As we move into 2026, organisations are facing a dual reality: accelerating technological disruption and mounting pressure for sustainable growth. AI adoption is moving faster than structures, skills and cultures can adapt, while geopolitical instability, fragile supply chains and tighter regulation continue to test resilience. The biggest challenge for businesses will be navigating the complexity of AI integration while maintaining trust and transparency. This continued change will raise uncertainty for employees, reduce engagement and impact performance. This will require businesses to reshape roles, and address workforce reskilling to avoid talent gaps.
Here’s what our heads of department at Mediazoo foresee for the year ahead.
Giles Smith, CEO
Creative Studio
True creativity is going to be our superpower: when everything around us is becoming unpredictable but also as AI is relied upon more and more, there will be pushback and brands and their consumers will crave authenticity, real human interaction, deeper bespoke unique creative that is organic and genuine. Yes, there are and always will be shortcuts and faster, cheaper ways to do things but for the work that matters, that really moves the dial - it’s brain and people power every time to create something special and impactful that drives performance.
Liz Robinson, Managing Director of Creative Studio
If this year was about trying to steady the industry, 2026 is the year I accept that stability isn’t coming. Uncertainty is now the baseline.
In this environment, creative leadership shifts from producing output to orchestrating clarity. The role becomes about aligning strategy, narrative and craft into coherent systems that cut through noise. It’s less about volume and more about intent.
As AI accelerates production, the real differentiators will be taste, judgement and emotional intelligence. Brands will return to first principles - clarity of message, simplicity of design and meaningful emotional connection, valuing confidence and coherence over excess.
With a flood of content produced at speed, the rare skill will be the ability to edit, refine and choose. Taste becomes the Creative Director’s real advantage.
Jake McCabe, Creative Director
Strategic Communications
For me, the biggest trend will be how PR responds to uncertainty. I suspect it will stop being treated as an exception and become the normal operating environment. Political instability, economic pressure and rapid technological change mean teams will spend less time “managing crises” and more time navigating constant change. As a result, judgement, leadership and clear communication will matter more than speed alone.
At the same time, as AI becomes more widely used, the value of people will only increase. AI will make production faster, but it won’t replace human insight, trust or instinct. Emotional intelligence, ethical judgement and genuine connection will become stronger differentiators. The advantage won’t belong to those with the best tools, but to those who use them most thoughtfully, and dare I say it, humanely.
Andrew McLachlan, Director of Strategic Communications
Learning & Development
Engagement is likely to fall further in 2026, forcing organisations to rethink how learning, communications and change work together.
More businesses will move toward skills-based models, but many will struggle at the line-manager level. Success will depend on supporting leaders to manage capabilities, not just roles, and on connecting constant change into a coherent, human narrative.
The real challenge isn't change itself, but the narrative around constant change. Leaders need help "complexifying" their story: connecting transformation initiatives into a coherent thread about becoming more human, developing capabilities, and finding our place in an AI-powered future. Making it feel like evolution, not revolution.
Pete Ashcroft, Strategy Director
Human Resources
Uncertainty is now permanent. AI, restructures and economic pressure mean people rarely know what’s coming next. When uncertainty rises, stress spikes, trust drops and productivity suffers. You can invest in wellbeing, but if people feel unsafe with the unknown, those efforts won’t land.
That’s why I’d prioritise building uncertainty tolerance, helping people stay calm, confident and effective without having all the answers. If uncertainty is the reality of work, preparing people to handle it is the smartest investment HR can make.
Jess Lambourne, Head of People
AI Studio
In 2026, we'll see AI users split into two distinct camps.
The first camp will treat AI like autocorrect - accepting outputs without question, gradually losing the critical thinking skills needed to spot when it's wrong. And it is wrong, frequently. Studies already show over half of AI outputs contain errors, but people trust them anyway because they sound authoritative.
The second camp will do something smarter. They'll use AI to generate baseline ideas quickly - the convergent, "this is what good looks like" stuff, then deliberately break those ideas apart using human creativity. That's where divergence happens. That's where breakthroughs come from.
The organisations that win in 2026 won't be the ones using AI most. They'll be the ones who've trained their people to interrogate it. To use it as a starting point, not an end point. Because AI is brilliant at showing you what already works - but terrible at imagining what doesn't exist yet.
The question for 2026 isn't whether to adopt AI. It's whether you're building a culture that questions it or one that just accepts it.
Lauren Smithers, Head of Technical Operations & AI Studio
Closing Remarks from Giles
I’m highly optimistic about the year ahead, particularly within learning and talent development. The convergence of AI and human skills is creating a genuinely transformative moment for both organisations and individuals. Performance is no longer driven by technology alone, but by the ability to adapt, innovate and thrive amid ongoing uncertainty.
As budgets remain tight, we’re seeing a clear shift from transactional training to strategic learning partnerships. Organisations are moving beyond procurement-led models toward trusted ecosystems that deliver measurable impact. This creates real opportunity for solutions that combine behavioural science, creativity and technology.
The organisations that succeed in 2026 will be those that embrace uncertainty tolerance and human-centric innovation, using AI to unlock smarter, more personalised experiences while keeping human performance firmly at the centre.
Giles Smith, CEO