The Affiliate Leaders Summit will bring together more than 10,000 affiliate and marketing professionals from 150+ countries in Lisbon from 29 September to 1 October, creating a global meeting point for the people and businesses shaping the future of affiliation.
But as AI transforms search, regulations tighten, and new acquisition channels emerge, staying competitive requires more than industry insight. Affiliates need practical skills they can apply immediately.
That’s why the Affiliate Leaders Academy has been created.
Running alongside the wider Affiliate Leaders Summit, the Academy is designed to help affiliates move beyond discussion and develop hands-on strategies for the challenges reshaping the industry. Through workshops, masterclasses, Q&As, fireside chats, and interactive panels, attendees will gain practical frameworks they can take back and implement in their businesses.
Here’s a closer look at what makes the Academy different and the key topics it will tackle across its three-day programme.
What Makes the Affiliate Leaders Academy Different from the Affiliate Leaders Summit Conference?
While the Affiliate Leaders Summit conference stage will focus on high-level discussion, market insight, and industry debate, the Affiliate Leaders Academy is built around practical, hands-on learning.
Taking place across three days, the Academy will feature focused workshops, Q&As, masterclasses, fireside chats, and interactive panels designed to help affiliates apply new practical skills to their businesses.
Rather than focusing on theory alone, attendees will leave with practical frameworks, strategies, and ideas they can apply directly to their businesses.
Access is included with the Affiliate Leaders Summit VIP Pass, allowing attendees to take part in the Academy alongside the wider summit experience, including the dedicated conference stage, exhibition floor, and networking events.
The End of SEO Reliance
For years, SEO has been the foundation for affiliates. Optimising your website to rank highly on Google was the gold standard in attracting customers to your site, allowing affiliates to earn CPA and revenue share.
But the rise of AI and LLMs has changed the way in which users discover brands, with 83% of Google users now saying they prefer Google’s AI summaries over a traditional Google Search.
Further stats show that 60% of searches now end without anyone actually leaving the Google search page, meaning everything stays right inside Google’s ecosystem – making it far harder for sites to attract clicks.
How the Affiliate Leaders Academy Helps Affiliates Respond:
The Academy will examine the future of search across multiple sessions, helping attendees understand how AI is reshaping discovery, traffic, content, and operations across the affiliate landscape.
Rather than simply explaining why the traditional model is under pressure, the programme will give affiliates practical guidance on how to adapt, from building visibility inside AI-generated answers to using automation, personalisation, and responsible AI tools more effectively.
Key sessions:
- AMA – Ask ’Em Anything: SEO, AI and the Future of Affiliate Growth – Affiliation’s leading names answer your burning questions about the future of search and AI.
- Keynote – Why the affiliate model is under threat right now – A data-backed look at the pressures facing the traditional affiliate model, and where AI is creating opportunities for those willing to adapt.
- Generative Engine Optimisation Masterclass: Here’s what wins next – A masterclass on Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), showing affiliates how to rank on ChatGPT, Claude, and Google AI overviews.
- Panel – The State of iGaming SEO in 2026: What’s Held Up, What’s Collapsed, and What’s Next – A look at how iGaming SEO is performing across different content categories and market verticals, helping affiliates understand which strategies are still delivering results and where traffic may be at risk.
Proving Performance Through Better Measurement
As the operator-affiliate relationship becomes more performance-driven, accurate measurement has never mattered more.
Operators want clearer proof of value. But with cookies declining, attribution gaps widening, and last-click models coming under pressure, measuring performance is becoming increasingly difficult.
For affiliates, the risk is commercial. If you cannot prove your impact, it becomes harder to protect partnerships, negotiate stronger deals, and justify your role in the player acquisition journey.
How the Affiliate Leaders Academy Helps Affiliates Respond:
The Affiliate Leaders Academy will help attendees understand how measurement, attribution, and reporting are changing as operators demand clearer evidence of affiliate value.
Rather than treating measurement as a purely technical issue, the Academy will explore how affiliates can use better data, more transparent reporting, and stronger commercial conversations to strengthen trust with operator partners.
Key sessions include:
- Panel – Measurement in 2027: The Cookie Decline and the First-Party Data Crisis – A discussion on how affiliates can respond to attribution challenges, cookie decline, and changing measurement frameworks while better demonstrating their value to operator partners.
- Breaking Down Silos: The Convergence of Affiliate with Other Marketing Channels – A discussion on how SEO, paid media, CRM, and content can work together more effectively to improve acquisition, retention, and overall marketing performance.
Creating Stand Out Video Content
AI isn’t the only thing affecting players’ finding brands through search. Newer generations of players are increasingly ditching search in favour of social media, with Gen Z using apps such as TikTok and Instagram rather than Google.
