This FAQ addresses how AI fits into customer experience strategy in 2026.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the redefining of “attention,” what neuro-contextual research actually measures, and how it could reshape media planning for brands that traditionally buy based on reach or demographics rather than emotional resonance. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Content Jeremy Goldman, and Brian Gleason, CEO of Seedtag. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Social commerce has moved beyond a trend or an experiment and become a real part of how people are shopping today. “What started as discovery and inspiration has now become shoppable, immediate, and increasingly transactional, often in a single sitting,” said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian on a recent episode of “Behind the Numbers.”
Data interoperability is becoming leverage; brands may need neutral infrastructure to activate signals consistently across emerging AI endpoints.
Marketers fear AI flooding search and inboxes, eroding differentiation just as SEO, email, and traffic performance slide.
Hollywood shifts from AI talk to takedowns as a viral deepfake spotlights consent, rights, and ad risk.
Agency roles are shifting upward; execution is becoming software, while oversight, integration, and governance gain importance.
Lawmaker and user backlash kills Flock partnership, exposing limits of opt-in AI surveillance plays.
AI tools are becoming some travelers’ first stop, reshaping discovery and pressuring search-driven players.
77.5% of US CEOs anticipate inflation will negatively affect their business forecasts, making it the leading concern ahead of tariffs (70.6%) and US-China relations (68.6%), according to a November survey from Stagwell, The Wall Street Journal, and the National Research Group.
This FAQ examines how the D2C model has evolved and what brands must do to make it profitable in 2026.
Retailers can now pay to surface products alongside AI recommendations in high-intent moments.
Consumers show cautious interest, but only if tools are clinically validated, transparent, and privacy secure.
Gaming’s 42% jump and ChatGPT’s ad push signal a 2026 reset.
59% of US teens ages 13-17 say they have used ChatGPT, meaning a majority of the next generation of consumers is already turning to AI chatbots, according to a December report from Pew Research Center.
On February 20, eBay’s updated user agreement goes into effect, banning third-party AI agents that autonomously buy for consumers, targeting the emerging “buy-for-me” tools designed to handle discovery, decisioning, and checkout.
As conversational AI becomes a new entry point for discovery, advertisers are rethinking how relevance and usefulness show up in these environments. Roundel’s pilot with OpenAI offers an early look at what user-first advertising could mean inside AI-driven conversations.
Most AI users feel more productive, but faster cycles raise intensity, multitasking, and hidden strain.
An AI assistant builds carts from lists or photos, shifting brand power from shelf space to algorithmic visibility.