Mumbai: At FICCI Frames 2026 on September 29, creator Kusha Kapila and Meta India Vice President Arun Srinivas turned a fandom panel into a two-way interview. They traded questions on Reels growth, discovery and AI, giving marketers a useful read on where Instagram is heading.
Engagement is the new reach
Srinivas said the old follower-only model still works, but an AI-led discovery layer is changing the game. He pointed to creators with 20,000–30,000 followers pulling 3 million views on Reels as evidence that a large audience is no longer a prerequisite for distribution.
“It’s really about how to make the content engaging so that you travel fast and reach the right audience,” Srinivas said.
Kapila said she noticed the shift while building her shapewear brand Underneat. When she asked her mostly female audience “What Are You Wearing Under,” the engaged response mattered more than her follower growth. She also described how 70,000–80,000 of roughly 3–4 lakh story viewers tapped a brand sticker to check the label, a signal that made Underneat an Instagram-first business.
What marketers should watch
The implications go beyond creators. If non-follower recommendations can produce millions of views, brands can back micro-creators with strong engagement and more authentic communities, but they need sharper vetting than a follower count.
- Follower count is losing its gatekeeping power; engagement and content quality travel faster.
- Tier 2 and tier 3 creators are winning by staying authentic rather than copying metro formats.
- Micro-drama series are a watch-out; Kapila announced her 14-episode show Likhe Draupad Tujhe, launching on Instagram the day after the panel.
The conversation also highlighted a geographic shift. Kapila named creators such as Life of Pooja and Renu Devnath as examples of non-metro voices getting discovered by being themselves rather than copying formats. She said distribution is now democratic, with even delivery agents filming while working. Srinivas added that India is a content hub where people watch more than they read, a reminder that video-first strategies remain central.
AI as a supporting character
Kapila said she already uses translation, Ads AI Advantage plus and Mano.ai for optimising codes for Underneat. Srinivas spoke about Meta’s Muse product, live in the US, and how creator agents could scan 50,000–100,000 DMs to separate content messages from order queries, then act as a sales or support agent for a small business.
His advice for marketers nervous about AI was to start experimenting. “We’re still, obviously, the brain, the main character and AI can be the supporting character,” he said.
Source: MediaNews4U
