Chipotle Taps 100 Creators for ‘Behind the Foil’ 🌯

Chipotle enlisted 100 creators for the latest installment of its Behind the Foil campaign, focused on transparency and showing customers how its food is prepared. It sent a mix of food creators, artists, animators, and musicians to more than 50 Chipotle restaurants to work alongside crew members during the morning preparation of its new Pollo Asado and Chili Lime Chips.

Creators captured 345 hours of unscripted footage, which was used to produce three 30-second spots that will run on national TV, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok.

Why it matters: As the first national campaign under newly hired Chief Brand Officer Fernando Machado, Chipotle gives its longstanding brand platform a creator-first, social-native twist. Instead of relying on its typical documentary-style footage, the brand handed the cameras to creators, giving them the freedom to capture the preparation process without traditional scripts or shot lists.

With its 100-person roster, Chipotle leans into the scale that many brands are chasing for their creator programs. But the diversity of the talent is just as interesting. Beyond typical food creators, Chipotle tapped artists, animators, and musicians who could bring different creative perspectives to the same story, helping the brand connect with different communities. For example, stop-motion animator Ben Treat showcased the burrito-building process through claymation, while My Miniature Life recreated a Chipotle kitchen at dollhouse scale.

The campaign also highlights how creator content can be the foundation of a brand campaign, rather than a supporting element. More brands are expanding creator assets beyond organic social into TV spots, digital billboards, and more, but usually as a secondary move. Chipotle flips that model, building the campaign around creators from the start.

YouTube is partnering with Amazon to let eligible U.S. creators tag Amazon products directly in videos, Shorts, and live streams through the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program.

Creators can connect their Amazon Influencer Program or Amazon Associates accounts and select products from a curated catalog to tag in new or existing content. When viewers click a product tag, they’re directed to an Amazon shopping experience, with creators earning a commission on sales they drive.

Why it matters: YouTube joins Meta and Pinterest, which also launched affiliate integrations with Amazon this year, as it takes another step toward becoming a premier shopping destination, a priority CEO Neal Mohan has outlined for the platform.

YouTube has built its program to over one million creators thanks to efforts like lowering eligibility requirements and expanding to new regions. Bringing Amazon into the fold makes the program more attractive to creators, as it gives them access to a much larger product catalog and a simpler, more effective way to promote products. According to YouTube, product tags can drive 110% more clicks than description links alone.

The success of TikTok Shop seems to have influenced YouTube, along with Meta and Pinterest, to invest more in creator commerce, but their approaches continue to contrast with TikTok’s, which is more of a closed-loop, end-to-end experience that comes with added complexities. YouTube, Meta, and Pinterest are leaning more into discovery and distribution.

Instagram announced changes to how it labels accounts featuring an AI-generated person. The platform is renaming the previous “AI Creator” label to “AI-generated profile” to make it clearer when a profile features an AI-generated person rather than a real human.

The label will appear on the profile and alongside the account name on posts and Reels. More notably, Instagram may limit the reach of profiles featuring an AI-generated person that don’t disclose it, making them ineligible for recommendations unless they add the label or successfully appeal the decision.

Why it matters: The update gives people a clearer signal when they’re engaging with an AI-generated profile, which is important because people aren’t particularly good at identifying them. For example, a study found that 62% of adults failed to correctly identify AI-generated dating profiles.

Previously, there was little downside to not disclosing an AI-generated profile, particularly given the limited interest in AI-generated influencers. Nearly 60% of U.S. adults say they are very unlikely to follow an AI-generated influencer. Now, the possibility of losing recommendation reach gives AI-generated profiles a much stronger incentive to disclose.

Adding this to other recent updates, like LinkedIn limiting the reach of posts deemed “AI slop,” Snapchat no longer recommending wholly AI-generated videos, and YouTube restricting monetization for content featuring AI personas discussing sensitive topics, a bigger trend is emerging: social media platforms are using reach and monetization as levers to influence behavior around AI.

Instagram VP of Product, Tessa Lyons launched an Instagram account where she will be sharing product updates, what her team is building, and how it all comes together.

Edits is testing the ability to edit Carousels in-app. The beta feature gives creators tools to add text overlays, reorder photos, change the aspect ratio, and more, to create Carousels.

Threads is rolling out a rebuilt insights experience with a plain-language summary of how each post performed, redesigned post and profile insights, new account- and post-level metrics, and benchmarks showing whether performance is higher, typical, or lower than a creator’s norm.

TikTok announced new comment-related features: Voice Comments, Comment Polls, and Photo Carousel and Live Photo Comments. It currently sees more than 1.7 billion comments shared across the platform every day.

YouTube is streamlining branded content disclosures with a refreshed label, more precise age and geographic controls, and automatic disclosures when it detects undisclosed branded content.

YouTube made it easier for viewers to use their phones as a companion while watching YouTube on TV. They can interact with videos, browse Shorts without interrupting TV playback, and send videos from their mobile feeds directly to the TV.

Google lowered the threshold for access to Search Profiles to 35,000 followers on one of the following platforms: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and X.

Sephora will launch on TikTok Shop on September 19. Through the Sephora Drop Shop experience, the retailer will offer monthly drops of curated products featuring interactive experiences and creator-led content.

42% of Gen Z B2B buyers say content from expert voices, including employees, creators, and industry experts, is the most effective way to influence Gen Z and millennial decision-makers.

Nearly four hours a day is the average amount of time American adults spend consuming media on creator platforms, which is more than the time they spend watching TV and streaming services combined.

$1.5 billion is the amount Roblox creators earned in 2025, surpassing the 2024 total of $923 million. The platform also supported the equivalent of nearly 12,000 full-time jobs.

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