Finding the right creators is one of the most important parts of indie game marketing. The most accurate way to build an influencer list is still manual research: looking at similar games, checking who covered them, and reviewing creators one by one. However, AI can help speed things up quite a bit.
If you want tools like ChatGPT or Claude to be more effective, it helps to understand their limitations and how to work around them. When you ask AI to build an influencer list, it may return a relatively small pool of creators, outdated or inactive contacts, or accounts that no longer cover games like yours.
That is why I want to show you a better way to use it, so you do not have to start from zero. AI can help you build an initial pool of relevant creators and organize the information, leaving you with a much quicker manual check to verify who is actually worth adding to your list. Here is how the process works, step by step.
Ways of finding gaming influencers, creators and streamers
Before using an AI tool, it helps to understand the usual ways creators are found, both free and paid. The manual process is simple:
- Pick 3 to 5 games similar to yours in genre, style, tone, or player experience
- Search those games on YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok
- Look for creators who covered them through gameplay, reviews, demos, streams, or short-form content
- Check whether they are still active and still cover games like yours
- Add relevant creators to your list, along with their platform, contact details, content type, average views, and a short note about why they fit
- Keep expanding and updating the list over time rather than treating it as a one-time task
This method is accurate because it is based on real creator behavior, but it can become time consuming. YouTube also tends to surface the same popular creators repeatedly, which can make it harder to discover new ones.
If you have budget, gaming-specific tools such as Lurkit or Keymailer can speed up creator discovery and help with things like key distribution and campaign tracking.
AI sits somewhere in between. It can help you discover an initial pool of creators much faster, but the results still need to be checked manually before you add them to your final list.
How to use AI to find gaming influencers
This workflow helps you build an initial list of YouTube and Twitch creators much faster than starting from zero. AI is useful for discovery, but the results are not always perfect. It may repeat creators, give you outdated or inactive channels, or suggest people who are no longer a good fit for your game. That is why a quick manual check is still important before finalizing your list.
For the steps below, use an AI tool that can browse the web, such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity. Web access matters because you want the AI to check real, current channels rather than rely only on older information or guess details like channel names, links, or audience size.
Before running the prompts, prepare:
[GAME TYPE / DESCRIPTION]
A short description of your genre, gameplay, tone, and player experience.
[COMPARABLE GAMES]
Three to five games that attract a similar type of player.
For example:
Game type: Cozy organization puzzle game focused on arranging objects and environmental storytelling
Comparable games: Unpacking, A Little to the Left, Assemble with Care
Or:
Game type: Psychological survival horror focused on exploration, changing environments, and avoiding combat
Comparable games: Layers of Fear, MADiSON, Visage
Step 1: Initial creator discovery
Start by generating your first batch of relevant creators. Copy the below promt into your AI tool.
Find 15 YouTube creators who regularly cover games similar to:
[GAME TYPE / DESCRIPTION]
Use [COMPARABLE GAMES] as a guide for the type of creators and audiences that may be relevant.
Creator selection
- Focus on creators who publish gameplay, Let's Plays, walkthroughs, first impressions, reviews, or other gameplay-focused content.
- Avoid news-only, AAA-only, and broad gaming commentary channels unless they also regularly feature relevant indie games.
- Prioritize creators who regularly cover similar indie games rather than creators who happened to play one comparable title once.
- Include a mix of creator sizes where relevant. Do not exclude smaller creators simply because their audience is small.
- Include creators who appear to be currently active.
- Do not repeat creators.
Coverage research
For each creator, look for examples of games they have covered that are similar to mine.
Where possible:
- Identify 1 to 2 relevant games they have covered.
- Include direct links to the creator's actual YouTube videos covering those games.
- Prioritize coverage of [REFERENCE GAMES] or the closest comparable games you can find.
- Briefly explain why the creator appears relevant to my game.
Do not invent or guess video URLs.
If a creator looks relevant but you cannot verify their comparable-game coverage, you may still include them. Clearly write "Check manually" for anything you could not confirm.
