The AI reality check: What actually matters in 2026

Insights

by Anne Norman

1/13/26

In 2026, the question is no longer if organizations will adopt AI, but whether they can govern, scale, and extract real value from what’s already in motion. Ready or not, you’re on the AI journey!

AI is everywhere now. It’s embedded in platforms, workflows, and customer touchpoints. The hype phase is over. What’s left is the harder work: deciding how AI fits into your operating model, where humans remain accountable, and how intelligence gets translated into business outcomes.

Let’s skip the hype and focus on four pragmatic yet real trends leaders must confront now, whether you are just starting your AI journey or building on what’s already in motion.

Trend #1: AI is an intern

By now, AI as a productivity engine is table stakes. In fact, according to a recent McKinsey Survey, 88% of organizations are already leveraging AI – but are they leveraging it well? You are starting to see many teams utilizing AI to optimize media spend, scale content, automate operational tasks, and accelerate execution across channels with minimal human input.

But that baseline advantage is assumed. What’s changing in 2026 is where human value shows up.

AI can optimize within a system, but it cannot understand why the system exists in the first place. It doesn’t grasp business nuance, ethical tradeoffs, or when data is technically correct but strategically wrong. It can tell you what performs best, but not whether that outcome is aligned with long-term goals, brand values, or customer trust.

Instead, people provide strategy, subject matter expertise, ethical judgment, and the ability to recognize when data is technically correct but directionally wrong. They ask the questions AI cannot: Should we do this? What are we optimizing for? What happens if we’re wrong?

AI is definitely not ready to run the show solo. It’s the world’s most powerful intern. Not your head of strategy.

Managing Director of Horizontal Digital UK | Alex Ellis

Trend #2: The AI you need might already be in your stack

In 2026, AI isn’t a capability to “add on.” It’s already embedded directly into the platforms you are using every day: DXPs, CRMs, CDPs, marketing automation, analytics, and content tools.

For many teams, the fastest path forward isn’t buying new technology and a massive, time-consuming digital transformation. It’s activating the intelligence they’re already paying for.

Instead of big-bang transformations, progress comes from strategic activation—using AI to improve targeting, accelerate insight, optimize workflows, and reduce manual effort inside an existing, composable architecture.

Enterprise platforms like SitecoreAI reflect this shift. Its next-generation, AI-native DXP unifies content, customer data, and personalization into a single intelligent system. Its generative and agentic AI to help marketers plan, create, personalize, and optimize experiences across channels.

However, lower barriers to entry come with higher expectations. Organizations don’t need permission to start, but they do need direction and a solid AI strategy to get the most out of their current platform’s AI capabilities.

Trend #3: AI search results are your brand’s first impression

AI is shaping whether your customer’s arrive get to your website or content at all. is now snagging your customers from the very beginning. As search behavior shifts from keywords to questions, discovery is increasingly mediated by AI systems that summarize, interpret, and recommend answers in real time. For many customers searching for products and services, the AI-generated response is the new customer journey.

This changes the rules. Traditional SEO is no longer enough. Brands must design for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)—creating content and experiences that AI can understand, trust, and surface confidently. That means structured data, clear authority signals, and content designed for machine interpretation as much as human consumption.

We’ve already been helping brands pivot their digital experiences for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AEO to help them remain discoverable and relevant to AI search results. Read more about our AI search engine optimization strategies in our recent insight.

Trend #4: In world of AI everywhere, trust becomes the differentiator

As AI becomes embedded in daily work and customer interactions, accountability moves to the center of the conversation.

In 2026, leaders are expected to clearly answer:

How is AI trained?
How is customer data used?
Where does human oversight exist?
Who is accountable when AI gets it wrong?

Transparent training data practices, privacy protections, and ethical guardrails are no longer compliance checkboxes; they are brand trust signals. Organizations that can’t explain how AI decisions are made risk eroding confidence with customers, employees, and regulators alike.

This truly is a cultural shift. Accountability requires organizations to define what responsible AI use means for their business and to communicate it consistently both internally and externally. That includes setting governance models, clarifying acceptable use, documenting where AI is deployed, and empowering teams to use AI confidently within defined boundaries.

In a world where AI is everywhere, accountability is becoming a major differentiator.

Delivering intelligent experiences in 2026

The technology industry has always felt like a community focused on curiosity, testing, and learning, and this AI moment is no different. What works for one team can inspire the next, driving innovation across the industry. AI is here, reshaping how organizations operate, how customers engage, and how value gets created.

In 2026, advantages don’t come from adopting AI faster than everyone else. Or the companies that win won’t be the ones that automate everything or overhaul their systems. We believe the main focus will be designing systems where intelligence is intentional, accountability is clear, and humans remain firmly in control of outcomes.