A Grateful Life Lived

As a creative, the world of digital media can be both invigorating and exhausting. While some careers allow for simplicity and sameness, that is not the path I have chosen. For the most part, I love that. At times, though, the hamster wheel of content creation and digital strategy seems to wildly outpace my understanding.

I have a done a few things to help myself with that, personally. First off, I don’t chase every trend. I stay on top of industry news, I hone my craft, and I stick to the Christian principles that guide my business. I also limit my media consumption, which reinforces the benefit of those first three tenants.

As we enter a new year though, you may be wondering what 2026 has in store for communicators. While I can’t narrow that down to a list (“where’s the fun in that,” I tell myself sarcastically), I can advise you to pay special attention to a few “movers and shakers” we’ll be seeing this calendar year. Take a look!

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1. GEO

What’s in:

• Website content that is original, authoritative, and supported
• Content curated to GEO-search terms your audience is using to search

What’s out:

• AI-created content with little to no authority
• Bare-bones websites relying on ads for traffic
• SEO as king

Why? Generative Engine Optimization may be a new-to-you term, but you’ve likely been seeing its impacts for months. Have you noticed the new Google interface? When you type a question, Google’s AI will give you its own suggestions. That data is pulled via GEO rankings for website content. If your business is lagging behind and you think you can rely on SEO or advertising to balance it out, think again. In 2026, early adoption of GEO principles will set websites apart from competitors. Think: original content, keywords that address AI queries from your audience, and authoritative website frameworks. We’re not throwing SEO out (many principles between the two are aligned); think of GEO as the not-so-little brother who’s coming into his own.

2. Personalized Customer Interactions

What’s In:

• Deployment of agentic AI
• Growth opportunities in higher value work for human employees
• Lively, dynamic website interactions for customers/website visitors

What’s Out:

• “I’m sorry, I can’t help you with that.”
• Long waits for online or phone support
• Yelling “representative” into the phone
• Some of the menial tasks employees begrudge

Why? When I think of agentic AI, my mind flits to the vocational woe’s of Charlie Bucket’s grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. If you recall, an early scene in the 2005 film, Joe’s job was to place toothpaste caps on tubes. His job is the eliminated due to a new, autonomous machine that can do the same thing in rapid speed.

Why am I telling you this? For starters, Grandpa Joe’s story has a happy ending. And if you’re concerned about the rise of agentic AI (a specific type of machine-based AI that involves intelligent systems that can adapt to changing environments for greater productivity), take a deep breath. Agentic AI favors the innovators, so unless you’re hellbent on maintaining the same workflow, the increase in agentic AI will likely provide you with greater opportunities and eliminate some painstaking tasks you abhor (Ex. checking inventory, customer service calls, monitoring portfolios, or checking for fraud).

This year, you’ll see companies standardizing further use of agentic AI. Be prepared for a growing scope, and be ready to step up with regulatory suggestions if you’re in the position to do so. Innovation is only as beneficial as the safety guards we put around it (read on for more on that).

3. Sovereign AI

What’s In:

• Protective guardrails for data, licensing, and attribution
• Standard guidelines for AI usage in the workplace
• Company/enterprise plans on AI platforms

What’s Out:

• “You’ve hit your usage limit”
• Vague instructions on how to tackle AI-based tasks
• Relying on a “my bad” Slack message after inputting PHI into ChatGPT

Why? AI development has far outpaced regulations. That’s nothing new in the world of tech, but it is raising enough alarms that watchdog groups are finally springing up. Sure, companies like Anthropic still opt for a slap-on-the-wrist fine over obeying the rules (Ex. A 2025 copyright infringement settlement cost Anthropic $1.5 billion, which was preferred, given its valuation of roughly $200-350 billion, built on the back of similar rule-breaking strategies). Sure, we will continue to battle for creative control and ownership of brand voice. At the same time, the tides are changing as small-town data becomes a point of international interest. It’s not just Joe Smith wanting his artwork protected; it’s the United States realizing that AI compliance is paramount to growth of the national GDP. In a 2024 media summit, NVIDIA founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, was quoted as saying:

“It is our job to create computing technologies that nobody has to program and that the programming language is human: everybody in the world is now a programmer—that is the miracle.”

In short: Global regulations are slowly on the rise. Regardless though, companies are rushing to protect their data because, whether or not the government will help, it’s in a company’s best interest to own and guard data from being used for others’ benefit.

In a practical sense, this means that entities like yours will benefit from a company-wide protocol and instruction base for employees. Accompanying lists of “Do This and Not That” will be fundamentals as your work to utilize AI efficiently and in a way that doesn’t compromise data of your company or its customers. Privatize your accounts, encrypt names and numbers; do it because it’s the right thing to do, but if that’s not compelling enough: Do it because internal regulations will help minimize theft of data, creative works, and more.

That’s it for now. Which key trends or technologies are you looking ahead to in 2026? If your mind is reeling in consideration of these changes, I encourage you to take a step back. Above all: Be above reproach in your dealings as a communicator and business person; that does wonders in your long-term reputation and success. Secondly, reach out if you want some assistance. Helping nonprofits and small businesses foster communications success is my passion. I’d love to help your team.