The human premium

Generative AI has made creating content faster and cheaper than ever. But as the volume of AI content grows, audiences appear to be developing a new appreciation for human creativity.

VML Intelligence data reveals 47% globally believe that humans still have the advantage in creativity and imagination, compared with 30% who think AI does. The result is an emerging split in the media ecosystem: AI-generated content is becoming abundant and functional, while human-made media is increasingly perceived as authentic, trustworthy and even prestigious.

Take livestreaming, which is thriving — 36 billion hours were watched across platforms in 2025, according to Stream Hatchet. Unlike edited social videos, livestreams unfold in real time, complete with mistakes, glitches and unscripted moments. That is proving attractive in a feed increasingly filled with AI-generated images and synthetic personalities, with the raw immediacy of live video becoming a form of credibility.

At a Glance

47%

globally believe humans have the advantage when it comes to creativity, compared to 30% who believe AI holds the advantage (VML)

At a Glance

36 billion

hours watched across livestream platforms in 2025 (Stream Hatchet)

At a Glance

75%

UK internet users aged 18-24 visit Reddit (Ofcom)

The same instinct is visible in platform behaviour. One signal comes from Reddit, which has overtaken TikTok as the fourth most visited social platform in the UK. According to Ofcom, the proportion of UK internet users encountering Reddit has grown 88% in two years, with three in five Britons now visiting the platform. The shift is particularly strong among younger audiences: more than 75% of UK users aged 18–24 now visit Reddit.

According to a report in The Guardian, while changes to Google’s search algorithm have benefited discussion forums, Reddit partly attributes its growing appeal to an appetite for human-generated content. Users increasingly turn to Reddit for advice on everything from skincare to parenting, areas where personal experience and honest conversation feel more valuable than algorithmically optimized content.

Meanwhile, audiences are pushing back when brands lean too heavily on AI. Several high-profile campaigns have sparked criticism. Valentino faced backlash for AI-generated handbag advertisements, with fans calling the visuals “lazy” and “cheap,” while Gucci drew similar criticism after posting AI-generated promotional images ahead of Milan Fashion Week this February.

Black and white Bottega Veneta campaign image. On the left, an older man with long grey hair in a dark jacket, hands clasped. On the right, a close-up of a hand extending into frame.

Black and white Bottega Veneta campaign image. On the left, a man in a suit with his hand raised to his head. On the right, two hands raised open-palmed against a light background.

Black and white Bottega Veneta campaign image. On the left, a woman in a dark top with her hands raised to her face. On the right, a single hand raised with fingers together against a light background.

Black and white Bottega Veneta campaign image. On the left, a man in a dark jacket with hands gesturing in front of him. On the right, a large open palm facing forward against a dark background.

Bottega Veneta recently launched its “Craft Is Our Language” campaign featuring Troy Kostur, Tyler Okonma, Rie Miyazawa and Lorenzo Viotti and more. Courtesy of Bottega Veneta

For many viewers, the issue is not the technology itself but what it symbolizes: a shortcut, a cost-cutting measure, disregard for human craft. As Getty Images’ senior vice president of creative Rebecca Swift has noted, audiences often see AI-generated brand content as less valuable than human-made work, particularly in industries such as fashion where craft and artistry are central to the brand story.

In response, some brands are leaning into human creativity as a signal of quality. Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta, for example, recently launched “Craft is our Language,” to mark fifty years of its Intrecciato weave. The campaign places hand gestures at its centre, pairing Bottega's craftspeople with figures from art, music, literature and film. It unites making and creating as expressions of the same human impulse, reinforcing the value and contribution of the hands behind the work.

Channeling similar inspiration, the luxury house Hermès launched a website takeover illustrated entirely by hand by French artist Linda Merad. Instead of polished digital graphics, the site features whimsical sea creatures drawn in pen and ink, with visible paper textures and irregular lines. The imperfections are precisely the point. In a digital world filled with flawless AI-generated visuals, the texture and materiality of hand-drawn art communicates something increasingly rare online: the presence of a human creator.

The Intelligence Take

Human-made media may increasingly function as a marker of authenticity and cultural value. In an age where anyone can generate content instantly, the real differentiator may no longer be efficiency but evidence of human creativity, effort and perspective. In other words, the future of media may not be defined by artificial intelligence alone, but by how credibly brands can show that there is still a human behind the work.