Marketers, designers, video producers, and other creatives have concerns about the impact of AI on the creative industry and jobs within it. However, 37.2% say they’ve never used an AI tool or platform – not yet.

Some have no intention of getting on board, with one participant confidently asserting, “I don’t use AI tools. I have full confidence in my abilities and I don’t feel AI at this present time can match my quality of output.”

This is from a new survey of 113 creative experts and professionals conducted by UK agency Engine Creative. Their findings shed light on which AI tools creatives use today, how often they use AI in their work, how they feel AI content measures up to that produced by humans, and whether they feel their jobs are threatened by advancing AI technology.

Which AI apps and tools are creatives using in their work?

No surprise here – ChatGPT is the AI tool of choice for 40.7% of survey respondents, making it the most popular platform by a wide margin. Midjourney came next with 22.1% having tried it, then DALL·E 2 at 19.5%.

Image source: Engine Creative

Creatives also use Copy.ai, Jasper, Stable Diffusion, Synthesia, and a long list of lesser-known AI tools.

Is AI an opportunity or threat to creatives?

When asked whether they agreed with the statement, “AI threatens my job security,” 75.3% disagreed. Even so, close to three-quarters again (74.3%) agree that AI will impact their roles over the next decade. This suggests that the majority of creatives see AI tools as an opportunity and an ally; a way of improving their own productivity and creativity.

Here are a few related insights from the survey:

  • 62% of creatives believe those in their industry who do not embrace AI will fall behind competitors or miss out on opportunities
  • 71.7% of creatives agreed that AI will help them streamline or improve their work
  • 38.9% believe AI will force humans to become more productive and creative
  • 64.6% said AI training will be necessary for both current and future employees

What does the future of creative industry look like with AI?

When it comes to how AI will impact the creative industry as a whole, survey respondents are largely uncertain, with 48.7% saying they are unsure whether AI-produced content will be better than human-produced content in the future. Just over 28% said yes, AI content quality will surpass human content, while 23% said no.

Less than half of creatives (42.5%) believe AI will have a positive impact on the industry.

Learn more

Engine Creative surveyed 113 creative professionals throughout February 2023. The largest cohorts were in advertising and marketing (30.1%); IT, software, computer services or video games (20.1%); and digital media, websites and social media (19.5.%). For more insights and commentary, download the full report.

More helpful resources: