Has AI Already Reached Its Peak or Is It Just Getting Started?

AI is Dead OR It’s Leveling Up

In iGaming, the hype cycle moves fast. AI was the buzzword of 2023–2024, promising to transform every affiliate operation. Now, the initial excitement has cooled – but that doesn’t mean the technology is done. Instead, we’re entering a more mature phase where AI finds its real, lasting roles. The quick wins are gone, replaced by long-term strategies that blend automation with human expertise.

At CasinoRIX, we see AI’s real impact in places where speed, scalability, and data accuracy matter most. But success no longer comes from “using AI” as a selling point. It comes from knowing exactly where to let the technology lead – and where human experience still outperforms any model. To understand this balance, we spoke with clovio, one of the affiliate operators using AI with precision rather than hype.

How Clovio Uses AI Where It Works Best

What parts of your affiliate workflow benefit most from AI today?

AI has been a game-changer when it comes to launching and revamping websites. What previously would have been impossible to achieve within tight timelines, we can now do faster than ever. Over the past year, we’ve revamped the systems and designs of all our affiliate websites, such as FeelingLucky.pt. Such rapid relaunches and updates wouldn’t have been possible without AI.

Can you give examples of how AI helps with optimizing your websites, specific to your niche?

We can now do far more integrations than before. In iGaming, we set up connections for:

• Live odds: Real-time listings of odds from all bookmakers for football matches across various leagues.
• Live lottery results: The lottery results are automatically published as soon as official sources release them.
• Demo games integrations with Feeling Lucky Play: Visitors can browse and filter a wide range of demo casino games to explore gameplay, features, and themes before playing for real money at an online casino.

These live data feeds keep our content continuously fresh and relevant.

How do you balance speed (enabled by AI) with accuracy, compliance, or UX expectations?

For punctual elements that change frequently and are time-consuming to constantly update manually, like pricing and promotions, AI allows us to automate updates. This complements our human-written content, where experts provide opinions and analysis.

Where AI Ends and Human Strategy Begins

AI delivers efficiency, but efficiency without strategy is a dead end. At CasinoRIX, we’ve seen that the biggest affiliate wins still come from decisions that require judgement, creativity, and trust. Tools can analyse trends, process data, and even produce draft copy – but they can’t replicate the nuance of human storytelling or the credibility that comes from first-hand experience.

This is where clovio’s approach mirrors our own: AI should handle the repetitive, time-sensitive updates, freeing people to focus on work that differentiates a brand in a crowded market. However tasks such as crafting content that carries a distinct voice or negotiating partnerships that open new opportunities, must stay firmly in human territory.

What decisions or creative tasks do you still rely on human expertise for?

We firmly stand by our expert-created content. We believe this is where we truly make a difference. Personal experience still matters, especially in video content created by real people who have tested products and are genuinely passionate. This brings a different style and unique value that AI cannot replicate.

How do you see AI fitting into a future where authenticity and trust are key to affiliate success?

AI-generated results aren’t always accurate when users search for information. Even straightforward queries like ‘Which online casinos are legal in X regulated market?’ give incomplete, outdated, or even made-up results.

That’s why it’s crucial to show our content is up to date and reliable, so AI platforms can include trustworthy sources in their overviews.

In areas like partnerships, where does human insight still outperform AI?

Affiliate marketing is fundamentally connection-based. It’s an industry where we meet partners face-to-face at conferences and build genuine relationships. This human connection will always remain vital. While AI provides invaluable insights into data analysis, industry trends, broken links, and commissions, partnerships ultimately happen between real people.

The Future Is Hybrid

The affiliate model is no longer a question of AI versus humans – it’s about using each where they excel. The operators who will thrive are those who integrate AI into the right processes, automate without sacrificing quality, and keep human judgement at the heart of strategic decisions. AI should make you faster and sharper, but it shouldn’t make you generic.

We believe the future belongs to affiliates who are both technically adaptive and deeply human in their approach. AI can monitor, update, and connect data sources 24/7. People can interpret, challenge, and present that information in ways that resonate. Together, this combination builds trust – not just traffic.

The hype phase is over, and that’s a good thing. AI is settling into its place as a powerful, invisible layer of the affiliate workflow. The focus now isn’t on “using AI” as a marketing headline – it’s on proving that the end result is better for the user. In a competitive iGaming landscape, that’s what will separate long-term winners from those who fade when the next trend hits.