New Delhi, Sept. 18 -- A million followers was once enough for a brand to hire a creator, based on the assumption that a larger audience meant greater reach and, therefore, greater value. But the rise of creator databases and artificial intelligence (AI) tools is allowing brands to look beyond follower counts and assess audience quality and behaviour, giving them more ways to determine which creators are worth hiring.

The creator pool in India has grown more than fourfold, from 0.96 million people in 2020 to 4.12 million in 2025, according to a 2026 report by the Indian School of Business and HashFame, a networking app where brands and agencies can connect directly with creators.

With more creators competing for brand work, creator-bran...