Instead of bold predictions or crystal-ball gazing, this is a snapshot of how the Black Lab team is preparing for 2026, the habits we’re challenging, and the areas we’re leaning into most.
This year has not felt defined by one singular moment of disruption but instead shaped by accumulation in the form of incremental platform changes, the steady expansion of automation, the growing influence of AI on search and media, tightening budgets, rising scrutiny on performance, and customers behaving in ways that don’t fit neatly into traditional attribution models. Individually, none of these were entirely new, but together, they’ve demanded a different kind of thinking.
At Black Lab, we’ve seen this play out in real time across automotive, insurance, retail, e-commerce, healthcare and non-profit sectors to name but a few, and while the sectors may differ, the lessons remain the same.
Data & Creative: A New Centre of Gravity?
One of the clearest shifts we observed this year, is that traditional notions of targeting continued to erode as platforms leaned further into automation and machine learning, this meant audience signals broadened, controls became less granular, and the familiar levers many teams relied on carried less weight than they once had.
In practice, this has shifted the advantage away from who you can target and towards what you are saying and how well your data supports it. Across accounts, improvements in messaging clarity, creative testing and landing-page alignment have delivered far greater impact than further segmentation ever could.
Craig adds that as AI Overviews, assisted journeys and zero-click experiences influence discovery and understanding earlier in the journey, paid search often becomes the final visible interaction rather than the point of persuasion, yet reporting frameworks continue to reward that final step, creating a distorted picture of influence and as a result of that he has become increasingly concerned by how heavily last-click attribution still shapes decision-making.
He adds: “Google has long used a football analogy to explain the flaw in last-click attribution, likening it to giving all the credit for a goal to the player who scored it, while ignoring the build-up play that made it possible. This metaphor feels more relevant than ever as AI Overviews, organic discovery and assisted journeys increasingly shape decision-making before a click ever happens, paid search is often left holding the trophy for work it didn’t do alone.”
Looking ahead, Craig suggests that the industry could do with doubling down on first-party data, creative distinction and performance measurement that reflects the full customer journey, while leaving behind over-reliance on last-touch metrics that no longer tell the full story.
The Full Funnel
Rising competition and cost pressure exposed how fragile purely conversion-led strategies could become when brand presence was weak or inconsistent this year.
The resilience shown by clients operating in difficult conditions is something that has surprised James most this year. Despite economic uncertainty and shifting market dynamics, many remained focused on ambitious targets, which in turn highlighted the importance of strategy that supports growth rather than simply chasing efficiency.
As we head into a new year, 2026, James is doubling down on joined-up thinking across channels and leaving behind the idea that incremental optimisation alone is enough to deliver sustainable results because where clients invested in education, visibility and consistency, even at relatively modest levels, performance tended to be more resilient.
This was not about chasing vanity metrics or disconnected brand activity, but about ensuring that when people reached a point of intent, the brand already felt familiar and credible, meaning that those who considered the full journey, rather than just the final interaction, were better placed to withstand volatility.
Why Originality and Effort Will Matter More Than Ever?
If 2024 was about debating AI, 2025 was about reality setting in. Skepticism softened, curiosity grew, and tools found their way into workflows across marketing, content and account management, sometimes thoughtfully and sometimes with worrying levels of confidence.
The increasing emphasis from search engines on qualities such as skill, originality, accuracy and effort reinforced what we were already seeing in practice; content without intent, understanding or differentiation simply does not perform in the way it once did. In our experience, brands that benefited most from AI were those that understood its limitations as clearly as its advantages, using it to enhance thinking rather than outsource it entirely.
One assumption Rhys is challenging as we move into 2026,is the idea that AI can replace a copywriter. “Much like the recurring claim that “SEO is dead”, it’s a narrative that resurfaces regularly while missing how search engines actually evaluate quality. AI cannot be original; it is trained on what has come before, and without human direction and intent, it reproduces patterns rather than creating value.”
