Changes in Marketing and AI from 2025 to 2026

2025 was an absolute beast of a year for marketing. It felt like someone picked up the entire industry, gave it a good shake, and dropped it back down with all the pieces in the wrong places. Total chaos, but in the best way. 

As we head into 2026, there are a few changes you need to keep an eye on. Some are obvious. Others have been brewing for a while. And a few might smart a little, especially if you’ve been dragging your feet and waiting for things to calm down. Spoiler alert: They won’t. 

The biggest shift has been AI. And no, it is not just techy types fiddling with fancy tools. AI has gone fully mainstream. People are using it to write content (badly, but that’s for another time), research topics, ask questions, simplify information, plan stuff, shop online, and even chat when they need a bit of clarity. If there is a way to save time or make life easier, AI is getting stuck in. 

I have been banging the AI drum for a long time. I use it to speed things up, brainstorm ideas, jot down notes, automate the boring stuff, and organise the madness in my brain. Every single one of our events this year started with a conversation with AI before we built anything properly. Not because AI did all the thinking, but because it made everything faster and clearer. The same goes for this blog. AI helped shape it before I even started typing. 

The AI Content Backlash

2025 also came with something interesting. The AI backlash. 

People were fed up with timelines full of obviously AI generated posts. You know the ones. Overly polished, overly neat, inspirational waffle that reads like someone put three American self-help books in a blender. 

People started thinking: 

“Where are the humans?”
“Why does my timeline look like AI wrote it all?”
“Why is everyone suddenly a philosopher?”
“Why the hell is everyone using a rocket emoji? 🚀”

And honestly, they had a point. 

The content that performed best last year was the human stuff. Real stories. Simple snaps. Behind the scenes. Posts where someone clearly had a thought, not just a prompt. Even while AI got smarter, creating full videos, images and books if you asked nicely, audiences still craved the human touch. 

Yes, there were viral AI videos. The AI version of 50 Cent singing R&B made people laugh. But the videos with real emotion and real people are the ones that stuck. 

The Platforms Fight Back

Meta and YouTube have made their stance very clear. They introduced AI labels, and YouTube even threatened to demonetise fully AI-generated content. 

This is not because AI is inherently bad, but because trust matters. Humanity matters. Authenticity matters. 

And the truth is, a lot of AI content this year was rubbish. Yes, AI gives you tools to design with, but owning a calculator does not make you a mathematician. 

Just look at the Coca Cola Christmas advert. Fully AI-generated for the second year running, and people hated it. It looked slick, but it had no soul. One review described it perfectly as “rendered as an uncanny valley hellscape of randomly assembled, dead-eyed animals.” 

Meanwhile, John Lewis released a good old-fashioned, human-made ad that gave people goosebumps and hit every 40-something right in the feels. 

The message could not be clearer. AI can support the work, but it cannot replace real human connection.

The Return of the Old School Giants

• Reddit Is Back and Buzzing 

Reddit made a big comeback in 2025. Once people realised ChatGPT pulls heavily from Reddit to shape its answers, traffic exploded. And Reddit’s ad platform got a serious upgrade. It impressed us enough to book a call with a Reddit rep to see what kind of opportunities are on the table. 

• YouTube Got Its Mojo Back

YouTube also returned with a bang. AI tools are constantly referencing YouTube content, and suddenly chapters in videos became a big deal. YouTube started using AI to add them automatically. It picks out the key moments, so viewers can jump straight to the good stuff. You can switch this on in YouTube Studio, and you can tweak or replace the chapters if you want to. YouTube is clearly focused on making content easier to use and navigate. 

• AI Content Can Pay, But Only If It’s Worth Watching

Let’s clear up the AI monetisation question. Yes, YouTube does pay for AI-generated videos. But only if they are original, high quality, and include real human value. That means commentary, storytelling, proper editing, and a clear message. If someone pumps out low-effort automated rubbish, boring slideshows, or misleading content, they get demonetised quickly. Sometimes the whole channel disappears. AI should be a support act, not the lead singer. 

• Google My Business Isn’t Just ‘Nice to Have’ 

Google My Business quietly crept back into the spotlight too. The traffic it drives is bigger than most people realise. Google Analytics hides it under general Google traffic, so if you want the real numbers, go straight to your Google Business dashboard. 

• Half-Finished Profiles Don’t Get Clicks 

If your Google Business Profile is half-assed, you’re leaving money on the table. A solid GBP strategy means going all in. Verify it, fill in every section properly – opening hours, services, photos, and your business description – and keep it updated. Post regular updates and Q&As. Ask for reviews and respond to them. Use local SEO keywords to help people find you on Maps and Search. It’s a free tool, but that does not mean it runs itself. This is your digital shop window. Treat it with the respect it deserves, and you’ll turn online lurkers into paying customers. 

