0:02 Your customers aren't finding you the
0:05 way they used to. 26% of searches now
0:07 [music] end without a click. Instagram
0:10 alone sees over 6.5 billion searches
0:13 every day. And Chad GPT is about to
0:15 launch ads that behave like Facebook,
0:17 not Google. So if you're still marketing
0:20 like 2024, you're already behind. I'm
0:23 Neil Patel, co-founder of NP Digital. My
0:25 team works with hundreds of brands
0:27 across dozens of industries and every
0:30 day we analyze patterns most marketers
0:32 never even see. And today I'm going to
0:34 walk you through the eight digital
0:36 marketing trends that will shape
0:38 visibility in 2026 and how to use each
0:40 one immediately. Because when you
0:41 [music] understand what's actually
0:44 happening, you stop reacting and start
0:46 leading. Let's dive in. Trend number
0:49 one, stop sending traffic off platform.
0:52 Capture leads where they are. If you're
0:53 still sending social media traffic to
0:55 landing pages, you're losing leads
0:57 before they ever see your offer. Here's
0:59 a real reason. Platforms like Instagram,
1:01 LinkedIn, and Facebook kill your
1:03 distribution the moment your content
1:05 tries to move off platform, even if it's
1:08 just click the link in my bio or visit
1:10 our site. These platforms want people
1:12 inside their ecosystem, not bouncing out
1:14 of it. So, the algorithm immediately
1:17 throttles your reach and your ad costs
1:19 go up. And even when people do click
1:21 out, most mobile users drop off the
1:24 moment they hit a slow loading form or a
1:26 page that isn't built for quick
1:28 conversion. Here's what you need to do.
1:30 Keep the entire lead capture process
1:31 inside the platform. Use tools like
1:33 Manyhat to trigger automated
1:35 conversations. When someone comments
1:37 with the keyword, they comment, the
1:39 software automatically sends them DMs,
1:41 you capture their information without
1:43 them ever leaving the platform. This
1:45 reduces friction, boosts engagement
1:47 signals to the algorithm, and gives you
1:49 higher quality leads because you're
1:51 tracking behavioral intent, not just
1:54 form fields. Trend two, search moved
1:57 beyond Google. For years, search meant
1:59 Google. But now, search is happening
2:01 everywhere. Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok,
2:04 Chad, GBT, Snap, LinkedIn, even [music]
2:07 your browser. Snap signed a $400 million
2:09 deal with Perplexity [music] just to
2:10 power their search. Buyers are jumping
2:13 across platforms like Stepping Stones
2:15 and most brands only show up on one of
2:17 them. Here's what we're seeing in the
2:20 data. Instagram 6.5 billion searches a
2:23 day. YouTube over 3 billion. Tik Tok is
2:24 becoming [music] a new product search
2:27 engine. Chad GBT emerging as a trusted
2:30 discovery tool. This isn't random. It's
2:32 a clear shift in consumer behavior. And
2:33 once you understand the shift, you can
2:35 use [music] it to win. This is called
2:38 search everywhere optimization. creating
2:40 content that's formatted, structured,
2:42 and packaged in a way that ranks across
2:44 all major discovery surfaces, [music]
2:46 not just traditional search engines.
2:48 Here's exactly how to do it. Start by
2:50 weaving [music] your targeted keywords
2:52 naturally into everything. Your script,
2:54 your captions, your on-screen text, and
2:56 your description. That's how platforms
2:58 understand the true topic of your
3:00 content. Then build topic clusters.
3:02 Create multiple posts around the same
3:04 core theme so platforms start mapping
3:07 you as the authority. Consistency also
3:10 builds discoverability. And finally,
3:13 optimize for conversational search.
3:15 People now search in full phrases and
3:17 the algorithms read the layers of your
3:19 content. Audio captions, transcripts,
3:21 and visual text to [music] match that
3:23 intent. When your content aligns with
3:25 how people actually search, you start
3:27 showing up everywhere they look. Trend
3:30 three, the AI slob problem is hurting
3:32 teams more than helping. AI promise
3:35 speed, but for most marketing teams,
3:36 it's creating [music] confusion, rework,
3:39 and hallucinations. We ran a study
3:41 comparing free and paid AI tools, and
3:43 the hallucination rates were almost
3:45 [music] identical. That means people are
3:47 trusting answers that look correct, but
3:49 are completely wrong. And that false
3:52 confidence is killing campaigns. Here's
3:54 what's happening. Markers are using AI
3:56 to write copy, analyze data, and build
3:58 strategy. But they're not validating the
4:00 output. They're assuming the AI is right
4:02 because it sounds confident. But when
4:04 you dig into the data, you find errors,
4:06 fake [music] stats, misqued sources,
4:07 conclusions that don't match the
4:09 evidence. And here's a surprising twist.
