This story is part of Ad Age’s 2026 Business Forecast, showcasing industry outlooks, predictions and trends to watch as the year unfolds. These stories are available to Ad Age All Access subscribers.
’Tis the season for Ad Age’s annual roundup of industry predictions.
“Predictions are a notoriously tricky business, especially in the current environment: inevitably you end up predicting some things that look obvious in hindsight, and others that look a bit outlandish,” IAB CEO David Cohen said.
Nonetheless, 100 advertising and marketing leaders including Cohen took a stab at the assignment and offered up what they see will be the biggest industry shifts and evolutions in 2026.
Beyond the expected technological advancements, these leaders describe a fundamental rewriting of the industry’s operating manual. Some see a final end to the “billable hour” and traditional search bar, replaced by outcomes-based agency compensation models and AI agents that act as gatekeepers to the consumer. Others predict the a continued boom in the creator economy, with influencers demanding equity rather than just fees. The predictions for 2026 signal that the very infrastructure of marketing is being dismantled and rebuilt to value specialized craft and verified outcomes over scale and noise.
While no one holds a crystal ball to the future, these predictions give a taste of what likely lies ahead, and provide practical guidance for preparing your strategies for 2026.
They range widely—from all the changes that are sure to come with AI, to how PR and social will better align, to how brands will build out campaigns, to how the agency landscape will shift in the wake of mega-mergers and layoffs, and much more.
Presented below are those predictions, lightly edited for length and clarity, arranged by topic.
Read the full article here.