VidCon 2025 had it all: dozens of panels, hundreds of featured creators, loads of meet-and-greets, and three very different tracks (Community, Creator, and Industry) designed to serve three very different audiences. But as often happens when you try to serve all audiences at once, not everyone walked away satisfied.Still, a few core themes stood out amid the noise. These three takeaways reveal where the creator economy is going next — and why creators may need to adapt faster than ever.'Curiosity' is the newest buzzword.For years, "authenticity" has been the north star for creators looking to build community and grow their platforms, despite no one really knowing what that meant. Underneath that was the idea of a "curiosity gap," in which creators would use curiosity as the guiding light for content.“The ideas for [successful] content are based on curiosity,” digital media executive Filup Molina, who produced MrBeast’s "Beast Olympics," said during a panel on how to write compelling video scripts. He pointed to a larger trend seen across the weekend’s workshops and keynotes: curiosity is king when it comes to content. YouTube turns 20: How one video at the zoo changed the internet forever And Molina wasn't the only person who pointed to curiosity as the deciding factor for videos that truly served an audience over the three-day convention. Kai Plunk, the managing director of Elevate Talent Management and the creative mind behind some of MrBeast's most viral hits, said as much during his masterclass "Why'd They Click Off." According to Plunk, strong retention isn’t built on flashy gimmicks. "You want to make your retention go through the roof? Stop thinking about retention. Think about what you're actually giving them that makes them want to stick around,” he said.Plunk emphasized storytelling over metrics: “Choose a story that leads to curiosity.” Essentially, he said, build a narrative that your audience has to finish because they’re dying to know what happens next.So what does curiosity-based content actually look like? It starts with asking an intriguing question. Jason Gandy, a content creator and instructor at Quantum Courses, said during a panel about writing hooks, said that the question should "spark curiosity and hook viewers into watching the rest of your video to find the answer." The best hooks hint at emotional payoff, build suspense, and gain trust over time, he argued — all of which depend on closing that curiosity gap. The first 3 seconds of your video matter. Here's how to keep people watching your TikTok Experts at VidCon agree that creators with long-term success aren't just lucky; they understand that keeping an audience is a different skill from reaching one. The future favors those who can tug at curiosity while delivering real value.AI is here to stay.At VidCon, there was plenty of buzz around Veo 3, Google DeepMind’s next-generation video generation model, which is soon coming to YouTube Shorts. Judging by the packed AI panels, creators are clearly paying attention.Beauty and comedy influencer Jenny Solares has been trying to use AI tools in her process, not because it's indispensable today, but because it's going to be the future. "I used to have to find images for green screen backgrounds on Google… now I'll use ChatGPT. That helps a lot," she told Mashable at VidCon. While she doesn’t rely on it for every part of the creative process, she added, "Sometimes I'll have the idea and I just want to see how I can bring it to life. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't." Jenny Solares' authenticity makes us all love her Jenny Hoyos, another creator who uses AI to aid in her content creation, described these tools as her "partner and assistant" from ideation to execution. She told Mashable, "I love all of them, but Google Gemini is really good."Her approach is systematic: Identify a trend, brainstorm with AI, choose the most viral hook and payoff, and then build the video line-by-line. "I don't even think about, 'Oh, what is the viral video?' I just think about what's a viral hook, what's gonna shock people."At a session titled "Mapping the Modern Creator Economy," Ollie Forsyth, founder of New Economies, said that in 2023, just 33 percent of creators were using AI tools — now, that number has surged to 80 percent.Forsyth argued that AI doesn’t just make creation easier, it transforms creators into global businesses from Day One. With AI-powered dubbing, for example, creators like MrBeast can reach massive audiences across the globe. "Every creator is going to have to be AI-focused," Forsyth said. "It’ll help them free up the time they spend on admin, finances, brand partnerships, marketing, and more."In short, AI isn't just about editing faster. It's about scaling smarter.Fans had a blast. Everyone else, not so much.VidCon offers three distinct tracks tailored to different audiences: Community, for fans and casual attendees who want to meet their favorite creators; Creator, designed for aspiring and emerging content creators looking to grow their platforms; and Industry, geared toward professionals working in digital media, marketing, and brand partnerships. The Industry track is the most expensive, the Community track is the most affordable, and the Creator track falls right in between. Every year, there's an ongoing debate about who VidCon truly caters to, but this year, it was clear who had the best time: the fans. Many of them — remarkably young, with a noticeable number on summer break from elementary school — showed up for selfies, meet-and-greets, live podcast recordings, and hours of access to their favorite creators. And they got exactly what they came for.Meanwhile, creators and industry professionals spent their days in back-to-back panels on brand growth, monetization strategies, and the state of the creator economy. Insightful? Sometimes. Fun? Rarely. Even among the 200-some featured creators, the sentiment was mixed: the swag was underwhelming, the events less exciting than in years past, and the overall vibe just felt...off. As for the Industry track, it often felt more like a marketplace than a hub for meaningful networking.If VidCon has one constant, it’s this: an ongoing identity crisis. Is it for fans? For creators trying to break through? For those who’ve already made it? Or for the brands trying to capitalize on all of the above? And in trying to serve all those audiences, does it end up fully serving none of them?That’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, VidCon has always been a space for fans to connect with their favorite digital creators IRL. But it does signal a shift in how the creator economy sees its biggest annual gathering. The fans are still showing up. But the creators? They may soon start looking elsewhere for inspiration, connection, and free swag.