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INB Team
February 12, 2026
The affiliate marketing industry hit $42.6 billion in 2026, but something interesting happened along the way: the playbooks that worked in 2024 started failing. Hard.
We sat down with two people who see this evolution from the front lines every day: Olga Karpenko, Affiliate Team Lead at ClickDealer, and Yurii Abramchuk, Affiliate Team Lead at INB.bio. Between them, they manage hundreds of affiliates across dozens of markets and have watched the industry transform from “test fast, scale faster” to something more nuanced.
This isn’t another prediction piece filled with buzzwords. This is two practitioners talking about what’s actually happening in their niche, their partner relationships, and their workflows right now.
Question: How are companies evolving from short-term, performance-driven tactics toward more systematic, long-term affiliate strategies? What frameworks or KPIs define this shift in practice?
Olga Karpenko (ClickDealer): The shift is real, but it’s messier than people admit. Five years ago, most teams optimized for approval rate and thought that was enough. A stable 20% approval rate was considered a good benchmark for nutra offers in most African GEOs, so partners hitting that level were scaled without hesitation.
Today, affiliate programs are built like any other growth channel – with structure, planning, and long-term goals. The focus has moved from “How many conversions did we get this month?” to “What kind of customers are affiliates bringing, and how valuable are they over time?”
That change is visible in the KPIs. Customer lifetime value matters more than pure CPA. Retention, repeat purchases, incremental revenue, and stability over time are now core signals.
We also look at partners over months, not days. If the approval rate jumps up and down by 10 percent week to week, that’s a concern even if the average looks fine. Tiered partnerships work well here. Higher payouts and early access aren’t rewards for one good week, they’re earned through consistency. Some of our most trusted partners aren’t the biggest by volume, they’re the most reliable.
Yurii Abramchuk (INB.bio): I’ll add something specific: we started tracking what we call the “7-metric dashboard” this year. Approval rate is just the first metric. Then trash rate, buyout rate, ROMI, stability coefficient of variation, rejection structure analysis, and partner behavior score.
The behavior score is where it gets interesting. We literally score partners on response time to messages, how fast they implement feedback, and communication quality. A partner who replies in four hours and makes changes in 24 hours gets flagged as high-priority. Someone who ghosts for three days and argues about every suggestion? They’re on thin ice regardless of volume.
We cap how many partners we take per GEO. Right now we might say “15 partners maximum for Venezuela.” When all 15 slots are full, we don’t take new partners unless someone drops out or we expand. This forces us to focus on quality. Every partnership is an investment of our team’s time and our infrastructure’s capacity.
The shift from short-term to long-term shows up in payout structures too. We’re testing revenue-share models where partners earn a percentage of customer lifetime value, not just first purchase. Early results show partners on rev-share models spend more time on creative quality and audience targeting because they benefit from repeat purchases. Incentives shape behavior.
Question: Looking back at 2025, which traffic sources or approaches have become less effective, and which have emerged as benchmarks for efficient campaign execution?
Yurii Abramchuk (INB.bio): In 2024, many advertisers shifted to TikTok as Facebook costs rose. But for health supplements targeting older audiences, TikTok’s demographic isn’t ideal. Products like joint health and prostate supplements, geared toward 55–60 year olds, don’t perform well there.
We tested TikTok across several geographies. The only segment that showed potential was weight loss for 30–45 year olds, and even then, cost-per-lead was comparable to Facebook without better approval rates. As a result, we largely scaled back TikTok campaigns for these products.
Facebook remains the strongest performer for these audiences. When combined with other channels, it continues to drive predictable results at an efficient cost.
Olga Karpenko (ClickDealer): Many fast-scale tactics lost their edge in 2025. Arbitrage-heavy channels like low-quality native placements, push traffic, and generic coupon pages became more expensive and harder to predict.
Programmatic display declined sharply. CPMs increased, fraud worsened, and tracking suffered due to privacy changes. A lot of affiliates either reduced spend or moved budgets elsewhere.
At the same time, the benchmark shifted toward traffic built on trust. SEO content that answers real user intent, engaged email lists, and communities where affiliates control distribution performed far more consistently.
Native advertising had a quiet comeback. A well-written native article often converts better than an obvious social ad. Branded search also worked well. If someone is already searching for reviews or product names, that intent is hard to beat.
The key lesson from 2025 wasn’t about scale. It was about consistency.
Question: When affiliate marketing is treated as a core digital growth channel, how do networks help advertisers measure its true business impact?
Olga Karpenko (ClickDealer): When advertisers treat affiliate marketing as a key part of growth, networks step in as trusted partners, not just service providers.
They help make sense of all the data, showing which traffic really drives valuable customers, not just clicks, as well as manage attribution, optimize budgets, and flag risks like fraud or non-compliant traffic, so advertisers can focus on scaling with confidence.
