: The State of AI i C eative Wo k epo t is available at https://eleme ts.e vato.com/lp/ai-i -c eative-wo k- epo t/.
ABOUT THE RESEARCH: E vato su veyed 1,033 c eative p ofessio als i 103 cou t ies a d te ito ies ove th ee weeks i Septembe 2026. All espo de ts a e E vato subsc ibe s. Respo de ts a e based i Lati Ame ica (28%), the US (24%), Eu ope (19%), Asia (8%), the Middle East a d Af ica (7%), the UK, Ca ada, Aust alia a d New Zeala d (7% combi ed) a d the est of the wo ld (6%). The sample spa s Mille ials (46%), Ge Z (27%), Ge X (24%) a d Baby Boome s (3%), a d discipli es i cludi g video a d film (27%), g aphic desig (21%), a t a d c eative di ectio (12%), co te t c eatio (10%), motio g aphics (7%), ma keti g (6%) a d web desig a d developme t (3%). Ove half (52%) a e solo ope ato s, wo ki g as f eela ce s (45%) o o e-pe so busi esses. O e i five u s a c eative age cy o studio; a fu the 15% wo k fo o e; a d the emai de wo k at o -age cy busi esses as employees (16%) o ow e s (3%).
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ABOUT ENVATO: A global leade i c eative tech ology si ce 2006, E vato (ow ed by Shutte stock) helps millio s of c eative p ofessio als fi d, c eate a d fi ish thei wo k i o e place. E vato b i gs togethe 29+ millio comme cial- eady, huma -cu ated stock assets ac oss video, music, sou d effects, g aphics, photos, templates, LUTs, 3D a d fo ts with AI tools fo image, video, music, sou d, voice a d g aphics, powe ed by leadi g models. Because stock, AI editi g a d ge e atio sit alo gside p oject Wo kspaces, c eatives ca sta t f om a stock asset, efi e it with AI, a d build each ge e atio o the last without switchi g tools. E vato offe s flexible subsc iptio pla s fo i dividuals, teams a d e te p ises.
Co tact I fo
Joa a Bi leso joa a.bi leso @e vato.com+61 3 9018 3034
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