Getting the foundations right
While AI dominated much of the industry conversation, some of the most meaningful gains we saw this year came from the quieter, less glamorous work. Website migrations handled properly, with crawlability and redirect mapping treated as strategic rather than technical afterthoughts, structured data implemented with intent rather than assumption and e-commerce journeys simplified to remove friction rather than layered with unnecessary complexity.
Believing many brands are still unprepared for what comes next, particularly in e-commerce and complex websites:
One area Monty is doubling down on in 2026 is structured data, as organic and AI-driven search rely more heavily on machine-readable signals, well-implemented schema will play an increasingly important role in visibility and interpretation, not just ranking.
At the same time, Monty is consciously leaving behind over-investment in traditional meta descriptions. “As search engines increasingly generate dynamic summaries based on user intent, manually written descriptions carry less control and less impact than they once did.’
His lesson to take into 2026? While technical fundamentals rarely make headlines, they are often what separates sustainable growth from short-term performance spikes.
Why Human Connection Still Makes the Difference in Digital Marketing?
For all the progress in automation and efficiency, one of the most consistent lessons of 2025 had little to do with platforms. As workflows became more automated and communication more asynchronous, the value of genuine human connection became clearer rather than less relevant. Our Client Services Lead, Sam Lyon, has been focused on how our agency and our clients work together, not just what tools they use. While efficiencies have improved, one habit she believes brands need to leave behind is over-reliance on calls and digital communication at the expense of real connection.
Time spent face to face consistently reveals more context, nuance and trust than transactional interactions ever can. Looking ahead to 2026, Sam will be doubling down on better reporting, tracking and ways of working that ensure time is spent where it delivers the most value, while remaining open to AI tools that genuinely improve efficiency rather than complicate it.
In her words: “You learn far more when you take the time to engage properly, not just efficiently.”
Why Reflection Is a Performance Skill?
Economic pressure, changing client expectations and the pace of platform change required teams to adapt quickly while maintaining quality; this was a year that tested resilience.
Our Senior Performance Marketer, Ady Matheson-Bruce has seen a noticeable shift in how clients think about media budgets, particularly a growing acceptance that upper-funnel brand activity needs to play a meaningful role alongside performance-led spend.
After years of pressure to justify every pound against immediate return, this broader view of effectiveness feels both overdue and necessary, and it’s a shift Ady expects to continue well into 2026.
“Taking time to pause and reflect is not a luxury in environments like this, but a necessary part of sustaining good work over time.” – Ady Matheson-Bruce, Senior Performance Marketer at Black Lab
Ady has seen increasing acceptance from clients this year that upper-funnel brand activity needs to be factored into media budgets, a shift he expects to continue into 2026. At the same time, he remains sceptical of some platform narratives, particularly around AI-led performance products delivering the gains they promise. In particular, the aggressive push behind Google’s AI-led “Power Pack” of advertising products has been met with caution across the industry. Despite the promises being made, Ady has yet to see consistent evidence that these formats are delivering the performance improvements being claimed, and he is far from alone in that view.
What stood out most for Ady in 2025, however, was how relentless the pace became, and how little time was left for reflection amid constant change. His focus heading into 2026 is not just on professional development, but on taking stock more often, recognising that reflection is not a distraction from performance, but part of sustaining it.
What Are Black Lab Taking Into 2026?
Moving into 2026 for Black Lab means continuing to build digital marketing strategies that reflect real customer journeys, investing in creative and technical foundations that stand up in an AI-led environment, and working closely with clients as partners rather than passengers and this will mean questioning platform narratives when they don’t align with reality, using automation deliberately rather than blindly to create space for reflection alongside delivery.
Our next Digital Leaders’ Collective event, Audience Amplified by Data, takes place in Leeds City Centre on Thursday 5th February, bringing together marketing leaders from across automotive, retail, charity and B2B to share honest perspectives on how data, insight and automation are really shaping audience connection. If you’d like to join us to reflect on challenges and learnings while looking ahead to what’s next we’d love to welcome you.
For now, Thank You to our clients, partners and peers for the conversations, challenges and trust throughout 2025.
We wish you a very Merry Christmas, a restful break, and a Happy New Year, and we look forward to what we’ll build together in 2026 and beyond.
