TikTok’s Creator Marketplace is dead, and AI tools are taking its place

TikTok has been at the pinnacle of short-form video since it popularized the idea which was immediately copied by other social media apps, including Instagram’s Reels as well as YouTube’s Shorts. However, TikTok has been in the US government’s crosshairs recently, given its direct ties to Chinese businesses. While the future of the app’s US operations still hangs in the balance, creators now need to worry about another change, with the Creator Marketplace going away soon, and AI tools taking its place.

TikTok’s Creator Marketplace is a tool available on the app so frequent uploaders can contact brands to work together for endorsements, sponsorships, and other opportunities. However, in a recent email to creators, the social app said that starting March 1, brands will not be allowed to create new campaigns or creator invitations (via TechCrunch). The Creator Marketplace shutdown will complete on April 1, completing the transition to TikTok One. Users trying to access the old pages after the cutoff date will be redirected to TikTok One as well.

This replacement was first introduced in May last year. It is TikTok’s idea of a central platform where advertisers can discover new creators to partner with, use creative tools to run their campaigns on the app, and access all the pertinent metrics for said campaigns. Most of the features should resemble what is available on the outgoing Marketplace. Like most current-day solutions, TikTok One is packed to the gills with AI, though.

TikTok One is a hub for marketing through the app

Creators, corporations, and AI

For instance, TikTok One includes Script Generator, an AI-powered tool that generates a script for a short video based on a prompt from the advertiser that includes key information such as the product name, description, and operational industry. Additionally, TikTok One is also a gateway to another AI tool called Symphony Assistant within the Symphony Creative Studio. It can create TikTok videos using AI by fusing advertiser prompts with digital avatars and sometimes even older videos from the brand.

Symphony also summarizes trends on the app for better targeted marketing and ideation, besides direct integration with the Ads Manager dashboard where businesses can create ads and optimize the results or customize them for different locales.

The Creator Marketplace shutdown is already underway, and TikTok’s email reportedly suggests users migrate their existing data to other in-app dashboards or TikTok One before the end date.