In short, networks help turn affiliate marketing from a “volume channel” into a reliable, measurable engine for real business growth.
Yurii Abramchuk (INB.bio): I’ll be blunt: most advertisers still don’t know how to measure affiliate marketing properly. They look at last-click attribution and call it a day. That’s broken.
One thing we implemented is post-purchase surveys. Literally just ask customers “How did you hear about us?” The results are shocking. 40-50% say they saw multiple sources before buying.
For business impact measurement, we focus on three things with advertisers: customer acquisition cost including full funnel, lifetime value by channel, and retention rate by source.
The network’s role is education. Most advertisers come from performance marketing backgrounds where everything is immediate and trackable. We have to teach them that affiliate marketing is closer to content marketing, it builds awareness, educates buyers, and influences decisions across multiple touchpoints. Measuring that requires better tools and more patience.
Question: How are advertisers and affiliates using AI today, and which side is adopting it faster and more effectively?
Yurii Abramchuk (INB.bio): Affiliates adopted AI faster, but advertisers are using it better.
Affiliates jumped on ChatGPT and AI image generators in 2023. Every affiliate with a blog started pumping out AI-written articles. The problem? AI content without human editing is obvious. Google’s algorithm got better at detecting it, and readers don’t trust it.
The smart affiliates use AI for first drafts, creative variations, translation help, and data analysis. Then humans edit, fact-check, and add personality. That works. Pure AI content? Dead on arrival.
We use AI internally at INB.bio for creative testing. We generate 20 ad variations with AI, test them all, and the AI learns which elements work in which GEOs. Green backgrounds work better in Tunisia. Blue works better in Cote d’Ivoure. White works everywhere. AI spots these patterns faster than humans can.
Olga Karpenko (ClickDealer): I agree with Yurii here. I’d just add one caution. AI doesn’t understand legal boundaries, so human oversight is essential. Both sides are using AI, but affiliates are moving faster. They’re closer to execution and can test ideas quickly.
Affiliates use AI to speed up creative testing, optimize messaging, manage budgets, and automate workflows. Some are running hundreds of creative variations per campaign and finding winners within days. That creates a clear performance gap.
Advertisers are more cautious. They focus on fraud prevention, forecasting, and data analysis, where accuracy and compliance matter more than speed.
One warning: AI-generated product descriptions for health supplements are dangerous. AI doesn’t understand regulatory compliance. We’ve seen AI write descriptions that make medical claims you legally can’t make. Human oversight is mandatory, especially in regulated verticals like nutra.
Question: How will affiliate marketing change when AI becomes the buyer? What happens in an agentic e-commerce world?
Olga Karpenko (ClickDealer): When AI systems start making purchase decisions for users, affiliate marketing shifts from persuasion to decision support.
AI buyers compare price, specifications, performance data, reviews, and trust signals. Emotional hooks matter less. Clear, structured, and reliable information matters more.
High-quality affiliate content may also become part of the data layer AI systems rely on. Affiliates who build authority and trust now are better positioned for that future.
There is a risk that AI agents narrow choices too aggressively or prioritize price above everything else. More likely, affiliate marketing evolves into a new form of optimization, where success depends on how well content aligns with AI recommendation logic.
Yurii Abramchuk (INB.bio): I’m less worried about this than most people. Since healthcare decisions are personal. Even if AI handles 80% of e-commerce, I don’t think people will let AI choose their supplements without human involvement.
But assuming I’m wrong and AI does become the buyer, affiliate marketing shifts from persuasion to information. Right now, affiliates persuade humans to buy. In an AI-buyer world, affiliates inform AI systems about product quality, ingredients, effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.
The affiliates who survive will be the ones producing structured data, not just persuasive content. Product comparison databases. Ingredient analysis. Clinical study summaries. Real customer reviews with verified purchases. AI agents will trust data-rich sources.
The practical change for us would be optimizing for AI crawlers. Make sure product information is structured, factual, and easy for AI to parse. That’s already good practice, so we’re not worried.
One more thing: human trust will become the premium product. In a world where AI makes most purchases, the products and services where humans still make decisions personally will command higher prices. Premium supplements with personalized recommendations and human customer support will differentiate from commodity products that AI auto-buys. That’s our bet.
Question: Which verticals do you think will be hot in 2026? Do you have plans to extend your offers’ portfolio to some other niches or GEOs?
Yurii Abramchuk (INB.bio): Men’s health is exploding. Prostate health, testosterone support, male vitality products, this category is growing at 13.5% annually according to market research, and our internal data confirms it.
Stigma is decreasing. Men over 50 are now comfortable discussing these issues and seeking solutions. Also, this demographic has money and high intent. When someone searches for prostate health solutions, they’re ready to buy, not just browsing.
