Winners will be those who use AI to enhance human expertise rather than replace it
MARBLEHEAD, Mass., Jan. 6, 2026 – Birnbach Communications, Inc. (www.birnbachcom.com), a PR and social media agency focusing on thought leadership, today issued its 25th annual list of top media and marketing trends for the upcoming year. The report spotlights the next wave of how artificial intelligence will transform all sectors.
“Artificial Intelligence will continue to be the defining story in 2026, but the narrative is shifting from potential to what it will actually deliver. The winners will be those who use AI to enhance human expertise rather than replace it,” said Norman Birnbach, president, Birnbach Communications. “This year will reward brands that prioritize authenticity over ‘AI slop.’”
Birnbach added, “Our annual trends provide an opportunity to uncover opportunities and anticipate media interest. For example, life sciences and health care clients must be smart and strategic as they navigate shifting policy winds from Washington. The economy, including tariffs, will be a big story, and we’re talking with clients about how to best tell their stories.”
Here are the agency’s predictions of the top five trends that will drive media coverage and social media discussions in 2026:
1. Enterprise AI has been operating on hype and big promises, but boards will demand AI projects pay off.
McKinsey declared that we’ve been experiencing “a gen AI paradox:” despite massive investments, few companies have seen positive results. Companies will need to shift from current “scattered initiatives,” such as chatbots and siloed functionality, to more “strategic programs” managed by “cross-functional transformation squads” to fundamentally change workflows and deliver bottom-line results. McKinsey says, “the bigger challenge won’t be technical. It will be human,” and that companies will need to “upskill the workforce.”
2. AI will have a greater impact on marketing.
Expect the following changes in 2026: 1. Increased reliance on AI to efficiently develop content for targeted consumers and to support customer insights and analysis. 2. AI will leapfrog over search engines as the preferred vehicle for corporate marketing because consumers continue to expect AI to make things more convenient, intuitive, and faster. 3. AI’s productivity gains will lead to layoffs as clients experiment with bringing some functions in-house to improve control and to lower costs. There’s already data showing that CEOs prefer to delegate thought leadership to generative AI. But we don’t think that will be successful; marketing is hard to do effectively when the primary goal is continual cost-cutting.
3. There will be a backlash to “AI slop,” low-quality, AI-generated content.
It may change in the future, but for now, people can tell the difference. Keep in mind, producing more content faster doesn’t necessarily produce better content. Pushing out too much content—especially when it’s lower quality and may misinform—will overwhelm customers, undermine trust and credibility, and weaken customer relationships. That’s why a December Wall St. Journal article, “Companies Are Desperately Seeking ‘Storytellers’: Brands trying to wrest greater control of their narratives are asking for ‘storytelling’ skill sets—without a campfire in sight,” went viral on LinkedIn. That’s good news for PR functions, which tend to excel in creativity, judgment, relationship-building, trust, and in producing compelling stories and thought leadership.
4. AI will begin to change the billable hour.
Many industries bill clients by the hour, but some clients may question the practice, given the expectation that AI accelerates the creative process. The thing is: producing content with AI requires more time than you might think—you have to fact-check against AI-generated hallucinations and bring human insight to ensure the content is meaningful. Organizations will need to find updated ways to deliver value and may need to adopt a new approach to charging clients.
5. A top media story will be…the media.
Here are several media stories we expect in 2026:
- The Trust Gap: Young adults already don’t trust traditional media—and there’s a wide gap between news narratives—and tend to turn to social media influencers for insights, even as they recognize that social media may not be reliable. They will increasingly turn to AI for news summaries and decision-making. This will further erode the number of subscribers and journalists, further exacerbating their trust in traditional media.
- Newsletter Saturation: A few years ago, everyone had a podcast. In 2026, expect many reporters and authors to publish an e-newsletter—because they’ve been told this is how to strengthen and monetize reader relationships.
- The Depressing State of Local & National News: Local news is increasingly unsustainable because good journalism is expensive to produce, leading to news deserts (communities without local news coverage). Meanwhile, national outlets face uncertainty as new ownership (such as at CBS News) reshapes the landscape.
- The Rise of Streamers and the Death of Cable: The migration to digital is accelerating, not just in terms of viewers but also of producers. Netflix’s proposed $87 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Studios and the Oscars’ shift to YouTube in 2029 are harbingers of a shift away from traditional content providers.
- Ad Marketing Volatility: WPP sees increased spending, but Dentsu sees a decrease—and how it shakes out will get coverage in 2026.
- News Outlets Will Look Beyond News. For Time and The New York Times, bright spots aren’t coming from the newsroom. For the Times, it’s a growing portfolio of games, recipe offerings and the Wirecutter buyer’s guide. Time and other magazines see growth from events and digital.
6. Americans are looking for emotional connections and authenticity.
That’s probably why sports, and fantasy sports, are wildly popular. While theatrical movie releases haven’t recovered from the pandemic—as validated by the proposed Netflix-Warner Bros. Studios deal—Americans still attend concerts and sporting events for in-person experiences. People are realizing that getting likes, cares, hugs emojis from friends isn’t the same as a real in-person connection.
These and other trends will be rolled out on the agency’s blog, PRBackTalk, in January.
About Birnbach Communications
Boston-based Birnbach Communications, an independent PR and social media agency, partners with its clients to strategically navigate the complex and ever-changing communication landscape. The agency enables its client base of growing technology-driven and life science companies to achieve leadership in a crowded business market by helping them launch products and services; establish new product categories; and drive market demand through media and influencer relations, social media, and thought leadership campaigns. Founded in 2001, Birnbach Communications brings flexible senior-level intelligence and a proven, pragmatic approach to solving clients’ business challenges. Connect with Birnbach: Web: www.birnbachcom.com, X.com: x.com/birnbachcomm; Blog: http://birnbachcom.com/PRBackTalk/; Facebook: www.facebook.com/BirnbachCommunications | Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/birnbach-communications.