Social media giants have grand plans for AI. Creators fear they'll be left out.

Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI

• Influencers are reckoning with a new boogeyman: artificial intelligence.
• Social apps seem infatuated with AI, and it's making some creators feel like an afterthought.
• Big Tech has an opportunity to help creators share in AI's profits — if they choose to do so.

The days of special treatment for influencers may be numbered as big social apps turn their attention to a shiny new object: artificial intelligence.

The tension recently surfaced on Instagram.