What To Expect In 2026

The start of a new year is always an invitation to reflect. Not only on how the research and insight landscape is changing, but on what those shifts make possible for organizations willing to rethink how they use insight.

For a long time, insight teams have been under pressure to deliver more, move faster and continually justify their strategic relevance. The rise of AI has intensified that expectation. But it has also opened the door to a different way of working.

As we move into 2026, I see insight evolving from a function that supports decisions into a capability that actively shapes them in real time.

Here are five changes I believe will define the next phase of insight.

Real-Time Insight Becomes Part of Daily Decision-Making

Insight is moving beyond one-off projects towards continuous intelligence. Rather than waiting weeks for research outputs, teams are increasingly able to pose questions and receive actionable answers almost immediately.

This has a huge impact on how organizations operate. Marketing, product and UX teams can maintain momentum instead of stopping to wait for research. Senior leaders can explore ideas, test assumptions and sense-check decisions as they arise.

Connor Smyth from Whyte & Mackay summed this up when he said:

“You’ve got the flex in one report to answer a question from a CMO right through to the latest Executive that has just joined your team who has 1000 questions…and you can answer both.”

That ability to respond across roles and seniority is the real shift. Insight becomes something teams engage with every day, not something they plan around.

Personas Will Evolve from Static Profiles to Living Models

Traditional personas served a purpose, but they were fixed representations of people at a single point in time. As behaviors and expectations changed, those profiles quickly became outdated.

By 2026, personas are becoming dynamic. They update as new conversations, behaviors and signals are added, reflecting how people’s motivations and trade-offs shift over time.

This is critical in a world where decisions cannot wait for the next research cycle. When audience understanding stays current, teams can adjust messaging, product direction and experiences with confidence.

It also supports global alignment. Teams can explore how the same persona behaves across markets while still respecting cultural nuance and local context.

Ethics and Data Integrity Define Who Earns Trust

As AI becomes embedded throughout research workflows, trust moves to the centre of the conversation.

Clients are more discerning. Regulation is increasing. Respondents expect openness. In 2026, responsible AI and robust data practices will not be nice-to-haves. They will be key points of differentiation.

This goes beyond meeting regulatory requirements. It means being clear about where data comes from, how AI is trained, how outputs are generated and where human judgement is applied. Platforms that cannot clearly explain their processes or demonstrate ethical design will struggle to build lasting credibility.

Researchers Step into the Role of AI-Enabled Strategists

One of the most significant changes ahead is not about technology, but about people.

AI is increasingly taking on operational tasks such as recruitment, moderation, analysis and summarization. That does not reduce the value of researchers. It elevates it.

As Vesna Hajnšek from L’Occitane shared:

“I think it liberates us a lot from some of the things we need to do daily that has taken us days, hours, sometimes weeks to do, now we can do them in days, hours, minutes, and it really frees us up to do the more important stuff.”

That important work is sense-making, storytelling and strategic interpretation. Researchers become guides who help organizations understand meaning, not just metrics.

Marie Robelin from Unilever captured this beautifully:

“I think we need to hold tight to the skills which are the foundation of market research, understanding people, going deep into people’s behavior, because the curiosity about what makes people tick, that cannot fade, tools will change they always change but the passion for understanding humans will have to stay.”

AI brings speed and scale. Human expertise brings the story to life.

Insight Bridges Teams and Leadership

Perhaps the most transformative change is how insight connects organizations internally.

When insight is easy to access and trusted, it becomes part of everyday workflows for marketing, product and UX teams. At the same time, it becomes more visible and influential at leadership level.

This creates shared understanding. Teams operate from the same view of the consumer, while executives can explore strategic questions without delay or abstraction.

As Connor Smyth noted:

“In summary, it’s about people, it’s about partnership and it’s about insight.”

That collaboration between technology and human expertise will define high-performing insight functions in 2026.

Looking ahead, the organizations that succeed will be those that treat insight as a living system rather than a static deliverable. One that evolves alongside people, builds trust through transparency and gives humans the space to focus on what they do best, understanding other humans.

That is the future I am excited to help shape.