Disney shifts strategy with AI investment and influencer marketing

The Walt Disney Company is undergoing a significant corporate realignment, pivoting toward artificial intelligence and digital creator partnerships while reducing staff in legacy creative divisions.

Disney has committed approximately $180 million to build an enterprise-wide AI division, a move that includes absorbing the core engineering and research team from the startup Character.AI. This technological push coincides with layoffs affecting between 100 and 200 employees within the Disney Experiences division, specifically impacting Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Live Entertainment in Glendale and Orlando.

Simultaneously, the company is overhauling its marketing approach by prioritizing social media influencers over traditional advertising. Disney has partnered with more than 6,000 content creators this year, a 30% increase from 2025, generating nearly 12 billion social media impressions across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.