- How is AI transforming content creation in 2026? AI is becoming fully integrated into content marketing strategies, with over 80% of marketers using it to identify content gaps, build content clusters, create outlines, edit and proofread content, and integrate brand voice into platforms for more efficient content production.
- Why is video content dominating marketing strategies? Video marketing is used by 91% of businesses because it boosts conversion rates by up to 80%, performs better than other content formats according to 71% of marketers, and meets the 83% consumer demand driven by mobile technology adoption and preferences for visual content.
- What makes personalization essential for content marketing? AI search has created user expectations for tailored information, making personalized content—whether through dynamic content that changes based on visitors or content targeting specific audience segments—a mandatory priority for keeping audiences engaged and interested in 2026.
- How can brands build trust and authority in the AI era? Brands must position themselves as trustworthy authorities by integrating expertise from real industry experts, being transparent in storytelling, providing data-backed proof, and ensuring content sounds humanistic rather than robotic to stand out from AI-generated content.
- What is user-generated content’s impact on consumer confidence? UGC makes up to 73% of consumers more confident in products or services by prioritizing authenticity and relevance through organic reviews, testimonials, influencer videos, and case studies that showcase real customer experiences rather than purely promotional messaging.
Content marketing has been a long-standing staple in the marketing world — it helps you rank in search results, drive traffic to your website, and establish your trust and authority.
In the age of AI search, content is even more important — it’s one of the most powerful tools you have for increasing brand visibility and building that trust and authority.
So if you want to maximize success with your content marketing strategy, you need to keep on top of content marketing trends to ensure you’re maximizing the impact of your content.
Below, we’ll break down some of the biggest content marketing trends of 2026, which includes:
1. AI fully integrating into content creation
AI is continually transforming all industries, and content marketing has not been left behind. The global AI marketing revenue is predicted to reach an astounding $107 billion in 2028, and understandably, over 80% of marketers globally are already integrating some form of AI into their online marketing strategies.
In 2026, AI will be an integral part of the content creation process. Essentially, most marketers will be using AI in one way or another to aid in their content creation strategy.
Here are some of the ways content marketers are expected to use AI for content creation:
- Identifying content gaps to find opportunities for new content
- Building content clusters to enhance topical authority
- Creating content outlines
- Editing and proofreading content
- Integrating brand voice into platforms to produce branded content
🤔 Will marketers use AI to fully create content?
When mentioning AI as one of the top content marketing trends, you’re naturally wondering if marketers will use AI to fully create their content. In short, yes, marketers will use AI to fully create content — but it doesn’t mean you should.
Creating content using AI, without any oversight or structure, will cause it to flop and hurt your SEO performance (hello spam penalties!). You can use AI to help with a lot of your content process, but it needs to be done smartly.
Creating content with AI doesn’t mean you fully take your hands off the wheel. It needs structure and guidance through good prompting. It needs humans reading and verifying that the information is correct. Those same humans also need to be reading it and making sure it sounds human and not robotic.
At the end of the day, AI shouldn’t be doing all the work with creating your content — it should work in tandem with your content strategy, not as a replacement.
2. Expanding video dominance
Video marketing is a leading content marketing trend in 2026 with over 91% of businesses employing it as part of their strategy. Consumer demand for video is currently at 83%, which can be attributed to the increasing adoption of mobile technology that makes it more convenient for users to consume video content.
You need to leverage video as a form of content marketing to boost authentic engagement, real-time interaction, and higher SEO rankings. Video has the potential to boost conversion rates by up to 80%, and according to 71% of marketers, it performs better than all other forms of content marketing.
If you’re looking to leverage this content marketing trend, here are some best practices:
- Post short-form video clips on various social media platforms, like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts
- Create long, educational videos done in documentary, podcast, or webinar style to break down complex ideas for your audiences
- Always include calls to action (CTAs) in your videos to move users through the conversion funnel
- Improve engagement by using video content to share stories with your audience
- Include user-generated videos, such as product unboxing videos, in your strategy
- Optimize videos with SEO by including keywords in video descriptions and tagging
3. Personalization of content
In 2026, you can’t have content on your website without personalizing it for users. AI search has created a desire for tailored information — since these platforms tailor their responses based on what the user wants, more people expect personalized experiences. As a result, it’s going to be a huge priority for 2026.
Personalization of content can vary in how it looks. It can mean adding dynamic content that changes based on who visits your content. It can also mean creating content that’s meant for one specific segment of your audience.
Either way, you’ll need to start thinking about how you can add personalized touches to your marketing that keep your audience engaged and interested.
4. Building trust and authority
You’ve long heard marketing experts preach about making yourself a trustworthy authority — it’s good for search engines and your brand reputation. Now, in the age of AI, it’s practically mandatory. If you want to reach people with your content, you need to position your brand as a trustworthy and reliable authority.
You can build your brand trust and authority by:
- Integrating expertise from real experts in your field
- Being transparent and telling the whole story (not just one side)
- Providing proof with data
- Make sure your content sounds humanistic, not robotic
5. Utilizing user-generated content (UGC)
In a time when users highly value authenticity and relevance, it’s beneficial for your business to start leveraging UGC for your content marketing campaigns. UGC prioritizes users and the value they hope to derive, rather than the probability of trending or ranking high on search engines.
The UGC content marketing trend has the potential to make up to 73% of consumers more confident in your products or services. Navigating UGC can be tricky because you need your customers to hear a specific message without being exploitative.
Here’s how you can see success with UGC:
- Determine your goals: What results do you want? Do you want to increase brand awareness or boost conversions and sales?
- Select the type of content: Will you rely on organic reviews and testimonials? Product interaction videos by influencers? Or case studies including your brand?
- Decide where you’ll post: How will you use the content? Will you house case studies on a dedicated page on your website? Or repost tagged videos and stories on your Facebook and Instagram feeds?
- Streamline material UGC submission: How will customers and influencers submit UGC? Is there a form they need to fill out for material submissions? Or can they post on their personal pages, and then you’ll repost?
6. Increasing interactive content for unique experiences
If there’s some AI can’t replicate, it’s interactive content. Interactive content includes things like calculators, quizzes, tools, and other elements that require a user to (as the name suggests) interact to access the content!
It’s one of the top content marketing trends for 2026 because it’s something that can help your brand stand out from the AI noise.
You’ll want to think about how you can best apply interactive elements to your website. It’s important that they fit with your brand and make sense for your website. Don’t add interactive elements just to have them!
7. Creating thought leadership content
I mentioned this a few times earlier, but AI is creating a strong need for expertise and authority. It’s also creating a need for content that stands out from AI slop. That’s why thought leadership content is an upcoming content marketing trend for 2026.
Thought-leadership content can do any of the following:
- Dive deeper into a topic through research and insights
- Provide a unique perspective on a topic
- Provide an expert opinion or prediction about something
This content focuses on talking about what others aren’t talking about and provides a unique angle, thought, or idea for others to consider.
Creating this type of content establishes your expertise and authority within your industry’s space, making you a trusted resource.
Stay ahead of the curve with content marketing services
While you invest time and energy to keep up with the trends in your industry, you might be unable to stay up to date with content marketing trends.
That’s where a content marketing agency like WebFX — the company behind SEO.com — comes in. We offer data-driven content marketing services that drive traffic and conversions, allowing you to focus on impressing your customers with the best products or services.
With 3 million+ hours of expertise, we can help you produce over 65 content formats to drive traffic by over 10%.
Request a free quote today to discuss how we can help you achieve your goals by following these 2026 content marketing trends.
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