The year 2026 isn’t just another transition; it’s a rapid acceleration where marketing must reinvent itself from the ground up. As the pace of AI advancement keeps accelerating, we are seeing a fundamental shift in how consumers discover brands. With the rise of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), being visible to your customers now requires being "visible" to the AI models they consult. If a Large Language Model doesn't recognize your brand within its conversational interface, you effectively cease to exist in the modern customer journey.
Beyond search, this rupture is transforming operations through AI agents acting as strategic co-pilots and the industrialization of generative AI in creative studios. We are seeing production cycles slashed by over 60%, allowing for a level of personalization previously thought impossible. Yet, the real differentiator in 2026 won't just be the tech — it will be the organizational discipline to integrate these tools. From the resurgence of Next-Gen Marketing Mix Modeling to the fragmentation of Connected TV, the brands that win will be those that stop waiting and start restructuring their foundations for an AI-first reality.
By Josselin Merckaert & Lucas Walshe
Privacy in America has always been a complex puzzle, but the fog is finally lifting, and what’s left is a landscape of heavy enforcement. California is taking the lead, notably with Global Privacy Control (GPC), a signal that enables users to opt out of data "selling or sharing" with just one click. Unlike "Do Not Track" settings, which were ignored in the past, GPC is legally enforced.
What’s next for brands is a technical challenge. Whether you use a Consent Management Platform (CMP) that automatically detects these signals or a custom JSON-based system, the requirement is the same: your technology needs to respect "no" immediately. While the volume of GPC traffic is currently low, sometimes even imperceptible against natural fluctuations, the legal consequences are both sudden and severe: Fines of more than $1M have become the new baseline for brands whose tracking implementation doesn’t detect the signal. In 2026, taking action on privacy compliance in the US, including on GPC, has become an imperative.
For more details, check out the article on our blog.
By Jérôme Colin
The recent exclusive deal between Disney and OpenAI marks an important moment for the creative industries sector. By licensing 200 iconic characters for Sora, while investing $1 billion in OpenAI, Disney is executing a strategic 'hedging' tactic, echoing the music industry’s response to the rise of Spotify. They are essentially investing in the platform that disrupts them…even at a time when no mean of monetization of those assets has been defined yet.
In the current context for OpenAI (openness to advertising, dire need for revenue generation), one can ponder the objectives for the genAI giant: is it only a way to gain usage traction, or is it also a way to generate more content and potentially develop an ad-supported platform?
But this “Spotify moment” for Hollywood also has uncomfortable implications for the creators. Since the copyright is owned by Disney, the financial rewards for AI-generated content may never reach the creators. The world is changing, and the most valuable asset in 2026 will not be movie series but the ability to prompt the characters within them.
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