AI tools have become ubiquitous – and have much to offer – but marketing success still needs the human touch, says Ashgrove’s Terry van Rhyn

As we barrel into 2026, brands that win won’t just play the game – they’ll help rewrite it. From automotive and finance to fashion and lifestyle, the competitive terrain is being reshaped by two unstoppable forces: AI-powered market intelligence and the increasingly nuanced expectations of consumers. The brands that embrace both will not only survive, they will thrive.

2026 will be the year where AI stops being a buzzword and becomes a strategic core competency. Savvy brands aren’t asking if AI will matter – they’re asking how deeply it can be embedded into every function of the business: from real-time trend analysis to hyper-personalised consumer engagement, to forecasting what’s next.

Think of AI like the ultimate market-intelligence engine: a digital radar that watches social sentiment, purchasing shifts, cultural cues and performance metrics simultaneously, and turns that unstructured noise into sharp, actionable insight. The brands that get ahead in 2026 will be those that not only gather data but interpret it through the lens of strategy, then act before the competition even knows a shift occurred.

Across industries, certain trends are emerging with crystal clarity – and they’re rooted in how people are thinking and feeling in a world that’s faster, more complex, and often more uncertain than ever before.

Automotive: Electrification and sustainability remain table stakes but buyers now want emotional value, not just efficiency. Experiences like personalised in-car environments and AI-powered lifestyle integrations are driving deeper brand loyalty.

Financial Services: Trust and transparency are the new currency. AI-enabled financial advisors and predictive insights are empowering consumers to make smarter decisions but brands that humanise those experiences will win trust at scale.

Fashion & Lifestyle: Personal identity and ethical values are front and centre. Consumers want products that tell a story – and they want brands that listen and respond to their individual values. Expect AI to personalise style recommendations across every touchpoint. But it’s still the emotional connection that will turn users into advocates.

Retail & Beyond: Seamless, predictive shopping experiences are no longer ‘nice to have’ – they’re expected. AI that anticipates needs and removes friction isn’t futuristic; it’s today’s table service.

At times like this when I am contemplating the year ahead, I’ve often found it useful to refer to the thinking of pre-eminent futurist Faith Popcorn for her unique and powerful framing.

Long hailed as ‘The Trend Oracle’, Popcorn’s work has always been about decoding cultural undercurrents and revealing the logic beneath the chaos. For decades her BrainReserve consultancy has guided Fortune 500 brands by spotting emergent forces like cocooning, anchoring and the deep societal currents that define tomorrow’s consumer behaviour.

Popcorn has long emphasised that understanding the human beneath the data matters more than ever: a principle that strikes at the heart of 2026’s brand challenge. AI can bring signals to the surface but humans must interpret them through context, emotion and social nuance. This is precisely the frontier where winners will emerge. Or as BrainReserve puts it: “The greatest advantage isn’t having more data – it’s having more foresight.”

AI gives you the view ahead but it’s human insight that tells you what to do with it. The brands that will thrive in 2026 aren’t just those with the largest budgets or the slickest campaigns. They’ll be the ones that:

• Infuse AI into strategy, not just operations.

• Build systems that listen first, then predict and personalise.

• Translate intelligence into empathy – and empathy into action.

• Use foresight as a competitive tool, not just a nice-to-have.

Yes, AI will deliver the ‘what’ but human insight will always deliver the ‘why’.

Whether you’re in automotive, finance, fashion, retail or lifestyle, remember this: insight that arrives early, is interpreted well, and executed decisively is what will give you the advantage. And if you don’t seize it in 2026, your brand risks falling behind.