4:11 A lot of companies are blaming AI for
4:14 the layoffs. Not because AI actually
4:15 replaced people, but because [music]
4:17 it's a cleaner story for the public
4:19 markets. Simplifying with AI sounds a
4:21 lot better to shareholders than
4:23 admitting that they overhired and their
4:24 divisions aren't [music] growing at the
4:26 pace they are expecting or aren't as
4:28 profitable. Meanwhile, inside these
4:31 teams, the real inefficiency is coming
4:34 from AI slop, hallucinations, errors,
4:36 and bad outputs that waste [music]
4:39 hours. Even Perplexity CEO said on CNBC,
4:41 he doesn't believe AI is [music] the
4:43 true reason behind these job losses.
4:45 >> The results of that are being seen now.
4:47 So, correlation doesn't imply causation.
4:49 Like, it's not because of AI that people
4:52 are losing jobs. In fact, because of AI,
4:54 we see a lot more empowerment in people.
4:55 >> So, what do you actually do with all
4:58 this? You stop using AI the way everyone
5:00 else is using [music] it and start using
5:02 it the way top performers do. Top
5:04 performers aren't using AI blindly.
5:07 They're using AI intelligently. Here's
5:09 how. Use AI to generate first drafts,
5:11 not final drafts. Cross reference any
5:14 stats or claim [music] that AI gives
5:16 you. Check the source. Verify the date.
5:18 Build internal quality checks. [music]
5:20 If something feels off, dig deeper. Use
5:23 AI for ideiation, not execution. Let it
5:25 help you brainstorm, but don't let it
5:27 make strategic decisions without human
5:29 [music] oversight. The biggest ROI we're
5:31 seeing from AI isn't from tools
5:33 themselves. [music] It's from using AI
5:35 platforms like Chat GBT as a discovery
5:37 channel to drive traffic and
5:39 conversions. When you stop using AI to
5:41 replace your word and start using it to
5:44 extend your reach, you produce work
5:46 that's sharper, faster, and way more
5:48 accurate. AI doesn't replace your
5:50 judgment, it multiplies it. Once you
5:51 understand that, you stop feeling
5:53 threatened and you start feeling empowered.
6:00 AI tools aren't just answering questions
6:03 anymore. They're evolving into full
6:05 discovery engines. And just like Google,
6:07 they're starting to prioritize trusted
6:09 sources. We're seeing clear patterns.
6:11 Listicles get cited constantly.
6:13 Structured pages get pulled into
6:15 answers. Websites [music] with
6:16 consistent formatting are showing up
6:19 more often. If you publish top 10 lists
6:21 across multiple categories, top 10
6:23 tools, top 10 agencies, top 10 products,
6:26 top 10 comparisons, you start training
6:28 Chat GBT to see you as authority. Here's
6:30 how the strategy works. Create listicles
6:33 in very specific niches. Don't just
6:35 publish top 10 digital marketing
6:37 agencies. Publish the subcategories, top
6:40 10 SAS agencies, top 10 e-commerce
6:42 agencies, top 10 affordable marketing
6:45 agencies, top 10 agencies for
6:48 franchises. The more micro categories
6:50 you own, the more Chad GBT cites you as
6:52 a source. And no, you shouldn't be
6:54 citing yourself. You should be
6:56 leveraging digital PR to get other
6:58 trusted sources that are authorities in
7:00 your field to site you. And you need to
7:03 make your case on why you are a better
7:05 fit than the competition. And Chad GBT
7:07 will eventually build its own authority
7:09 system to prevent strategies like people
7:11 just blogging on their own website and
7:14 saying, "Hey, we're the best." So right
7:16 now, you shouldn't focus on shortcuts.
7:18 You should focus on long-term strategies
7:20 by getting other people in your industry
7:22 to talk about you. Yes, it involves
7:24 outreach and more work, but it's worth
7:26 the effort because then your results
7:28 will start compounding. And if you don't
7:29 want to do this yourself and you just
7:30 want someone to do it for you, my
7:33 agency, NP Digital, has a massive
7:35 digital PR team with over a 100 people
7:36 [music] where we help companies get
7:39 listed as the main source and pitch
7:41 journalists on why they should be the
7:43 best in their industry. Of course, if
7:44 you have a crappy product or service,
7:46 it's harder for us to do that. But if
7:47 you have a good product and a good
7:49 service, it's much easier and definitely
7:51 doable. All you have to do is just go to
7:53 npd digital.com and fill out the form.
