AI search prediction / SERP change

These are my predictions for how digital marketing is going to change in the next year. I'm gonna try to be as precise as possible so that the end of 2026, we can look back on this video and see if I was right.

My first prediction is that Google's main search results page will look more like a I mode does now than their traditional search results. So to be clear, I don't think it'll look exactly how a I mode looks today.

My guess is that it'll be some kind of hybrid solution with some a I response and some traditional results, but I think it'll bear more resemblance to a I mode. This is why my agency is entirely focused on being recommended by large language models.

My second prediction is that recommendation building will continue to be the most effective tactic for being recommended in large language models. Currently, if you ask a large language model to recommend a specific product or service, it will scour the internet looking for recommendations and summarize the results...

fields designed specifically around the problem you're trying to solve. We're just starting to see the beginning of this, but I bet it'll really pick up in 2026.

This will almost certainly have major implications for how we do digital marketing, but I'm not ready to make any specific recommendations as to how. My fourth prediction is that a I will be making more decisions in ad managers such as Meta ads and Google Ads.

I still think human ad managers will continue to be important for most brands, but I think they'll be less important. I think more and more of the targeting and even the creative decisions are gonna be made by AI and it may make less sense for smaller brands to pay a professional ad manager.

My fifth prediction is that a I generated videos will become more mainstream. I still think there will be a lot of hate for a I videos, but I think the conversation will become much more nuanced.

I think most people that hate a I videos will begin to accept that they're here to stay as a permanent part of our culture...

he year of the a I agent. They're finally becoming easy enough to use and powerful enough that companies will be forced to use them if they want to stay relevant.

I think smaller, scrappier companies will figure out how to use them themselves. Larger, slower companies will start to realise they're being left behind.

And I predict that most of them will opt to hire third party vendors to help integrate AI into their existing workflows.