Output format
Return the results in a table using exactly these columns:
| Country/Language | Platform(s) | Channel name | Link (main platform) | Content type | Game fit | Avg views (main platform) | Followers (main platform) | Name | Contact |
Use each column as follows:
Country/Language
Creator's main country or content language where available.
Platform(s)
List YouTube and any other major platforms they actively use if clearly identifiable.
Channel name
Exact creator or channel name.
Link (main platform)
Direct link to their YouTube channel.
Content type
For example: Let's Plays, first impressions, reviews, full playthroughs, horror gameplay, cozy games, indie discovery.
Game fit
Briefly explain why the creator may fit my game. Include the titles of 1 to 2 relevant games they have covered and direct YouTube video links where you can verify them.
Example:
Strong fit: Unpacking [direct video link], A Little to the Left [direct video link]. Regularly covers relaxing puzzle and organization games.
Avg views (main platform)
Estimate average views using around 5 to 10 recent regular YouTube videos where possible. Exclude Shorts and livestream replays when they would distort the average.
Followers (main platform)
Current YouTube subscriber count where available.
Name
Creator's first name or public name if available.
Contact
Publicly listed business email or preferred contact method. Never guess or generate an email address.
Accuracy rules
- Never invent creator names, channel links, video links, subscriber counts, view counts, contact details, or past coverage.
- If information cannot be verified, write "Check manually".
- A creator can still be included if they appear relevant but some fields require manual verification.
- Accuracy and relevance matter more than filling every field perfectly.
- Return up to 15 useful creator leads rather than padding the list with weak matches.Follow-up prompt: Keep expanding the YouTube list
Find 15 more YouTube creators using the same criteria, table format, and accuracy rules as before. Do not repeat anyone already listed. Continue prioritizing creators who regularly cover [GAME TYPE / DESCRIPTION], [REFERENCE GAMES], or closely comparable indie games. For Game fit, keep including relevant past coverage and direct YouTube video links where available. If anything cannot be verified, write "Check manually" instead of guessing.You can repeat this prompt as many times as needed:“Find 15 more creators using the same rules and do not repeat anyone already listed.”
Once you have built a solid YouTube list, you can use the same process to look for Twitch streamers.
Follow-up prompt: Expand the research to Twitch
Now repeat the same research for Twitch instead of YouTube.
Find 15 Twitch streamers who appear to be currently active and regularly play games similar to...
[GAME TYPE / DESCRIPTION]
Prioritize streamers who have played [REFERENCE GAMES] or other closely comparable indie games.
Streamer selection
- Focus on creators who regularly stream relevant gameplay.
- Prioritize streamers who cover similar indie games, not someone who played a comparable game only once.
- Include a mix of creator sizes where relevant.
- Prioritize streamers who appear to be currently active.
- Do not repeat creators already listed unless Twitch is also one of their main active platforms.
Coverage research
For each streamer, look for evidence that they have played games similar to mine.
Where possible:
- Identify 1 to 2 relevant games they have streamed.
- Include direct evidence such as Twitch VODs, clips, or videos on their connected YouTube channel.
- Briefly explain why the streamer appears relevant to my game.
If past coverage cannot be verified because a Twitch VOD is no longer available, write "Check manually" instead of guessing.
Output format
Return the results in a table using exactly these columns:
| Country/Language | Platform(s) | Channel name | Link (main platform) | Content type | Game fit | Avg viewers (main platform) | Followers (main platform) | Name | Contact |
Use each column as follows:
Game fit
Briefly explain why the streamer may fit my game. Include similar games they have streamed and direct evidence where available.
Avg viewers (main platform)
Provide an approximate recent average viewer count where it can be verified. If not, write "Check manually".
Followers (main platform)
Report the current Twitch follower count where available.
Contact
Use only a publicly listed business email or preferred contact method. Never guess or generate contact details.
Accuracy rules
- Never invent streamer names, follower counts, average viewer numbers, contact details, or past coverage.
- If information cannot be verified, write "Check manually".
- A streamer can still be included if they appear relevant but some details require manual verification.
