Productivity narratives and the marginalization of ethics: a content analysis of academic influencer discourse on AI tools on Instagram

Abstract Purpose This study examines how academic influencers on Instagram represent AI tools through their post captions and hashtags, with particular attention to the narrative strategies used to frame these tools and the extent to which ethical and practical considerations appear in their textual content. Design/methodology/approach We employ a qualitative content analysis of 164 AI-focused posts from seven academic influencer profiles on Instagram. The analysis focuses on the textual and promotional elements of these posts – captions, hashtags, and associated calls to action – examining narrative patterns, framing strategies, and sponsorship indicators. Findings Influencers consistently frame AI tools as essential academic companions for academic productivity, reinforcing this framing through detailed workflow demonstrations and personal narratives that enhance credibility and relatability. This positioning becomes more pronounced in sponsored content, where promotional cues, discount codes, and monetized resources further emphasize the indispensability of these tools. In contrast, ethical considerations – such as authorship, originality, and academic integrity – receive minimal attention in captions and hashtags and are addressed only through brief disclaimers. Practical implications The findings offer insight into how AI tools are informally represented through captions and promotional text in academic spaces on social media, with implications for how students and educators encounter and interpret guidance about AI adoption outside institutional channels. Social implications The study highlights how platform-specific communicative norms marginalize ethical reflection in influencer captions, raising questions about how academic norms around AI use are informally negotiated on social media. Originality/value This is among the first studies to systematically examine how academic influencers frame AI tools through captions and hashtags on Instagram, documenting the communicative mechanisms through which productivity narratives displace ethical discourse in informal educational spaces.