That means affiliates must adapt to meet these consumers where they are, and part of this is understanding how to create excellent video content.
How the Affiliate Leaders Academy Helps Affiliates Respond:
The Affiliate Leaders Academy’s third day is dedicated to Short-form Content Creation & Storytelling, giving attendees practical guidance on developing content strategies designed for Gen Z consumers.
Rather than treating video as a brand awareness exercise, the Academy will explore how affiliates can use short-form content as an acquisition tool, helping them to build communities and create new commercial opportunities beyond a traditional affiliate website.
Key sessions:
- Panel – Building short-form content: strategy, gamification, and monetisation at scale – An in-depth look at the affiliates successfully putting video content first, exploring how short-form strategies can capture attention, drive engagement, and create commercial opportunities.
- Panel – Winning the next generation: How do you reach and retain younger audiences (without getting it wrong?) – A look at how affiliates can engage younger audiences through creators, social platforms, and community-led content, while ensuring their strategies remain compliant.
Staying Compliant as Regulation Tightens
As regulators tighten their approach to gambling advertising, operators are placing greater scrutiny on the compliance standards of their affiliate partners.
Rather than viewing compliance as a barrier to growth, the most successful affiliates are treating it as a competitive advantage.
A strong understanding of market regulations can help affiliates build more sustainable acquisition strategies, strengthen operator relationships, and identify opportunities that less sophisticated competitors may miss. As regulatory expectations continue to evolve, affiliates that can combine growth with responsible marketing are increasingly well-positioned to stand out.
How the Affiliate Leaders Academy Helps Affiliates Respond
The Affiliate Leaders Academy will examine how affiliates can turn regulatory compliance into a commercial advantage, helping them build more trusted, sustainable relationships with operators.
Rather than treating regulation as a barrier to growth, the Academy will explore how stronger compliance processes, clearer market understanding, and responsible advertising strategies can help affiliates stand out in an increasingly selective partnership landscape.
Key Sessions:
- Fireside – The affiliate crackdown: Navigating the rules and regulations on gambling ads – A practical discussion on avoiding common compliance pitfalls, protecting operator relationships, and building sustainable growth strategies.
- Fireside – Getting a grip on the ad crackdown before it tightens your revenue – Examining how affiliates can stay ahead of tightening advertising rules, build stronger compliance processes, and avoid the mistakes that can damage partnerships, revenue, and relationships with operator partners.
Embracing AI as Part of Your Operations
While most affiliate executives recognise the potential of artificial intelligence, far fewer have successfully integrated it into their daily operations.
With research showing that effective implementation can save employees the equivalent of 7.5 hours a week, it is becoming increasingly clear that the affiliates best placed to pull ahead will be those that know how to put the technology to work.
How the Affiliate Leaders Academy Helps Affiliates Respond
The Affiliate Leaders Academy will help attendees move beyond theory and explore how AI can be embedded into the day-to-day running of an affiliate business.
Rather than simply discussing the potential of AI, the Academy will focus on practical implementation, exploring how affiliates can use automation, dynamic content, player data, and personalisation to improve efficiency and deliver more relevant experiences. Attendees will also gain a clearer understanding of where AI can create value, where human oversight remains essential, and how to use the technology in a way that supports sustainable growth.
Key Sessions:
- Fireside – Dynamic Content at Scale: Build More, Spend Less – A practical look at how AI can support content production, including cost comparisons between traditional and AI-assisted content pipelines, content generation briefs, and quality-checking processes.
- Case Study – Personalisation Engines: Turning Player Data Into Revenue – A session exploring how AI can be used to analyse player behaviour, improve segmentation, and create more personalised user journeys that support stronger commercial outcomes.
- Panel – Trust, Safety & Responsibility: AI That Protects Your Players and Your Licence – A discussion on how AI can support fraud detection, responsible gambling interventions, and compliance workflows, while helping businesses understand the limits of automation across different jurisdictions.
Final Thoughts
The Affiliate Leaders Academy has been created to help attendees move beyond passive learning and develop the practical skills they need to adapt to the changing world of affiliation.
Across three days, the programme will explore the issues reshaping the sector, from AI-driven search and short-form content to compliance, automation, and measurement, giving affiliates clearer strategies and practical insights they can apply directly to their own businesses.
Get your tickets
Affiliates and Regulators are eligible for complimentary tickets, which grants you full access to the show floor, conference agenda, and free breakfast and lunch from our Food Festival.
You’ll also receive full access to SBC Summit, including the conference agenda, exhibition floor, networking events, and Affiliate Leaders Academy.
For all other attendee types, you’ll need to purchase a VIP Pass (€599)