7:55 Now, if you are creating content on your
7:57 own website, make sure you're formatting
7:59 it correctly with clear headers, bullet
8:01 points, tables. This makes it easy for
8:03 AI to extract and site your content.
8:05 Keep your content updated. Add last
8:08 updated dates to your pages and AI
8:09 engines will favor fresh, current
8:11 information over old, outdated
8:13 information. You also want to use schema
8:15 markup. This tells AA engines exactly
8:17 what your content is about and makes it
8:19 easier to site. You also want to site
8:21 yourself strategically within your own
8:22 content and mention the products and
8:25 services you offer, as well as integrate
8:27 case studies, stats, facts, and data
8:29 like that to show that you are a
8:31 credible source. And when you get cited
8:33 by multiple websites that rank you as
8:36 one of the top sources in the industry,
8:38 this builds authority within the AI
8:40 platforms. This makes them want to site
8:42 you more than your competition in the
8:43 long run, who's just focusing on
8:45 creating articles on their own website,
8:47 discussing how they're the best source.
8:50 This is going to be the new SEO. Almost
8:51 no one is doing it. What they're
8:53 focusing on is still the old stuff
8:56 versus digital PR where it's really at
8:58 and that makes the difference. Sure, you
8:59 need to still have all the fundamentals,
9:01 but without digital PR, you're not going
9:04 to do as well on Chad GPT, Perplexity,
9:05 or even Gemini. [music] And when you
9:07 understand that Chad GPT is becoming a
9:09 ranking system, your content strategy
9:10 immediately becomes more intentional,
9:13 more strategic, and far more profitable.
9:15 Trend five, AI ads will behave like
9:18 Facebook with Google level intent. When
9:20 Chad GBT launches ads, they won't work
9:22 like Google search ads. They will target
9:24 you based on your full search history,
9:26 your intent over time, your interests,
9:28 your patterns, your problems, your
9:30 goals. This is identity based targeting
9:32 with search level accuracy. If you
9:35 search for marketing agencies, Chad GPT
9:36 could show you an ad for a marketing
9:38 agency. But if nine of your last 10
9:40 searches were about losing weight, Chad
9:42 GBT might show you a weight loss ad
9:44 instead because that's what's actually
9:46 top of mind for you right now. They're
9:48 not just responding to what you type.
9:50 They're responding to your deeper intent
9:52 across everything you've been searching.
9:54 And look at who Open AI is hiring.
9:56 Former Facebook and Instagram ad
9:57 engineers, people who specialize in
9:59 predictive modeling and behavior-based
10:01 targeting. Google shows you ads based on
10:03 what you type. Facebook shows you ads
10:06 based [music] on who you are. Chat GBT
10:08 will do both. This means one thing.
10:10 Brands that define their category early
10:11 will have the advantage of being the
10:13 default recommendation inside AI
10:15 platforms. You no longer are competing
10:17 for keywords. You're competing for
10:18 associations. And here's how you
10:20 position yourself now. Build topical
10:22 authority. Create content that is
10:24 consistently addresses specific problems
10:26 for specific audiences. The more you
10:28 publish on a topic, the more AI
10:30 associates your brand with that
10:31 category. You also want to use
10:33 firstparty data. Integrate your CRM,
10:35 purchase history, and customer
10:37 interactions into your ad platforms.
10:40 This trains AI systems to understand who
10:41 your best customers are. You want to
10:43 create content that teaches AI who you
10:45 help. Don't just say we're a marketing
10:48 agency. Say we help SAS companies scale
10:50 from 1 million to 10 million through
10:52 performance marketing. The specificity
10:54 trains the AI. Once you understand that,
10:56 you stop creating random content and you
10:58 start creating content that teaches AI
11:01 exactly who you are and who you help.
11:03 Trend six, browsers are becoming AI
11:04 platforms. This is one of the biggest
11:06 changes [music] coming in 2026 and one
11:09 of the least discussed. A is moving into
11:11 browser layer, not just website layer.
