Marketing 2026: the question is no longer whether companies will use AI, but whether they will know how to use it well

Businesses that have not yet incorporated artificial intelligence into content production and distribution, as well as communication and marketing strategies, need to review concepts and practices.The year 2026 marks a definitive turning point for this market.

The numbers help to scale the speed of this transformation. Surveys gathered by international market analysis platforms indicate that about 88% of marketers already use some type of artificial intelligence in their routines, especially in activities such as content creation, data analysis and campaign automation. In Brazil, research such as RD Station shows that more than half of companies have already adopted AI in marketing and sales, albeit partially.

The impact appears in the industry analyses cited by SalesGroup, which point to reductions of up to 37% in customer acquisition cost (CAC) in AI-based strategies, as well as consistent gains in conversion.

For Lucas Veiga, founder and CEO of Tagbit, a digital marketing agency, what is underway is a reorganization of marketing as a strategic function, supported by data, automation and continuous personalization. “For many businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, this transition redefines who grows and who simply stops being seen”, he says.

According to the expert, amid the excess of information that disputes the attention of the consumer, the competitive advantage migrates from those who speak more to those who speak better.“Gain space who can deliver the right message, to the right person, at the right time”.

Thus, data-driven organizations tend to perform better in the market. Studies by the McKinsey Global Institute indicate that companies data-driven they are about 23 times more likely to win new customers, six times more likely to retain them, and 19 times more likely to be profitable when compared to less data-driven organizations.

Artificial intelligence makes this approach feasible at scale by allowing large volumes of data to be analyzed and transformed into near-real-time decisions, something difficult to sustain with human operation alone.“With AI, strategy learns while running”, Lucas says.

Instead of static pieces, dynamic active pieces gain space, capable of automatically adapting to the profile, behavior and context of each user.Statista data indicate that the global AI market applied to marketing should exceed US$ 100 billion by 2028, driven by creative automation, personalization and predictive analysis.

Accenture points out that 91% of consumers tend to buy from brands that offer personalized experiences.For companies, this translates into greater engagement and less media waste.“Generic communication ceases to be a sustainable strategy”, the expert evaluates.

In addition to the strategic impact, artificial intelligence redefines costs and operational structures. Processes such as A/B testing, media optimization, audience segmentation and reporting become largely automated. PwC reports indicate that AI-based automation can reduce marketing operational costs by up to 30%. “A competitive advantage ceases to be budget and becomes a” architecture, says the executive.

Paradoxically, the greater the use of technology, the more relevant the planning becomes. The abundance of data requires clear objectives, well-defined metrics and integration between marketing, sales and technology.“Without planning, AI amplifies errors; with direction, accelerates” growth, Veiga summarizes.

And so, marketing becomes less intuitive and more systemic; less dependent on one-off campaigns and more data-driven, automation and continuous learning.“A now asks not whether the company will use AI in marketing, but will use it well. Who does it before builds competitive advantage. Who postpones, runs the risk of becoming irrelevant”, concludes Lucas Veiga.