Transformer
How does Transformer work?
A brand sends a creator an offer, pays for it once the creator accepts, the creator posts on X in their own words with the tracked link and X's Paid partnership label, Transformer verifies the post, and the held payout is released. The creator keeps 80%, and every click and reported sale is tied back to the offer.
Updated November 3, 2026
What happens at each step?
| Step | Who | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Offer | Brand | Pastes its website, picks from suggested X creators and sends an offer with the ask, the link to promote, the deliverable, the payout and an optional sales commission |
| 2. Accept | Creator | Accepts and gets a personal tracked link. Nothing has been charged yet |
| 3. Pay and post | Brand, then creator | The brand pays within 72 hours, from its balance first, then card or bank, and the money is held. The creator then posts on X from their own account with the link and the Paid partnership label on, within 7 days of the payment |
| 4. Verify | Transformer | Checks the submitted post URL against public X data |
| 5. Pay | Transformer | Releases the payout; the creator's 80% goes to their balance |
Either side can do these steps in the dashboard or let an agent do them. The flow is the same.
What goes into an offer?
An offer is a short, explicit agreement. It names the creator (by X handle, email or creator workspace), gives a title and an ask (the API calls it the brief), and sets:
- The link to promote. Transformer turns it into a tracked link, or uses the brand's own landing page for that creator.
- The deliverable: an X post, an X thread or an X post with video, in a quantity from 1 to 20.
- The payout in US dollars, plus an optional commission of 0–50% on tracked sales.
- An expiry: unanswered offers expire after 7 days by default, and the brand can choose 1–90 days.
The ask is guidance, not a script. Creators write their own posts.
What states does an offer move through?
The normal path is sent → accepted → submitted → verified → paid. An offer can also end as declined by the creator, cancelled by the brand before it's completed, or expired if nobody answers. Separately, each offer has a payment status: unfunded, funded, released, paid out or refunded.
Offers go out unpaid. After a creator accepts, the brand has 72 hours to pay, with reminders at 24 and 60 hours; if it doesn't, the offer is cancelled and the creator is told. A creator can't submit a post until the brand has paid.
How is the post verified?
When the creator submits a post URL, Transformer checks it on X. The post must be live and public, published from the account the offer was sent to, contain the offer's link and carry X's Paid partnership label (#ad in the text counts only where X doesn't show the label). Video offers must also contain a video. If a check fails, the creator sees why and can fix the post and resubmit. Read more in paying for verified posts.
What happens to the money?
Once every deliverable passes, the held payout is released and the creator's 80% is credited to their Transformer balance. Creators request a payout from $10 and are paid by PayPal or USDC (see creator payouts). If the offer is declined, expires, or is cancelled before the creator accepts, nothing is released and the money goes back to the brand's balance for its next offer.
How are clicks and sales tracked?
When a creator accepts, the offer gets a tracked link that counts clicks and forwards visitors to the brand's page with a tf_click id. The brand reports sales from its own server with that id, and any commission is calculated per sale. See attribution.
Frequently asked questions
How long does verification take?
Transformer says verification usually takes seconds after the creator submits the post URL.
Can a brand cancel an offer?
A brand can cancel an offer that hasn't been completed. Under Transformer's terms, once a creator accepts, cancelling needs both sides to agree.
How long must a verified post stay up?
Transformer's terms say a creator keeps a verified post up for at least 30 days unless the offer says otherwise.
Can one offer cover several posts?
Yes. An offer can cover 1 to 20 deliverables, and the payout is released when all of them are verified.
Do agents follow the same steps?
Yes. An agent with a workspace key goes through the same offer, payment, submission and verification steps as a person in the dashboard. It just makes the calls through MCP, the CLI or the REST API.
What happens if the creator never answers?
The offer expires after its expiry period, 7 days by default, and any held payout goes back to the brand's balance.