11:13 Chrome's Gemini, Chad GPT's Atlas,
11:15 Perplexes Comet. Right now, we go to
11:18 Chad GPT, we go to Google, we go to
11:19 different platforms, but [music] that's
11:21 changing. Think of a browser like an
11:23 app. Once you're inside it, they keep
11:25 you there and they can monetize you
11:27 without sending you to [music] websites
11:30 first. Imagine this. Your customer opens
11:32 a tab and asks the browser to compare
11:33 tools. The browser summarizes
11:35 everything, makes recommendations, and
11:37 shows [music] AIdriven ads before they
11:39 even reach a website. This is the future
11:41 of discovery. Browsers are becoming the
11:43 new platform instead of forcing people
11:45 to go to websites. AI inside the browser
11:47 pulls information directly from your
11:49 [music] site and shows it to users
11:51 instantly. And Google is already
11:52 preparing for this. Their new AI Mac
11:54 campaigns are designing [music] to show
11:57 ads across every Google surface, search,
11:59 YouTube, discover, and soon inside
12:01 Chrome's AI features. [music] So, in the
12:03 future, your ads won't just show up on
12:05 Google's platforms. They'll show up
12:07 inside the browser itself while people
12:10 are using AI tools to research, compare,
12:12 and make decisions. That's why marketers
12:14 need to prepare now. Start running AMAX
12:16 campaigns early so you can understand
12:18 how the system optimizes, and learns.
12:20 Add structured data to your website,
12:22 schema markup, clean formatting, and
12:24 clear sections so browsers can easily
12:26 extract, summarize, and [music] surface
12:28 your content. Treat your site as a data
12:31 source, not just a destination. the
12:33 browser will pull from it even if users
12:35 never click through. Trend seven, live
12:37 content is becoming a competitive
12:38 advantage. In a world full of AI
12:40 generated everything, the one thing
12:42 people trust most is real people. And
12:44 that's why live video is exploding.
12:47 YouTube reports that nearly 30% of users
12:49 watch at least one live every week. And
12:51 very few brands are going live. People
12:53 are craving live content, but creators
12:55 and brands aren't delivering it. When
12:57 you go live regularly, something
12:59 powerful happens. Your audience sees you
13:01 as a human. Your engagement spikes, your
13:03 organic reach expands, your content
13:06 multiplies because one live stream can
13:08 become dozens of clips. And here's one
13:09 thing that gets really interesting.
13:12 YouTube now autogenerates both
13:14 horizontal and vertical clips from your
13:15 live streams. You can go live once
13:17 [music] on desktop and the platform
13:20 creates vertical versions for mobile
13:22 automatically. You create once and the
13:24 platform repurposes it for you. Here's
13:26 how to use this. Go live once a week. It
13:27 doesn't have to be fancy. Just show up
13:30 and add value. Teach something, answer
13:32 questions, break down recent trend, walk
13:33 through a case study. Let the platform
13:35 do the work. YouTube handles the
13:37 formatting, you handle the value.
13:38 Repurpose strategically. Pull out the
13:40 best 60-second moments and turn them
13:42 into shorts, reals, and Tik Toks.
13:45 Platforms are rewarding authenticity,
13:47 not polish. And once you lean into that,
13:49 your brand stops feeling like content
13:51 and starts feeling like leadership. This
13:53 is where your audience begins to trust
13:58 For the first time in history, [music]
14:00 language is no longer a barrier. YouTube
14:02 and tools like Hey Gen can now autodub
14:04 your videos into dozens of languages
14:06 using your own voice. And over time,
14:07 [music] all platforms will do this. And
14:09 you won't even need tools like Hey Jen.
14:11 This means your next video isn't limited
14:14 to one country. [music] It can reach the
14:16 entire world instantly. Your reach is no
14:18 longer just English [music] speakers.
14:20 It's Hindi speakers, Korean speakers,
14:22 Spanish speakers, everyone. And here's
14:23 what we're seeing. Creators are getting
14:26 30 to 50% of their views from languages
14:27 they don't even speak. Brands are
14:29 expanding into new markets without
14:31 hiring translators or voice actors.
14:32 [music] Here's how to activate this.
14:35 Enable multilanguage audio on YouTube.
14:37 It's in your video settings. Turn it on
14:38 for every video you publish. You also
14:40 want to optimize your website for global
14:42 traffic. Use [music] HF lang tags. Add
14:44 language selectors. Make sure your
14:46 checkout process supports multiple
14:48 languages. Localize your CTAs. If
14:50 someone's [music] watching in Spanish,
14:51 make sure your landing page supports
14:53 Spanish, too. This shift transforms
14:55 creators into global brands. [music] And
14:57 once you experience global distribution,
14:59 your mindset changes. You stop thinking
15:01 in terms of views and you start thinking
15:03 in [music] terms of world reach. This
15:05 unlocks the biggest psychological driver
15:07 of all expansion. Not just of your
15:09 content, but of your ambition. If you
15:11 want to go deeper into how AI search
15:13 really works, watch my next video.
15:14 [music] This will walk you through how
15:16 to get surfaced, how to get recommended,
15:18 and how to stay visible inside every
