Generative AI Era "Creator" Survey R2602 Launched! Visualize Creator Voices
What are "Creators" Thinking Now? - Surprising Realities Seen in the Previous Survey
The rapid spread of generative AI is drastically changing the way creators work and their revenue structures. However, there hasn't been enough quantitative research to capture what the "creators" who actually master generative AI feel and what they want. AICU has launched the second survey, "Creator Survey in the Generative AI Era 2026.02 (R2602)," following the first survey in November 2025.
This time, in cooperation with the Digital Content Association of Japan (DCAJ), we have significantly expanded the questions that directly lead to policy recommendations and academic research. Through a newly developed AI chat-based questionnaire, we will identify the risks faced by creators and visualize new ecosystems.
Your voice will shape the future of creators.
Your Voice Will Shape the Future of Creators in the Generative AI Era. Please Join Us.
ā¶ Participate in the Survey: https://p.aicu.jp/R2602
https://p.aicu.jp/R2602
We have started the "Creator Survey in the Generative AI Era" (R2602). A new type of questionnaire answered via chat! Completed in about 5 minutes & get 10,000 points. š https://t.co/dgTmqwq2q6 #AICU #GenerativeAICreatorSurvey pic.twitter.com/2OIMUHi2tn
ā AICU - Creating Creators (@AICUai)
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?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2026Realities of "Creators" Seen in the Previous Survey - 5 Discoveries
From the results of the 1st Generative AI Creator Survey (conducted in November 2025: hereinafter R2511), some noteworthy data emerged. R2602 will further explore how these have changed.
Discovery 1: 85% of Respondents are "AI Producers" - Creators, Not Spectators, Gathered
To the question, "In what form have you been involved with generative AI in the past year?", 85% answered "AI production (works/tool development, etc.)". "Appreciation/purchase" was limited to 10%. This survey is the raw voice of people who are actually using generative AI to create something.
Discovery 2: 53% say "Work Cannot be Done Without AI"
When asked about attitudes toward AI use, "Work/production cannot be done without AI (essential)" accounted for 53%, exceeding the majority. Combined with "Indispensable but replaceable" at 38%, 91% recognize AI as indispensable.
AI, which was just a "convenient tool" a few years ago, is now at the core of creators' work - these figures tell the story of that rapid change.
Discovery 3: Bipolarization of Monetization - 47% have "No Paid Track Record", while 33% have "Over 1 Million Yen"
When asked about the presence or absence of paid track records, 47% answered "There is no paid track record". On the other hand, among those who answered the sales range, 33% earned "Over 1 million yen." It can be seen that there is a large gap between those who can monetize and those who cannot.
Discovery 4: 34% Freelancers, 42% Women - Diverse Images of "Creators"
By occupation, freelancers/sole proprietors accounted for the largest proportion at 34%. Adding company management at 15%, about half are independent. By gender, women accounted for 42% (22 people), which is higher than the general rate in the tech industry. The fact that generative AI is a "tool operated in natural language" suggests that it is lowering the barrier to entry.
Discovery 5: "Time Reduction" has been Achieved, but "New Orders" Remain Expected - Gap Between Effect and Expectations
As a result of comparing "What can be done with AI" and "What I want to improve in the future," 90% answered that "Achievement of time reduction" has already been achieved, while there is a large gap between 43% achieved and 58% expected for "Contribution to new orders." The reality is that the efficiency of AI is being felt, but connecting it to business expansion is still to come.
We are also investigating the details of subscribed tools.
ā The full results of the previous survey R2511 are published in AICU Japan's "AI Economic Newspaper." https://u.aicu.jp/r/R2511
New Questionnaire Experience Answered in Chat "AIDX"
R2602 is different from the conventional form-based questionnaire. Using the AI-driven chat-based questionnaire system developed by AICU, you can quickly answer in a question-and-answer dialogue format.
An experience of answering questions one by one as if talking to AI
Just tap the options. You can easily enter free descriptions
Can be answered comfortably on smartphones and PCs
Takes about 5 minutes
You can participate with the feeling of "interacting with AI" rather than "answering a questionnaire."
