• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, February 18, 2026

Email teams that are also tasked with content creation will soon be getting busier, judging by The State Of Content Creation, 2026 Edition, research from Canto—a digital asset management platform— and conducted by Ascend2. 

Of the brands polled, 81% expect their content budgets to increase this year, 29% significantly and 52% moderately. In both cases, the numbers are higher than they were in 2024. Indeed, the percentage of those expecting big increases is up from 19% in 2023. 

This growth may reflect the fact that significant return on investment has also risen 28%, compared with 19% in the prior year. 

But nobody ever said that content production is easy. Here are some of the challenges: 

• Keeping up with increasing content demands for various channels—40% 
• Managing a growing volume of content, amplified by generative AI—36%
• Finding and/or implementing the right technology—36% 
• Aligning teams for effective collaboration and/or sufficient workflows—34%
• Allocating adequate budget and/or resources—32% 
• Maintaining brand consistency—31% 
• Locating and accessing assets efficiently—30%
• Inability to deliver at the speed of business—22% 
• Other—1%

Most of these percentages are lower or flat with those of 2024.

But the respondents also list these worries about managing content at scale over the next two years: 

• Security and access control—30% 
• Integrating new technologies—30% 
• Ensuring brand consistency—26% 
• Managing costs of storage/tools—26%
• Keeping up with content volume growth—24% 
• Meeting compliance/regulatory demands—24%
• Losing productivity to asset chaos—21%

The study also reports that locating assets is “extremely easy” for 54% of teams that use artificial intelligence for the purpose, versus 6% of those that do not use AI. 

But here’s one caveat for firms that offer content. Those using two or more solutions to manage their digital assets were more likely than those with one to complain about: 

• Delayed campaign launches—40% vs. 24% for teams that do not use multiple systems
• Missed revenue—40% vs. 26%
• Burnout—49% vs. 34%
• Wasted budget—44% vs. 30%

Here are a couple other findings:

• Only 35% of companies are very confident that employees always use the approved, most up-to-date, approved version of brand assets. 
• Speed is lagging—a mere 32% can update content or product information across channels immediately—i.e., in real time or on the same day. In fact, 43% of teams need a few days and 19% up to a week. Yet faster content updates producer stronger revenue outcomes. 

How do companies measure success? They use these metrics:

• Audience engagement—40%
• Brand awareness—38%
• Website traffic, conversions, or lead generation—38%
• Sales revenue or other financial KPIs—38%
• Content quality and relevance—34%
• Cost efficiency (cost of produce/distribute content)—32%
• AI-driven analytics or predictive performance insights—29%
• Others—1%

Speaking of AI, teams that use it experience fewer workflow issues than those that do not.  

Ascend2 surveyed 434 professionals involved in the production, management, or strategy of their firm’s content and creative assets in the United States or the UK. The survey was conducted in November 2025.

The full survey can be accessed here.