SEO Gets a Shake Up

2025 was a wild ride for SEO. Google rolled out AI summaries at full speed. Nearly every search now kicks off with an instant answer at the top, powered by Google Gemini. It looked shiny and impressive, but it hammered impressions and traffic for websites across the board. If you were watching your Search Console in September, you probably cried a little. 

And then came the kicker. Google scrapped pages 11 to 100 from its search results. Now there are just 10 pages. That’s it.

If your site used to sit on page 11, bad news – you no longer exist. But let’s be honest, no one was clicking through that far anyway. 

With AI summaries taking up prime real estate and the search results shrinking, SEO is going through a serious shift. People are clicking less. They want answers instantly, without cookie pop-ups, banner overload, or a website that takes 12 years to load. Google used to feel like research. Now it just feels like admin. 

AI search, on the other hand, is smooth, and quick. It gives you what you need without the digital noise. 

Sure, AI still makes mistakes. Quite a bit. It can hallucinate. Quite a lot. But it’s getting better, and fast. Just imagine what it will look like by the end of 2026. 

Predictions for Digital Marketing in 2026

1. More People Will Use AI to Search Than Google

This behaviour shift has already begun. People want instant answers without the clutter, and AI is delivering that better than traditional search engines.

1. Google Gemini Will Become Google

Search results are on the way out. Google is moving towards a fully conversational experience, and it is only a matter of time before Gemini becomes the default way we interact with search.

•  Google Gemini Could Overtake ChatGPT

Google owns Gmail, YouTube, Maps, Analytics, Search Console, Android, Chrome, and an absurd amount of behavioural and location data. No other platform has access to this much information. The scale of Gemini’s intelligence could leave other AI tools playing catch-up.

• Podcasts Will Keep Booming

In 2023, there were 500 million listeners.
In 2025, it hit 580 million. 
By 2027, it’s predicted to reach 600 million.

People crave authenticity. They want to hear real voices and real conversations. That’s exactly why we doubled down on our podcast this year. We’ve released 22 episodes so far, and it’s already bringing in business. Clients who hate the camera can generally cope with the podcast studio! With AI helping us prepare, transcribe, repurpose and repurpose, it’s has become a powerful part of our content engine. 

• More Video, More Real Life

Audiences can spot AI content instantly.They’re done with generic talking heads and robotic scripts. What they want is your face, your voice, and your real stories. That’s how you build trust, and that’s what will stand out in 2026. 

• Businesses cannot afford to stand still

2026 is not the year to play catch up. AI is on a hockey stick growth curve, and the businesses making moves now will be miles ahead by the time everyone else wakes up. We use AI across our processes every single day, but the humans are always in charge. That is the important part. And we are proud of that. Even Marks & Spencer (we’re not gonna discuss their cyber hack here) recently said they will always keep humans in customer service, because that is what people actually want. Real conversations. Real connection. Not robotic nonsense in a branded uniform. 

• ChatGPT ads will arrive,and they will shake things up

Here’s a prediction I feel pretty sure about. ChatGPT is going to roll out its own version of Google Ads right inside the platform. It makes total sense. OpenAI needs to make more money, especially since most people are still using the free version. And let’s be honest, loads of them are happy staying there, even though the paid version is where the real magic happens.  This is classic internet behaviour. If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product. That’s how Facebook works. That’s how Google and Bing work. ChatGPT’s heading the same way, and it’s got more context and intent behind every query than any of them. 

Picture this. You’re planning a trip, researching tools, comparing products, asking for advice – and right there in the chat, up pop sponsored answers. Not rubbishy banner ads, but proper recommendations that feel helpful, relevant and bang on time. That’s not just advertising. That’s a conversion engine. 

When this lands, it’s going to hurt Google Ads and Bing Ads. Badly. Businesses will be able to show up exactly where decisions are being made. Right in the middle of the thinking, planning, and buying. 

And no, this isn’t just a channel shift. This is a full-blown mindset shift. The old playbook’s getting shredded. 

Keep your eyes on it. When ChatGPT flips the switch on ads, everything changes. 

Final Thoughts 

AI is not here to replace us. It’s here to accelerate us. 

Use it to automate, spark ideas, build frameworks, draft notes, create transcripts and plan faster. Let it handle the boring stuff so you can focus on the good stuff. But don’t lose the human layer. That’s where the connection lives. That’s what people actually want. 

2026 will be fast.
Get ready to ride

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