Four Themes to be Clarified in R2602
R2602 comprehensively grasps the current location and future expectations of generative AI creators. In addition to the basic questions of the previous R2511, we have set four new themes in cooperation with DCAJ.
Theme 1: The Relationship Between the Creative Process and AI
Generative AI is entering every process of creation, from "brainstorming" to "main production" and "mass production." In R2511, a high penetration rate of 84% for image generation, 96% for text generation, and 60% for video generation was revealed. R2602 will further explore "in which process" and "in what role" it is being used.
Theme 2: Redefining Originality and Authorship
"Is there an author for something made by AI?" - How do creators themselves answer this question? We quantitatively capture where they feel the basis of authorship lies, such as ingenuity in prompts, selection, and finishing.
Theme 3: Requests for Rights, Compensation, and Systems
In R2511, the top bottleneck was "usage cost" (49%), the second was "the speed of information metabolism" (44%), and the third was "copyright/ethics" (40%). R2602 will go further and ask about attitudes toward unauthorized learning, changes in revenue structure, and the legal systems and rules that are required. We will collect data directly linked to policy recommendations.
Theme 4: What Only Human Creators Can Do
This question is the core of the R2602 survey. Intention, responsibility, context, physicality, agency, editing ability, ability to ask questions, relationships, border crossing, risk, story, vision - From 13 options based on an academic framework, we clarify the distribution of creators' self-awareness. We visualize where creators themselves find value that AI cannot provide.
Cooperation with DCAJ (Digital Content Association of Japan)
In this R2602, we have improved the survey draft (10 questions + sub-questions) provided by the Digital Content Association of Japan (DCAJ) with the aim of achieving both ease of answering and analytical accuracy.
Convert DCAJ's original free-description-centered questions into a "multiple choice + other (free description)" format
Design that reduces the burden of answering and improves the completion rate, while not missing unexpected answers
It is possible to grasp the priority of items directly linked to policy recommendations numerically.
The survey results will be used for academic research and policy recommendations through DCAJ. Your answers will directly lead to the design of systems related to generative AI and creators.
Participate in the Survey
Eligibility: Anyone can participate (anyone interested in generative AI is welcome, not just creators)
Time required: Approximately 5 minutes (chat format)
Reward: 10,000 AICU points (automatically granted after completion of the answer)
Result browsing: Respondents can access the result report page only
Survey period: February 19, 2026ć (Ends when the planned number of responses is reached)
ā¶ Participate now: https://p.aicu.jp/R2602
https://p.aicu.jp/R2602
Utilization of Survey Results
The results of this survey will be used for the following purposes.
Academic research ā Accumulation of quantitative data on the actual situation of generative AI creators
Policy recommendations ā Recommendations to the public, companies, and academic research through DCAJ
Service improvement ā Improvement of AICU's creator support services
Public report ā Preliminary publication for respondents only + anonymized report after statistical processing
The personal information you provide will be strictly managed and anonymized after statistical processing.
It can be used for academic research and policy research. Please contact R2602@aicu.jp for inquiries.
Previous survey results: R2511 report
Privacy policy: https://corp.aicu.ai/ja/privacy
Data usage policy: https://p.aicu.jp/R2602/policy
Request for Sharing
This survey is more valuable by collecting the voices of as many "creators" as possible. Please share it with your creator friends.
We have started the "Creator Survey in the Generative AI Era" (R2602). A new type of questionnaire answered via chat! Completed in about 5 minutes & get 10,000 points. š https://t.co/dgTmqwq2q6 #AICU #GenerativeAICreatorSurvey pic.twitter.com/2OIMUHi2tn
ā AICU - Creating Creators (@AICUai)
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?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2026More voices will lead to a more accurate understanding of the situation and better policy recommendations. Participate in providing visualization of new ecosystems for AI creators and identifying and reducing risks related to the safety of generative AI!
AICU Japan Co., Ltd. / aicu.jp
