The consensus among communications, marketing, and digital leaders is clear: 2025 was the year AI crossed the chasm. The novelty wore off, adoption surged, and its transformative power began to fundamentally reshape both the consumption and creation of digital content.
Experts universally cite the mainstreaming of AI as the most noteworthy development of the past year. This includes the widespread consumer adoption of “answer engines” like Google’s AI Overviews and an increasingly sophisticated ChatGPT, fundamentally altering how users interact with information, moving from clicking links to consuming direct summaries. For brands, this shift, demands a pivot towards machine-readable clarity and a focus on being cited as a trusted source for AI models.
Looking ahead to 2026, the predictions converge on two critical themes: Agentic Orchestration and the Reassertion of the Human Voice. The coming year is expected to move beyond simple AI tools to Specialized Agents that can execute complex, role-specific workflows, shifting the human role from task supervisor to strategic director. However, this same saturation of AI-generated content (or “slop”) will create a massive opportunity for the human voice. In an age of algorithm-driven homogeneity, authenticity, nuance, and grounded leadership, what some call the “call to kindness”, will be the true competitive advantage. This includes a return to thoughtful, high-quality third-party earned media and the rise of micro-influencers as trusted sources. While one expert predicts an “AI bubble will burst” driven by insufficient ROI, most agree that to survive, businesses must strategically invest in and govern AI, while also doubling down on the one thing a model cannot replicate: human judgment and a real point of view.
Most Noteworthy Development of the Past Year & Prediction for 2026
1. Agentic Browsing Demands Machine-Readable Clarity
Stephan Spencer, SEO Expert & Author
Most noteworthy development of the past year:
AI is getting embedded directly into the browsing experience (e.g., Gemini inside Chrome on iOS), changing how users consume pages—more summaries, fewer full reads.
Prediction for 2026:
Agentic browsing will normalize: assistants will compare, shortlist, and decide on the user’s behalf. To stay visible, brands will need machine-readable clarity (clean structure, verifiable claims, and feed/API-like accessibility), because assistants can’t “trust” what they can’t parse.
2. The Consumer Adoption of Answer Engines Has "Crossed the Chasm"
Scott Silverman, Co-Founder of CommerceNext
Most noteworthy development of the past year:
Consumer adoption of answer engines was the most significant development of 2025. ChatGPT launched at the end of 2022. For two years it was a huge news story, but it was being used by a small group of early adopters. Google launched AI Overviews in May 2024. ChatGPT continues to improve. We’re now at the point where ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews have “crossed the chasm.” In my industry, retail and ecommerce, this has laid the groundwork for a significant change in how shoppers research, discover and buy products
3. Earned Media Wins as AI Prioritizes Human-Centric Strategy
Sarah Flocken, Founder & Chief Human SLH Communications, LLC
Most noteworthy development of the past year:
I think the most noteworthy development of the last year was that companies realized how much AI has changed search, for better or worse. It has been encouraging to learn that Gemini and other LLMs prioritize earned media mentions in their summaries of a topic, influencer, or company, so this has allowed me to emphasize the power of a smart, human-centric earned media strategy to potential clients.
Prediction for 2026:
Nobody can predict the future, but my hope and hunch for 2026 is that companies may start to think a bit more critically about where and how they are leveraging AI in their communications, and how they are positioning themselves for the massive evolution that is occurring in how online searches operate. Media consolidation and the rise of misinformation under a certain, umm, presidential administration, has led to the rise of micro-influencers, also for better or worse. This means there is more opportunity for organizations to position themselves as experts and thought leaders – but at the same time, the onus is on them to cultivate quality third-party earned media mentions and thought leadership platforms through thoughtful PR.
4. Professional Disruption Requires Resilience and a Human Voice
Kristin Smith, Strategic Communications Executive and Author of Left Brain, Right Vibe newsletter on Substack
Most noteworthy development of the past year:
Professional Disruption – 2025 was the year professional disruption stopped feeling exceptional and started feeling baked into the system. Agency and comms layoffs, reorganizations, and AI-driven shifts became routine, and people talked about them with far less secrecy or shame. In 2026, the advantage goes to those who own the story, name the conditions, and articulate a grounded “what’s next.” Resilience will be using the disruption to refine your direction, not derail it. The ability to navigate instability without losing your voice or footing is now essential.
Prediction for 2026:
Human Voice in an AI-Saturated World – As AI filled every corner of the digital landscape with more content than anyone could meaningfully absorb, 2025 reminded us that people want something different: a human voice with a real point of view. Not more words, but better judgment. Not endless output, but insight shaped by experience. In 2026, the leaders who stand out will be the ones who can read the room, respond with nuance, and offer interpretation that models cannot replicate. The human ability to make sense of a moment is becoming a real competitive advantage.
