• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer, 3 hours ago

Advertisers will make some big changes in 2026, from artificial intelligence (AI) creative to agentic commerce. Many will climb to the top of the mountain and look down, willing to give up more control to technologies when it comes to making decisions in exchange either for growing budgets or gaining better return on investments (ROI).

While 2025 revolved around how AI reshaped discovery and possibilities, writes Dalton Dorne, CMO at independent ad agency Tinuiti, 2026 will focus on redesigning the entire advertising ecosystem on which Google, Microsoft and others have built and will build.

Advertisers will look for the true value of connecting with consumers, and their real-time behavior and intent. Machine-to-machine negotiations for media buys and self-optimizing campaigns, and AI citations rather than keywords and links.

Unlike its infrastructure, the concept of search is not dead. It continues to change and morph into something else. 

Ads are not version “A” or version “B” anymore. They are designed and developed in the best version that advertisers can design based on the data they have.

Then generative AI (genAI) takes over. It will pull in additional data to optimize and target perfect -- not relative -- ads to consumers.  

The National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates total retail returns in 2025 will decline to $849.9 billion, which is less than the $890 billion reported in 2024.

That return estimate will likely decline in 2026 as more brands use genAI and agentic technology to help consumers find the perfect items.

Aside from accountability and liability, marketers will face ethical concerns including manipulation versus persuasion. Algorithms will make quick and high-impact decisions in real-time, despite marketers having to approve them, and some might slip through without proper safeguards in place.

AI systems process an average of 847 data points per user to build "persuasion profiles," blurring the lines between helpful recommendation and predatory manipulation.

Tinuiti’s marketers believe that in 2026, creative strategy will no longer be about assets but will be about algorithms — "what to allow, what to forbid, and how to learn without losing control.”

Advertisers have been concerned with the concept of “losing control,” but many have come around to the realization that automation means mastering “the dance between freedom and control,” and giving AI the space needed to create and optimize at speeds humans cannot, Michelle Merklin, vice president of search at Tinuiti, wrote.

AI agents will swap out the creative, adjust audience targeting, or reallocate budgets to a better-performing channel if the campaign does not

Since campaign measurement will play a more central role in shaping media, creative, and product strategies in real-time, Laura Manning, senior vice president of measurement at Cint, wrote in an email to MediaPost, spoke about mid-flight decisioning.

While it is already part of modern campaign management, advertisers will push for more for tighter feedback loops, faster pathways from insight to action, and mid-flight optimization based on reliable signals will become standard, because the “ultimate goal is to tie early brand exposure to downstream behaviors, from intent to loyalty to site actions.”

The ad industry also will see a lot of new titles like the one at OpenAI, head of preparedness, which will identify and mitigate AI risks like cyberthreats, and mental health impacts. The job title pays $555,000 plus equity. It oversees OpenAI’s preparedness framework, which tracks and responds to high-risk AI capabilities that could cause severe harm to humans.

I have only touched on a fraction of the changes the advertising industry will continue to experience in 2026. But what an exciting time to be in the thick of it.

Have a safe and happy New Year. See you on January 1, 2026.