Thoughts on Substack's Creator AI Report

Substack actually suppresses AI content. Here's how:

NotebookLM: Mindmap feature.

This article was never supposed to see the light of day. 🙏

I wanted to share some of my insights on the latest survey by Substack on how its writers use AI in their work. This is also an exploration my personal experiences as a writer online, much of which are deeply humiliating experiences and insights for me to admit.

Reader discretion is therefore advised (Update: I’ve had to paywall the more personal things, due to fear of retaliation).

The editors said “Substack has in 2025 leaned in and their users not just being writers but podcasts, video creators and multi-media influencers.”

But what’s the real story here and where did the survey make me personally a bit upset? 😕

• Substack says it surveyed 2,000 Substack publishers, including writers, artists, podcasters, and video creators, from around the world. (Substack is mostly a U.S. based platform). The survey was designed to reflect key segments of Substack’s publishing community.

• On Substack, there’s a lot of anti-AI sentiment due to the platform’s emphasis (“economic engine for culture”) on culture and politics. While journalism and publishing in the U.S. have on-boarded AI very quickly, I was curious to see if that was the case among some of Substack’s Creators as well. Of course, I sort of understood the picture they wanted to paint when I participated in the survey:

Substack Creators mostly use AI for workflow support

• Writers on the platform aren’t huge AI adopters according to the survey.

• Do note that “AI” doesn’t have its own category but instead relegated to being a minor subcategory within the Technology category of the app that has among the lowest conversion rates on the platform (of free to paid supporters). This is due to editorial bias, not our own ineptitude. This also has had dire financial and personal consequences for curators and writers like me. Let me try and explain (I get a bit emotional and this has been my life the last 4 years):

• You could even say that Substack’s algo on Notes penalizes AI content. Here is the Tag in case you want to follow it. Also relevant the Emerging Tech tag. These have to be enabled in the app as a reader through a tedious process of going to Manage Interests - Technology - Artificial Intelligence (turn the thumbs up to green, the 5th option down). The tag is also not very well managed. Where even my own content barely even appears on those feeds. [Even while exploring AI and Emerging tech is my overarching mission].

• So while Substack has a proliferation of AI based publications (as a topic), the users of Substack’s app are not overly exposed to content about AI. Since the algo silos the content (almost as if it’s spam to Substack’s emphasis on Culture), of course in reality that is actually meaning purely American versions of culture and politics are magnified. Substack is riddled with this kind of editorial bias by design and it decides who makes and it doesn’t in part from a financial sense as well. Creators often confront the antithesis to the Substack honeymoon. 🍯☽ It’s typically when they fail.

Substack’s emphasis on “cultural empowerment”, a proxy for luring influencers, and media folk (and various DEI type strategies) - has decimated opportunity for others. Others like me.

Substack’s Cultural Emphasis has decimated AI use on the platform among Creators

So with Substack’s considerably ideological stance on culture, and proliferating anti-AI sentiment, adoption of AI tools is rather low among this Creator group. It’s shocking really how the creators have been kept at functionally “low AI literacy” levels: almost as if by design. Far lower than actual journalists working at publications in the U.S. as a whole: (this is very concerning).

• ONLY 45.4% said they’re using AI

• 52.6% said they’re not

• 2% were unsure

Older Men more likely to use AI in their work

• Publishers 45 and over were more likely to use AI than those under 45.

• Men reported higher adoption than women (55% vs. 38%).

I myself fall into this category, as do most of my American-based paid readers. But a lot of Substack’s marketing and partnership budget is actually going in to lure younger female Creators and their audiences for platform benefits and to try to take larger marketshare.

Who pays for AI Supremacy

Just 3 U.S. states make up the bulk of my paid supporters.

1. California

2. New York

3. Texas

Globally 🌍

Globally just three countries make up the bulk of my paid supporters among this demographic of older men.

So I’m functionally writing for a customer who have extremely Western sensibilities, dare I saw the highly educated and high earning political left.

1. United States (62%)

2. United Kingdom (8%, where Substack has done considerable marketing)

3. Canada (4%, where I am originally from)

• The same user base on Substack that uses AI the most are actually the most penalized in terms of baseline conversion rates.

• These top three countries make up 74% of my total revenue by country of origin.

• I can only hope with a funding round of $100 million they can make the platform more friendly to a global audience.

♂️ Which Category of Creators actually use AI in their Writing and multimedia content?

• Substack has systematically neglected the Categories where its primary older male user base find the most value! Due to a more DEI (which I agree with in moderation) approach of boosting “Culture” and influencers from the likes of Instagram. I understand that Substack cannot please everyone or be all things to all folk.

• I’m paywalling this content not because it’s extremely valuable insights, but deeply personal, embarrassing, humiliating and regrettable situations I find myself in as a worker in the Creator economy (as someone who thinks about fairness, meritocracy and loyalty online a lot).

• These morbid confessions may not age well, but represent my particular struggles on the internet and apply to a very limited context of my own journey. (nor will I ever make this content free to read). It’s upsetting to even admit to all of this, and I may end up deleting this article as its impulsive and represents years of frustration just trying to make a honest go-of-it. I’ve made personal sacrifices and suffered failures in my personal life as well related to all of this.

• I will both summarize and think about this AI report and share my own experiences and viewpoints on this. Some of which are not flattering to this platform. 🤫 (So if you are not up for a rant, just skip this one - no hard feelings).

✋ Many Creators use AI to improve dealing with ASD, ADHD, disabilities, visual impairments etc…