5. The "Call to Kindness" and the Craving for Grounded Leadership
Melissa Vela-Williamson, PR & Communication Strategist | Bestselling Author | National Columnist | Podcast Host
Most noteworthy development of the past year:
What was most noteworthy about 2025 was the number of unimaginable headlines that we read almost daily in the US. I call it a “never have I ever” time in public relations, where I couldn’t believe the impulsive or destructive actions and words being used by some seen as leaders.
Prediction for 2026:
The consequences of this inspire my prediction for 2026 — that our communities will crave calm, grounded leaders who have a track record of promoting and living by sound principles and actions. It’s time we communicators share a “call to kindness” and locally share the mutual aid, compassion and respect needed to move through these tough times.
6. AI Content Shifts: From 'Slop' to Shaping Unique Human Thoughts
Jason Feifer, Editor in Chief at Entrepreneur Magazine
Most noteworthy development of the past year:
At the start of 2025, people were upset at the idea of reading AI-produced content. Everyone on LinkedIn was accusing each other of using AI. Now, I think a strong percentage of posters are using it, and even promoting the AI tools that they use — and there’s very little pushback. That’s because we came to realize that there are two kinds of AI-produced content: There’s slop, which nobody wants, and then there’s AI helping to shape someone’s unique thoughts, which quickly started to feel fine.
Prediction for 2026:
AI usage will start to drop in certain categories. People are actively figuring out what AI is for… but also, very importantly, where it does not thrive. Many experiments will end in failure, and humans will re-take the whole.
7. The Shift from 'Human in the Loop' to Agentic Orchestration
Lara Shackelford, CAIO | CMO | AI & Growth Strategy
Most noteworthy development of the past year:
2025 was the year of the Specialized Agent. We moved past general chatbots and saw the rise of purpose-built “Superhumans” acting as fully functioning SEs, BDRs, and SDRs. The market proved that AI agents could successfully execute complex, role-specific workflows—from technical discovery to outbound prospecting—at a scale humans simply cannot match.
Prediction for 2026:
2026 will be the year of Agentic Orchestration. We will see the paradigm shift from “Human in the Loop” (supervising tasks) to “Human at the Helm” (directing strategy). The human leader’s role will no longer be to participate in the workflow, but to orchestrate the fleet of agents—defining the destination while the AI navigates the path.
8. AI is Non-Negotiable, But Brace for the "AI Bubble Burst"
Henry Stoever, CEO, COO, CMO, Board Member
Most noteworthy development of the past year:
Without a doubt, the transformative power of AI has altered the competitive dynamics of all industries and companies. If all companies, teams, and individuals are not leveraging the capabilities of AI, they will no longer exist in the future.
Prediction for 2026:
The AI bubble will burst. While technology will continue to fuel revenue and earnings growth, investments in AI are too narrow to favorably impact all companies and markets. As such, I predict a recession driven by insufficient earnings growth from AI investment.
9. The Death of Keyword Marketing: Brand Narrative is Reborn
Dave Karraker, President – Raptor Communications
Most noteworthy development of the past year:
“How much consumers are using AI for simple searches previously dominated by Google.”
Prediction for 2026:
“The death of the Key Word marketing mentality and a return of brand narrative to influence AI results – the old fashioned press release lives to see another day!”
10. The Two-Horse Race: ChatGPT vs. Gemini Makes AI More Boring, Yet More Useful
David Berkowitz, CMO, AI Marketer & Author
Most noteworthy development of the past year:
The most noteworthy development of 2025 for AI is that we have the makings of a two-horse race for supremacy in all-purpose generative AI tools: ChatGPT and Gemini. ChatGPT would already be a verb if it weren’t such a mouthful; I was on a date with a woman who kept referring to it as “Chat,” and there was no way I could go out with her again after that. With the release of Gemini 3 that included the latest updates to Nano Banana (images) and Veo (video), Google proved that the quality of its offerings can finally be as impressive as the scale of how widely it can roll out AI across Chrome, Gmail, YouTube, Android, and so much more. Other platforms matter, but none as much as those two, and marketers will benefit from the 80/20 rule playing out.
Prediction for 2026:
A prediction for 2026 is that AI’s going to keep getting more boring but more useful, and the two go hand-in-hand. These AI-native browser wars won’t matter when most will stick with Gemini-powered Chrome and OpenAI’s ChatGPT apps. AI-powered alternatives to phones and other novelty devices will continue to crash and burn. But more people will figure out how to use AI within Gmail and Excel. We will also see the first truly useful AI agents for consumers, but they’ll fall short of completing transactions as a way to ease their way into earning consumers’ trust. For instance, we’ll see widespread (even if not yet mass market) adoption of travel agents that research trips, find the best flight and hotel options, scour for and negotiate deals, and compile all the info into interactive guides with clear costs. But consumers will still want to be the ones to make the purchase.
