The Secret to Affiliate Success is AI (not that one!)
AI is all the rage these days. A recent survey by the Performance Marketing Association highlights significant concerns regarding increased fraud, the erosion of strategic relationships, and the devaluation of original content.
Significant problems, to be sure. The solution? You guessed it: AI. The other AI. Agency Insights.
Affiliate Marketing has always been a relationship business first and foremost. With more and more automation coming to our workflows, this only makes the relationship side more critical, not less. By leveraging direct, interpersonal relationships, agencies can transform these AI-driven disadvantages into competitive advantages, proving that the human touch is the ultimate premium feature in a digitized ecosystem.
Verify the human
The first major challenge, the rise of "artificial content" and deepfake-driven fraud, can be effectively countered through the deep trust established by human oversight. The tools are adept at detecting data anomalies, but lack the nuance to judge intent or character. An agency adds value by fostering direct relationships with affiliates, moving beyond dashboard metrics to verify the people behind the screens.
By conducting manual audits and having candid conversations about traffic sources, agency managers build a perimeter of trust that algorithms cannot breach. This human verification ensures that brands are represented by partners who value long-term reputation over quick, bot-driven profits, directly mitigating the risk of consumer deception.
chemistry can’t be coded
On the second point, while AI can match brands with potential publishers based on data, it cannot replicate the chemistry and commitment forged during face-to-face interactions. Agencies that prioritize attendance at industry conferences (Affiliate Summit, etc.), dinners, and coffee meetings create "sticky" partnerships that survive algorithm changes and market fluctuations.
In a world where AI prompts can handle the mundane, the physical presence of an agency representative becomes a powerful signal of investment and respect.
escaping the echo chamber
Finally, the devaluation of content and the homogenization of marketing messages can be overcome by the unique insights that only arise from unscripted, human conversation. AI is fundamentally reactive, generating output based on existing patterns and data, which often results in an "echo chamber" of generic strategies.
In contrast, casual conversations between agency managers and affiliates often reveal cutting-edge trends, unwritten consumer sentiments, and creative "out-of-the-box" ideas that no dataset has yet captured. By listening to the nuanced struggles and wins of their partners in real-time, agencies can craft bespoke, authentic campaigns that stand out against a sea of AI-generated noise, restoring value to the content and the partnership.
insights in action
Valued AMP partner, Josh Kopac and Sarah Wesley of BeKeptUp, provided this real-world example of a conference conversation:
”A publisher reframed an offer away from ‘earn extra cash’ and into a real-life problem/solution story (‘here’s the bill you already pay and here’s how to get a cash reward for paying it’). That shift in narrative, which a person can recognize instantly, outperformed more traditional ‘download/sign up now’ creatives because it met the user where they already were and helped them solve how to get to where they need to be.“
The Be Kept Up team added further:
“We have to stop looking at our industry and our approach as selling a used car and over pitching the consumers. Consumers do not want to hear, see, read, or watch ads. They want to learn how to solve their problems. If you solve the problem, then your work is literally cut out for you on the quality side of your traffic acquisition goals.”
While AI offers undeniable tools for optimization and scale, it simultaneously creates voids in trust, connection, and creativity that only humans can fill. Ultimately, the most successful campaigns of the future will be those that use AI for the heavy lifting but rely on the intuition, trust, and insights of interpersonal relationships to steer the ship.
