Sharyn Smith
The AdNews end-of-year Perspectives, looking back at 2025 and forward to next year.
And see the AdNews 50 plus page state of the market report, Forecast 2026
Sharyn Smith, Founder and CEO, Social Soup.
The way that people discover brands has changed more in the past 12 months than it has in the past decade. Six out of 10 online searches now end without a click. Forty per cent of Gen Z are using TikTok as a search engine. AI is answering purchase questions before consumers ever visit a website, with 72% of Australians saying they’ve already used AI assistants for online shopping. And for some brands, creators have become the modern-day strategic partners that agencies used to be.
In 2026, the brands that win won’t be the ones chasing the next platform or the next algorithm hack. They will be the ones that understand influence wears in, not out. Visibility isn’t about one campaign: it’s about being part of the conversation everywhere consumers are looking, which increasingly means being embedded in the training data of AI models and the social feeds where discovery actually happens.
While there are still some brands that think AI-driven shopping doesn’t really apply to them – FMCG for example – it increasingly will. The rise of AI-assisted grocery and delivery apps means we’re moving toward a world where an algorithm or AI agent is choosing what goes in our carts, and what shows up while we’re browsing online.
Let’s start with search, which isn’t really search anymore; it’s generative engine optimisation, or GEO. When someone asks ChatGPT for the best wine under $30 or the top skincare for sensitive skin, brands need to be in the conversation. The OpenAI shopping update made that crystal clear. People can now buy directly through ChatGPT. Search has become the point of conversion, not the starting point of research.
Next year, brands will need to audit their AI visibility the way they once (and still do, to a degree) obsessed over Google rankings. But they also need to understand they can’t “game” a large language model with metadata. These systems are trained on reviews, forums, social posts and creator content. A brand’s visibility comes from the volume and sentiment of what people are actually saying about it online. Every piece of UGC, every creator post, every authentic mention becomes a data point that shapes how AI understands the brand.
It's at this point influencer marketing stops being a tactic and starts being infrastructure. The brands still running three-week campaigns and then going dark are working against themselves. AI doesn’t care about your media schedule. It cares about consistency. When creators keep talking about your brand naturally, authentically, across different voices and contexts, AI learns that you matter. When the conversation stops, so does your relevance.
Next year will also see always-on creator ecosystems become more common. Not big splashy launches with a handful of macro influencers, but continuous programs with networks of micro and nano creators who genuinely use and recommend products. These aren’t one-off partnerships. They’re long-term relationships that compound over time, the same way word-of-mouth always has, except now that word-of-mouth is feeding the machines that answer consumer questions.
Social search will accelerate this shift. As algorithms get smarter and AI becomes more embedded in platforms like TikTok and Instagram, the content that rises to the top will be peer-to-peer, trusted and relatable. Mass-market advertising wears out. Authentic creator content wears in. The more often people encounter real recommendations from voices they trust, the stronger the association becomes.
But there’s a structural problem most brands haven’t solved yet. PR teams, social teams, SEO teams and ecommerce teams still operate in silos. AI doesn’t see these silos, it sees patterns. When your messaging is inconsistent across channels, when what creators are saying doesn’t match what your website says or what your PR team is pitching, AI gets confused. Confused AI means you don’t show up where it counts – and when it matters most.
Smart companies will tear down these walls. They will recognise that every touchpoint, every piece of content and every creator partnership is feeding the same ecosystem. The story needs to be coherent, even when it’s told through different voices and channels. Consistency builds trust with AI the same way it builds trust with humans.
A final issue in 2026 will be measurement. Brands won’t just track reach and engagement. They will also track AI visibility, social search rankings, and the sentiment of the training data they’re contributing to. Smart tools will emerge to monitor where your brand appears in AI-generated recommendations, what competitors are saying, and how to optimise your creator ecosystem accordingly.
So here are tips for 2026. Build always-on creator relationships. Feed the ecosystem with consistent, authentic content at scale. Align your teams around a coherent story. And measure what actually matters: not just awareness, but presence in the places where decisions are made. In a world where most searches end without a click, being present in the answer is critical.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.