2026 looks set to bring fresh breaks in AI and technology. Those breaks are changing both how people relate to the world and how brands reach consumers.
One thing stays the same: people are constantly looking for answers, solutions, products and connection. Today they do that while scrolling feeds, watching video and shopping. According to data shared by Google, 83 percent of consumers worldwide say they use Google or YouTube every day — which gives AI a serious advantage in understanding intent.
We've gathered the five trends Google's experts highlight for 2026.
1. Celebrate the steps along the way instead of selling the end result
In a period where uncertainty has become permanent, long-term goals are losing their old power. People feel anxious, tired and uneasy. To cope with that emotional fatigue they turn toward immediate rewards and new experiences that support how they feel right now. For younger generations especially, a choice that brings happiness today feels far more realistic than a distant goal.
British Airways read this well, refreshing its Avios loyalty program to offer more frequent, intermediate rewards rather than big and distant ones. Members could feel their progress concretely.
In 2026, breaking your value proposition into pieces works. Celebrating the steps along the way instead of selling the end result — splitting loyalty programs and the customer journey into small stages that satisfy immediately — will come to the fore. On the finance side we would add: in investment communication, creating a sense of progress builds a much stronger bond than the promise of a long-term return.
2. AI is rebuilding consumer behavior
Consumer behavior is changing fundamentally with AI. We are moving from simple information-seeking to dynamic discovery. People now use conversational search experiences that combine text, image and voice to explore subjects in more depth.
The search bar is turning into a kind of creative canvas. With tools like Gemini, users visualize their queries and expect AI to understand not what they typed but what they meant. IKEA's Kreativ tool is a good example: users can scan their room and swap existing furniture for IKEA products.
Marketers need to adapt. Instead of bidding on specific keywords for a single campaign, what matters now is offering AI-powered search campaigns a library of high-quality content and assets. This is called "GEO". The goal is to move your brand from being a guide in the discovery process to becoming part of the consumer's next idea.
3. Young audiences want to take part, not watch
Today's young audience grew up as creators in the digital world. They don't just consume brand stories — they want to join them and reinterpret them. What they are after is a kind of "creative maximalism", and creators are feeding that participation.
"EPIC: The Musical" is a striking example. The composer made room for the community, had them produce the animated clips, and today there are more than 50,000 video uploads related to the project on YouTube. Success is no longer measured by reach alone but by building a universe.
In 2026, brands need to learn this language. Partnering with YouTube creators who already speak it, or offering raw material — characters, sounds, visuals — and leaving the audience space to build the narrative themselves, are both good routes. Tools such as Veo 3 also let brands of any size produce visually strong content. Building the story with the audience rather than telling it to them turns borrowed attention into real loyalty.
4. The rise of the nostalgic remix
As people look for comfort and identity in a chaotic world, nostalgia is turning from an emotion into an economic engine. Nostalgic campaigns are seen to raise brand likeability by as much as 20 percent. But the opportunity in 2026 lies not in simple re-releases — it lies in strategically "remixing" existing IP.
One of the strongest examples is Nintendo's new console campaign. Paul Rudd returned to his role from a 1991 ad, and the campaign sold a feeling more than a new product. Closing a 34-year gap, it touched several generations at once.
The key to 2026 is producing new memories out of old ones. Start by going through your archive and finding the brand's strongest nostalgic assets — a retired logo, a classic jingle, a much-loved product. Then find a collaboration partner who speaks to a similar audience, and rather than re-running the old ad, turn the past into a new experience that feels both fresh and familiar today.
5. The future of sustainability is offering concrete benefit
In 2026 the era of vague, sweeping sustainability promises is closing. Marketers are caught between rising consumer and regulatory expectations on one side and the risk of a misstep turning into an accusation of greenwashing on the other.
The brands that stand out will strike that balance by offering concrete benefit. Instead of broad claims like "we're saving the planet", focus on measurable product benefits such as durability or energy efficiency. A collaboration between Vinted and a creator is a good example: rather than selling sustainability directly, the videos focused on real needs — saving money and having good style — and drew hundreds of thousands of views.
The approach positions sustainability not as a sacrifice but as a smart, concrete advantage for the consumer. It is a warmer form of communication, one that lets the brand prove its value one product at a time.
Looking at all five trends, a common thread emerges: the brands that win in 2026 will not be the ones "telling" consumers something, but the ones producing alongside them and adding concrete value to their present. Whether you are designing a loyalty program, building a content strategy or preparing your AI-powered search infrastructure, the starting point can always be the same: what does a person want to feel today, and how does your brand genuinely answer that feeling?