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Apr 28, 2025 • 10 Minute Read • Elizabeth Spranzani, Chief Technology Officer
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Top 2026 Digital Experience Predictions & Trends
Dec 11, 2025 • 4 Minute Read • Laura Bernier, Customer & Cultural Intelligence Lead
What's Coming Next for AI, CX, Marketing, and B2B
At Verndale, it’s trend-forecasting season again. Our Strategy team has been diving deep into 2026 outlooks and cross-sector pattern spotting. We’ve been immersing ourselves in major industry research, global consulting reports, and also looking back in order to identify digital experience trajectories that are going to impact the future.
Our 2026 trend outlook is grounded in sweeping shifts we’re seeing across technology, business, and culture, and one thing is abundantly clear:
The next wave of digital experience will be shaped by a renewed commitment to humanity, clarity, and emotional resonance, powered by increasingly intelligent technology.
Each of our predictions reflects the lens of one of our leaders, encompassing marketing, culture, brand, CRM, and B2B. Together, we’re offering a window into what we’re preparing for on behalf of our clients in the year to come, supported by research and industry trends.
1. Marketing Evolves: From Campaigns to AI-Native Digital Intelligence
“In 2026, marketing will evolve beyond campaign tasks and instead orchestrate outcomes. Marketers will shift from executors to strategic designers and operators of marketing systems. AI agents will run large parts of the marketing engine: spotting signals and optimizing campaigns. Brands that win will recognize that operating systems are table stakes. What will distinguish them and drive business impact is customer insight and creativity."
- Jonathan Tatlow, Chief Marketing Officer
Key Signals Driving AI-Native Marketing in 2026
- According to Gartner’s “Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2026,” AI supercomputing platforms, agentive experiences, and a fundamental overhaul of legacy productivity tools are on the rise - reshaping marketing, operations, and digital transformation broadly. (Gartner)
- Marketing tech reviews forecast that AI-driven workflow automation, “answer-engine optimization” for generative-AI search, and martech stacks will dominate digital marketing heading into 2026. (Smart Insights)
2. The Empathy Economy: Trust, Transparency, and Human Centeredness as the New Baseline
“By 2026, people will carry a deep weariness of noise, misinformation, overload. What they crave more than slick tech is clarity, trust, and integrity. Digital experiences will need to prove they’re on the human side. The winners will design around empathy, transparency, and consistency, not hype.”
- Laura Bernier, Customer & Cultural Intelligence Lead
Key Signals Driving The Empathy Economy in 2026
- The 2025 report from Accenture Life Trends underscores a rising “Cost of Hesitations.” Across 22 markets, many consumers report increased skepticism toward digital content, doubt its authenticity, and demand more trust and clarity before engaging. (Accenture)
- According to an assessment of “digital-human experience,” companies are being urged to rebalance tech with humanity. Brands that treat customers as people, not data points, designing for values, emotion, and clarity, will build longer-term loyalty. (Publicis Sapient)
3. Brand Creativity & Narrative Will Outshine Algorithmic Saturation
“As AI floods every feed with white noise, what becomes rare and precious is meaning, voice, and human perspective. More than ever, brands that dare to be distinct, hold a unique point of view on customer needs, and take smart, creative risks will cut through the noise in 2026. Automation may scale production, but only authenticity will build connection.”
- Dale Conour, Experience Strategy Lead
Key Signals Driving Brand Creativity in 2026
- Analysts note that as AI-driven content becomes increasingly ubiquitous, brand differentiation will hinge on creative integrity, a distinctive voice, and human-led storytelling, rather than template-based volume. (Smart Insights)
- Industry CX trend trackers show a growing appetite for immersive, interactive, and emotionally resonant brand experiences. Storytelling, personalization, and sensory-rich content will become critical as consumers reject generic, algorithmic sameness. (Publicis Sapient)
4. Membership Associations Shift From Information Hubs to Continuous Value Ecosystems
“Membership will no longer be defined by annual dues or conference attendance. In 2026, the associations that thrive will deliver value every day of the year. Members will expect personalized content, tailored learning pathways, connected communities, and proactive engagement from their associations. The relationship becomes ongoing and dynamic rather than episodic. Success will depend on how well associations understand individual needs and communicate tangible, ROI-driven value.”
- Laura Brown, Experience Strategy Lead
Key Signals Driving Digital Membership Transformation in 2026
- The traditional membership model is breaking down: many associations now struggle with stagnant or declining renewal and event-driven revenue. To rebuild relevance, membership organizations are shifting toward continuous engagement models that offer value beyond annual renewals and events, leveraging digital engagement, content, and AI-powered personalization. (ASAE)
- Leading associations are turning membership into “advancement, engagement, and movement,” rather than static access. (Forbes)
5. B2B Experiences Will Mirror the Best of B2C: Personal, Seamless, Trust-Driven
“In 2026, B2B buyers won’t be satisfied with corporate portals and clunky UX. They’ll expect the ease, personalization, and trustworthiness they get from their favorite consumer brands. The companies that lead will build B2B journeys that feel personal, intuitive, human-first, and frictionless.”
- Christina Watts, Senior Experience Strategy Lead
Key Signals Driving Digital B2B Experiences in 2026
- Gartner predicts that by 2030, digital commerce in B2B will converge around four themes: customer-centricity, connectivity, agility, and intelligence. That trajectory already demands B2C-level user experiences. (Digital Commerce 360)
- In its 2026 outlook for B2B leaders in marketing, sales, and product, Forrester warns that without trust, transparency, and human-forward digital design (especially as AI proliferates in B2B workflows), B2B firms risk losing billions in value. (Forrester)
The Human-First Future of AI and Digital Experience in 2026
Looking across all five predictions, a shared narrative comes into focus: 2026 will be the year when human needs for emotional clarity, trust, creativity, and anticipation will finally align with the power of intelligent technology.
Digital transformation is no longer about building faster, flashier tools. It’s about building smarter, more empathetic systems.
If 2024 and 2025 were about experimenting with AI, evolving tech stacks, and shifting consumer expectations, then 2026 will be about designing digital experiences that feel smarter, calmer, more connected, and more deeply human.