Joint health remains strong, especially as global populations age. We’re seeing particularly strong demand in Latin America and Asia Pacific markets where middle-class growth means more people can afford preventative healthcare.
One vertical I’m watching but not entering yet: sleep and stress management. Demand is growing fast, especially post-pandemic, but the product quality bar is low. Too many garbage products making false claims. When that market matures and quality improves, we’ll enter. Not before.
Olga Karpenko (ClickDealer): I agree with Yurii that men’s health remains strong. I’d also add gut health and digestive supplements. This category is growing fast as consumers become more educated, and it’s less crowded than traditional weight-loss offers.
Finance verticals, specifically trading and investment education are seeing a resurgence. Not Forex scams, but legitimate fintech products and educational platforms. The younger demographics entering investing want content, tools, and education. Affiliates who can educate rather than just pitch are winning here.
E-learning and professional development stayed strong through 2025 and will grow in 2026. People invest in skills during uncertain economic times. Certifications, online courses, business tools, these convert well and have high customer lifetime value.
Another major area to watch is GLP-1-related products and services. Not just the drugs themselves, but the entire ecosystem around them – telehealth platforms, subscription models, coaching, diagnostics, and supporting supplements. Demand is massive, but compliance and education matter a lot here. Brands that focus on responsible messaging and long-term health outcomes will win.
From a GEO perspective, LATAM, MENA, and APAC remain attractive due to rising digital adoption and more manageable competition.
Question: What actually changes from 2025 to 2026 in workflow, automation, tracking? How are you preparing managers in your network to adapt?
Olga Karpenko (ClickDealer): The honest answer is that 2026 looks a lot like 2025, just more refined. This isn’t the iPhone release year where everything changes overnight. It’s the incremental improvement year.
Automation continues to expand across approvals, payouts, and fraud detection. Reporting is moving closer to real time, and tools are being consolidated to reduce manual work.
For tracking, the big change is better cross-device and cross-session attribution. We implemented a tracking solution that follows users across multiple sessions and devices more accurately.
The manager’s preparation is mostly training on data interpretation. We’re moving managers from “traffic coordinators” to “performance consultants.” They need to understand statistics, read dashboards, and provide strategic advice. We ran internal training on conversion optimization, creative testing methodology, and even basic statistics.
Yurii Abramchuk (INB.bio): I’m going to disagree slightly with Olga on one point: for us, 2026 is a transformation year, not an iteration year. But that’s because we’re deliberately choosing to transform.
The big workflow change is shifting from reactive to proactive partner management. Instead of waiting for partners to have problems, we’re doing monthly check-ins, quarterly reviews, and proactive optimization suggestions. This requires more manager time per partner, which is why we capped partnership numbers.
Our managers are becoming educators. We’re creating internal playbooks for each GEO: “Here’s what works in Tunisia. Here’s how to target Algeria. Here’s the creative style for Rwanda.” Managers need to teach these playbooks to new partners instead of letting them figure it out by burning budget.
For tracking, we implemented something interesting: call center recording analysis. We record every call (with permission), AI transcribes it, and we analyze conversion patterns. Which phrases increase approval? Which objections come up most? This data feeds back to partners so they can improve their landing page copy to preempt objections.
The manager preparation is intense. We’re running weekly training sessions on new markets, product knowledge, and analytical skills. Every manager has to understand the full funnel from ad click to delivery confirmation. No more siloed knowledge.
My prediction: by end of 2026, the networks that invested in manager capability and workflow improvement will pull ahead. The networks that stayed reactive and relied on old systems will start losing partners to better-run competitors. Operational excellence is becoming the competitive advantage because products and payouts are commoditizing.
Before we close, one thing both of us noticed: we spent this entire interview talking about systems, data, and long-term thinking. Five years ago, this interview would have been about tactics, which traffic source is hot, what creative angle converts best, how to find the cheapest clicks.
The maturation of affiliate marketing means the tactics matter less than the infrastructure. You can learn tactics in a week. Building systems that work across multiple markets, training teams who can manage complex partnerships, developing technology that tracks performance accurately, this takes months and years.
The affiliates and networks that win in 2026 and beyond will be the ones who stopped chasing short-term wins and started building sustainable operations. That’s less exciting than “this one weird trick,” but it’s more honest.
If you’re reading this looking for the secret to overnight success in affiliate marketing, we don’t have it. If you’re reading this to understand how professionals are thinking about the next 2-3 years, you now have a pretty good map.
The industry is growing. The money is real. The opportunities exist. But the era of easy wins is over. Welcome to the era of operational excellence.
Do the obvious stuff consistently for 12 months. You’ll be fine.
Want to connect with the networks mentioned in this article? ClickDealer & INB.bio, both networks are actively looking for quality partners. Both will reject you if you can’t demonstrate you read this article and understand what “quality” means in 2026. They’re not kidding about that.