- Accuracy and relevance are more important than filling every field perfectly.Step 2: Expand with similar creators
Once you have a few strong matches, use them as reference points to find more channels with similar content and audiences.
Find 15 additional YouTube creators similar to the creators below who regularly cover [GAME TYPE / DESCRIPTION] or comparable indie games.
Prompt:
Find 15 additional YouTube creators similar to the creators below who regularly cover [GAME TYPE / DESCRIPTION] or [COMPARABLE GAMES].
[paste creator names]
Use the same table format and accuracy rules as before.
Do not repeat anyone already listed.
In Game fit, briefly explain why each creator is relevant.
Include links to similar games they have covered where available.
If anything cannot be verified, write "Check manually".This can help surface creators connected by content style, audience, or game coverage even if they did not appear in your first search.
Step 3: Look specifically for smaller creators
If your list is dominated by larger channels, run a separate search for smaller creators. Smaller creators can be especially valuable when your game is still unknown. They should not be excluded simply because their audience is small.
Prompt:
Find 15 additional smaller YouTube creators who regularly cover [GAME TYPE / DESCRIPTION] or games similar to [COMPARABLE GAMES].
Use the same table format and accuracy rules as before.
Prioritize active gameplay creators.
Do not repeat anyone already listed.
Include relevant past coverage in Game fit where available.
If anything cannot be verified, write "Check manually".Keep expanding this search as long as the AI is still giving you new, relevant contacts. You can ask for another 15, then another 15, using the same rules and telling it not to repeat anyone already listed. You can also repeat the same search for Twitch to uncover smaller streamers there. Stop when the results start becoming repetitive or noticeably less relevant.
Step 4: Find indie game discovery channels
Some creators focus specifically on finding and showcasing new or upcoming indie games rather than one particular genre. These channels may not appear in your normal genre searches.
Prompt:
Find 10 active YouTube creators or channels that regularly discover, showcase, review, or play new and upcoming indie games across different genres.
Use the same table format and accuracy rules as before.
- Prioritize channels that regularly feature indie games rather than only occasionally covering them.
- Include examples of recent indie game coverage where possible.
- Do not repeat anyone already listed.
- If anything cannot be verified, write "Check manually".These channels can be useful because their audience is already interested in discovering new indie games, even if they do not specialize in your exact genre. Repeat by asking 10 more as long as it gives you productive results.
Step 5: Clean and combine your list
Once you have several batches, combine everything into one master list.
Prompt:
Review the creator lists below, remove duplicate creators, and return one clean master list using exactly these columns and this exact order:
| Country/Language | Platform(s) | Channel name | Link (main platform) | Content type | Game fit | Avg views (main platform) | Followers (main platform) | Name | Contact |
Keep all useful information already collected.
If any data is missing or cannot be verified, write "Check manually" instead of guessing.
Do not add extra columns, commentary, notes, or explanations outside the table.You can copy the finished table directly into our free Creator List Template, available by subscribing to my newsletter. The AI-generated columns match the first part of the tracker, while you can use the remaining columns to manage outreach, follow-ups, notes, and coverage. You can also upload the tracker to your AI tool and ask it to add the cleaned results directly into the file.
Verify, organize, and use your creator list
This is the part I would not skip. AI can help you build the list much faster, but it can still surface outdated channels, incorrect links, weak matches, or information that simply looks believable. Before outreach, open each creator and do a quick check. Make sure they are still active, still cover games like yours, their recent views look reasonable, the contact details are current, and any comparable-game coverage links actually exist.
When deciding who to keep, remember that influencer outreach is both a relevance and numbers game. You do not need a tiny list of perfect matches. Keep expanding for as long as you continue finding relevant creators, and do not dismiss smaller channels if they clearly fit your game. Once outreach starts, track what actually works. Over time, you will start seeing which creator sizes, content styles, and niches respond best, and that will make every future round of research stronger.
AI works best here as a research assistant, not as the final decision maker. Let it help you discover and organize creators faster, then use your own judgment to verify who actually belongs on your outreach list.