Phil Wilson is vice president of the ads marketing division at Google, covering Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He leads a team of pioneering marketers, researchers, and analysts, operating at the forefront of marketing and AI innovation.
As the year comes to a close, it’s a natural time to look ahead to 2026.
The next year promises further AI advancements and technological breakthroughs. This can lead to shifts in how people interact with the world around them — both digital and physical — and how the business world connects with consumers.
Amidst technological progress, one thing remains the same: people are constantl…
Phil Wilson is vice president of the ads marketing division at Google, covering Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He leads a team of pioneering marketers, researchers, and analysts, operating at the forefront of marketing and AI innovation.
As the year comes to a close, it’s a natural time to look ahead to 2026.
The next year promises further AI advancements and technological breakthroughs. This can lead to shifts in how people interact with the world around them — both digital and physical — and how the business world connects with consumers.
Amidst technological progress, one thing remains the same: people are constantly looking for answers, solutions, products, and connections. And, today, they do this by searching, streaming, scrolling, and shopping.
This is happening at an immense scale on our platforms. According to a survey with Ipsos, 83% of global consumers report using Google and/or YouTube on a daily basis, which is significantly higher than any other online platforms.1 Because we see this activity at a scale no one else can, our AI has an unparalleled ability to understand customer intent.
AI has become a powerful force to help us understand this intent from discovery to decisions — from a broad search query for inspiration to a specific product question on YouTube.
With that in mind, I invite you to explore the top digital marketing trends and predictions for 2026 from Google visionaries who can help you show up in the moments that matter:
People prioritise present wellbeing
In an era of sustained uncertainty, long-term goals are losing power. Consumers are increasingly feeling anxious, worried, and tired. They’re combatting this emotional fatigue by prioritising immediate rewards and new experiences that enhance their present wellbeing.
This shift is a rational response to a world where traditional life paths feel less guaranteed. For younger generations especially, who have navigated relentless economic and social turbulence, saving for a far-off goal like a house deposit feels less realistic than spending on a trip that creates joy now. This isn’t about frivolity; it’s about seeking a sense of progress and stability in the only timeframe that feels controllable: the present.
British Airways tapped into this by revamping its Avios loyalty programme. Instead of big and distant goals, it introduced more frequent, intermediate milestones. This offers members smaller, regular rewards, giving them a tangible sense of progress and making their current loyalty feel immediately valued.
In 2026, deconstruct your value proposition. Stop selling the ultimate outcome and start celebrating intermediate steps. Break down loyalty programmes and customer journeys into smaller, instantly gratifying milestones. The brands that win next year will be those that deliver tangible progress and pockets of joy in the here and now.
AI transforms consumer behaviour
Consumer behaviour is being fundamentally reshaped by AI; shifting from simple fact-finding to dynamic exploration. People are using conversational search experiences like AI Mode to combine text, images, and audio to explore topics with unprecedented depth.
In 2026, this is evolving the search bar into a creative canvas. Consumers are using tools such as Gemini’s Nano Banana to bring their queries to life — and they expect AI to understand what they mean, not just what they type. Brands are also expected to provide more tangible, visual answers. Ikea’s Kreativ AI tool is a prime example, letting users scan their rooms and swap existing furniture for Ikea products.
Marketers must adapt by leaning into “Generative Engine Optimisation”; creating a rich ecosystem of authoritative, people-first content that’s helpful for an AI-powered conversational query. The goal is no longer to bid on specific keywords for a single, narrow ad campaign, but to supply AI-powered search campaigns with a library of high-quality assets. It can then use these signals to adapt your ads to be the perfect match for a consumer’s query.
This approach ensures your brand isn’t just a guide in the discovery process in 2026 — it will be a key ingredient of your customer’s next big idea.
Young audiences seek creative participation
Today’s young audiences are raised as digitally-native creators. They don’t just consume brand stories, they want to participate and remix them. They’re looking for “creative maximalism” — and creators are powering this movement of participation.
Take ‘EPIC: The Musical’, a musical adaptation of ‘The Odyssey’. Composer Jorge Rivera-Herrans gave his community agency by casting and commissioning animated music videos. Today, there are over 50,000 uploads of videos related to ‘EPIC: The Musical’ on YouTube.2
This expectation of participation is becoming the new standard for brand relevance too. Success is no longer just about campaign reach; it’s about building a universe.
In 2026, brands must learn to speak this new language. You can partner with experts who are already fluent — YouTube creators — to build a bridge to their community. You can also provide the raw materials for co-creation, launching characters, sounds, and assets, and then empower audiences to build the narrative themselves.
With new generative AI tools, like Veo 3, brands can produce visually complex, high-impact video assets at scale. This levels the playing field for companies of all sizes and provides the fuel for your community’s co-creation engine.
Instead of telling brand stories to audiences in 2026, co-create worlds with them. By doing so, you move your brand from borrowed attention to owned loyalty.
The rise of the nostalgic remix
As consumers increasingly seek comfort and identity in a chaotic world, nostalgia has evolved from a feeling into a core economic engine. With nostalgic ad campaigns proven to increase brand likability by up to 20%, the opportunity for 2026 lies not in simple re-releases, but in the strategic “remixing” of intellectual property.
We’re already seeing a surge of these blasts from the past in today’s marketing. From the Backstreet Boys’ music powering Airbnb ads to luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton re-releasing an iconic collaboration on its 20th anniversary.
Perhaps the most powerful example from this year is Nintendo’s campaign for its new console, which featured actor Paul Rudd reprising his role from a 1991 commercial. This didn’t just sell a new product; it sold a feeling. It bridged a 34-year gap and connected with multiple generations simultaneously.
The key to success in 2026 is to create new memories from old ones. First, audit your archives to identify your brand’s most potent nostalgic assets — a retired logo, a classic jingle, or a beloved product. Next, identify a partner whose IP resonates with a similar audience and era. Finally, instead of simply re-airing an old ad, collaborate to “remix” the past into a new product or experience that feels both fresh and comfortingly familiar for a contemporary audience.
The future of sustainability is tangible value
In 2026, the era of vague, sweeping corporate sustainability pledges is over. Marketers are now caught between rising consumer and regulatory demands for action, and an environment where making a wrong move can lead to accusations of “greenwashing”.
The leading brands of 2026 will navigate this challenge by shifting focus to providing tangible value. Instead of making broad statements about “saving the planet”, brands need to shift focus to specific, measurable product benefits that are tangibly sustainable, such as durability or energy efficiency.
For example, this collaboration between YouTuber Emma Winder and secondhand marketplace Vinted leads with genuine consumer needs, like saving money and finding great style. The videos, which focus on the benefits a sustainable choice delivers rather than selling sustainability outright, have received hundreds of thousands of views.
This approach reframes sustainability not as a sacrifice or a premium, but as a smart, tangible benefit for the consumer. It is a more authentic way to communicate value that builds credibility without touting corporate virtue — allowing brands to prove their worth in 2026, one product at a time.