What I'm Expecting in 2026

This year, I’ve decided I’m going to do two “2026 preview” posts: one on big trends that I’m hearing about from others, and another on what I think will happen as we take another trip around the sun. Let’s start with the latter.

Here’s what I’m watching for as we head into next year:

• More Agency AI Products

  Up to now, the communications industry’s use of AI has been mostly limited to monitoring coverage, crunching data, building reports and keeping track of media. In other words, AI has been used tactically to streamline and automate manual processes and tasks.

  
  

  This is bound to change, and soon. I’ve thought for a while now that we’d see organizations develop and launch more applications and off-the-shelf products that start to use AI to be more strategic – and that agencies would take the lead, because they have the most to gain from doing so. In the last few weeks, I’ve seen my first two – Gini Dietrich’s PESO Model© Advisor and Heather Whaling/Geben Communication’s Plinth. I’m sure lots of other firms (especially the big ones) want a piece of this action too, so I’d bet there will be more coming soon.

  
  

  Agencies aren’t just going to be selling their relationships and experience in 2026. They’re also going to be selling their ability to generate meaningful business insights and strategies using AI. Or at least the smart ones will.

• At Least One Major New Social Network

  It’s been a while since we’ve seen a just-launched social network take the world by storm. Threads and Bluesky have probably been the closest things to overnight successes, and they’re still viable hubs of activity. But they haven’t yet risen to the level that TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram or others have.

  
  

  I think 2026 is the year we see someone launch a new network that achieves an integral place in popular culture. At the rate these networks have debuted and grown over the last decade or two, we’re due.

• Continued Macroeconomic Muck – or Worse

  2025 was defined by “uncertainty” in the economy; people everywhere didn’t spend money because they had no idea what would happen tomorrow. Things loosened up a bit in the second half of the year, because there’s only so long that companies can keep growing by doing nothing. But a lot of product businesses, and even more service businesses, suffered this year – despite most general economic indicators (unemployment, inflation, GDP, costs of goods, etc.) being relatively good most of the time.

  
  

  What scares me is that these indicators already are trending in the wrong direction. And consumer/business confidence in accurate economic data – the foundation of good decision-making – is nose-diving because of how inconsistently the Trump administration has started to handle/issue job reports, GDP figures and the like. With each passing day, the truth increasingly becomes that we just don’t know what the situation really is – and no one can make good business decisions (much less investments in growth) in a climate like that. The current environment is breeding more uncertainty, which will only cause more organizations to hunker down and tighten their belts.

  
  

  I really hope I’m wrong about this, but that’s how it looks from my perspective. I think 2026 is going to be another struggle for most of us – and it very well could be harder/worse than it was this year.

If I think of more stuff, I’ll add it here. Let’s see how it goes.