According to Ben Smye, Head of Marketing at Atolls, while traffic can be gamed, influence can’t, and community and content partners shouldn't be judged purely on the last click.
At CreatorFest 2026, YouTube’s Head of Creator Partnerships for the UK&I officially launched the highly anticipated YouTube Shopping Affiliate Programme.
The path to purchase used to be a funnel. Now it's an ecosystem, split across creators, communities, AI assistants, and search, with no single gateway left to own. Here's why that shift changes everything for partnerships, and why it's our theme for PI LIVE Europe 2026.
Although affiliate has traditionally been siloed, there is an opportunity to reposition as the "economic infrastructure" of the machine-mediated market, says Gilbert.
According to loveholiday’s Aneira Henery, the industry has the opportunity to evolve from a demand capture channel into a strategic growth lever that holds a seat at the table.