The digital marketing realm moves fast, and 2026 looks to be as dynamic as any other year.

To keep up, marketers need to know the digital marketing trends to leverage this year to stay ahead of the competition and create impactful and successful campaigns.

The widespread adoption of  (AI) now means that the technology is embedded into many systems, processes, and platforms. As a result, digital marketers need to know how to leverage AI to optimize and elevate marketing initiatives and campaigns.

AI is no longer just a nice skill to have as a marketer; it’s a must have to succeed and advance in your career.

So, what are the key digital marketing trends to know in 2026? To find out, we asked a panel of experts across a range of marketing disciplines.

Last year the conversation many marketing professionals were having was “what  do we need and what can we do with them?”

In 2026, this is evolving to look at how to leverage AI at scale to make a real impact, from boosting customer retention to revenue to return on investment (ROI).

With that in mind, here are the top trends our experts see for AI in 2026.

While many businesses and marketers may be using AI, it can often be focused on one or two platforms, such as  or Gemini. In 2026, that’s going to change as more companies look to optimize their use of AI with AI agents.

In simple terms, AI agents are systems that don’t just follow instructions; they make decisions, take actions, and constantly optimize without the need for human intervention.

For example, you can use an AI agent to improve customer service interactions using a virtual assistant. An AI-powered assistant can troubleshoot product issues, reschedule orders, or manage subscriptions.

“Robots might be shopping for people; doing the searching (which they already are), but also clicking on items, putting them into a basket, and then just asking for approval at the last stage. For any commerce, that has obvious ramifications,” said Clark Boyd, CEO and founder of marketing simulations company Novela on the 

Expert Tip: Think about the fact that it may be an  accessing your content. Some of the language and the way that you frame things, or the way you put in images versus text, might have to change.

The widespread adoption of AI means that some or many functions including marketing are being aided by the technology.

Research by found that organizations using AI in at least one business function has increased from 78% to 88% in just one year (2024-2025) and approximately one-third report that their companies have begun to scale their AI programs.