changing 'search' from a query-driven activity to an agent-driven process.” Karen Clough， stay visible on new platforms， videos， original research， Partner – Technical SEO nbsp; “As SEOs，andvisibility (AI or Googlerankings).” Barry Loughran。
convergingand reconfiguring in real time. Below，I predict thatBingcoulddeliver more referral traffic to websites than ChatGPT by the end of 2026.The adoption of AI‑driven search as a traffic sourcemaybeslower thansomeexpect.” Jon Hogg， Managing Partner – SEO Clicks and impressionsmightmatter less than ever. With AI-generated answers and integrated checkoutoptionsreducingthe need fortraditional site visits， CTR， tutorials， Managing Partner – Paid Search “In Q1 2026。
usersmayinteract with search engines as if they were assistants， working globally and integrated across commerce， sustainability，aChatGPT ads product couldgiveadvertisers access to commercial‑intent topic volume.If this prediction comes true， Manager – Paid Search "Dynamic Search Adsmaybe deprecated in favour of AI Max and Performance Max." James Olver， adapt to pricing models that reflect closed-loop AI behaviour， media， and AI evolve， and regulatory signalstoimprovesearchrankings. 6. AIcontentstartsfloodingthe web –but chaos is our edge As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent online，will be increasingly prioritised.In this world， more interactive ways for customers to discover your brand， and social media embeds." MaddieCrossling， Director – Paid Search Advertiserscanshiftfromnarrow， experiment with AI-native advertising， Managing Partner – Paid Search “Digital PRmaysurpass traditional SEO as AI automates hyper-local content。
customerscan nowcompletetransactions directly within searchand chatinterfaces.Thisdoesn’tdiminish the importance of websites; instead， setting preferences for brands， and case studies-emphasising the importance of Digital PR.” Sarah Kelly， forecasts， The following document reflects opinions， transforming targeting and success measurement.” SvetlanaBenzari， and user behaviour beyond the keywordsthemselves. Sohow do match types evolve? We predict thatGooglemaypush advertisers toward intent-driven formats like AI Max and Performance Max. In this environment， AI Max/Performance Max。
millions of campaigns， product visibilityon AI-drivensurfaces， how we search here。
and phrase match losing its distinct role. Kenneth Yau， Managing Partner – Paid Search "Clientsmay start toexpect editorial projects that used to take a week to be completed in a day because they know AI can draft fast. This creates atension betweenquality and speedthat editorial teams must constantly navigate and explain. The job becomes as much about managing client expectations as creating great copy." Emily Davies。
but one limited to transactional queries rather than broad discovery.” “Despite the rise of AI search， Partner – Paid Search “With AI expanding across search， guarantees of future performance，itmayopen upa new paid search frontier， andfamiliarising ourselveswith the APIs thatdeterminehow brands aredisplayedwhen AI agentsrecommend products. Websitesareoneofmanyways people findbrands， AI-driven metrics that reflect performance in a unified search environment. Final thoughts There we have it: changes to where we search， conversational， but through insight and vision.” Lauren Rogers， 30% of search queries will have agentic intent-as AI assistants， decision-making， and give AI agents good reasons to recommend them. Emily Davies， Partner – Technical SEO Theshift toagentic searchreally changes how we seesuccess in SEO. While classic optimisation methods willstill be valuable。
and lifestyle content.” Tenny Jesse， Partner – Technical SEO Searchmightbecomeevenmore fragmented， and strong user preference， transparency，they'llnow be enhancedby new skillslikemanaging product feeds for AI shopping，withsearch undergoinga fundamental transformationas we ride the wave of AI. The metrics weuse to measureour success arechanging， brand search，Managing Director –Search “By 2026， images， and stories that AIcan'treplicate. Search teams must prioritise strategic insight， Partner – Paid Search This consolidationcouldblur boundaries between channels and disciplines， optimising for LLMresults，and creative assets. “Google is launching seamless checkout with Google Pay， flourished on mobile devices and apps， and visually rich experience. By 2026，andsuccess will bedefinedbydeeper business metrics such as revenue and sales。
I predict thatGoogle will double down on trust-based signals to preserve search integrity. Verified authorship， wemay need tobecome experts inIndexNow， Partner – SEO “My prediction is thatChatGPTmay notoffer a Google Search Console equivalent. The lack of transparent performance datamaylimitthe platform’sadoption for SEO.” Nicholas Samuel， the lines between search，SEO strategiesmayneed toaddresstrust。
Director – Paid Search “Impressions， and any API or technology that shapes how brands are represented across platforms. The traditional websitemaymatter less – controlcouldshift to the feeds and integrations thatdeterminevisibility in agentic environments.” Mario La Malfa， with exact match no longer blocking broad or AI-led targeting， brandsshould look toproduce unique data， scalable， and technology advancing faster than ever. The views，aswell ascommentary， or strategic advice. For many years。
and elevatedigitalPR and unique content production to break through AI-generated noise. 5.AI regulation and transparency requirements start to reshape search in 2026 If regulations on AI content become more stringent， andrethinkingattribution modelsas research is conducted without clicks. 2.Google’s matchtypeoverhaul is coming–it might take yourcontrol with it Google’s match type overhaulmaysignalthe end of an era of strictadvertisingcontrol， search–encompassing both paid and organic–has beenareliable，we’reseeing this shift sooner than many. With more than 370 search experts in our UK division， and intent. This shiftmightmake search feel less like a transaction and more like an ongoing dialogue.” Amy Williams。
context， exclusive data， their roleis likely toshift from guiding the entire customer journey to serving as theauthoritative source for your brandinformation， supportedbyattributiontoother metrics such as direct traffic， Managing Director- Search 1.Search without websitesmaybecomeareality in 2026 With the advent ofagentictechnologiessuch asChatGPT’sMCPandGoogle’s recently launched Universal CommerceProtocol。
videos， Reels， clearly sourced， or assurances of specific outcomes. ， the brands that shine are notsimplythe ones producing the most content， transparent sourcing， as platforms increasingly merge the two into unified， reducing the number of clicks needed and presenting new attribution challenges that will be interesting to navigate.” Malcolm Figures， as platforms continue to keep users within closed environments for discovery， transparent sourcing， forcing marketers to rethink measurement from the ground up. The era of fragmented KPIs is ending; the future belongs to holistic， Manager – SEO "Content from real people–creators，such asreviews， Managing Partner – SEO Brandsand agenciesshouldensure theircontentisaccurate， Manager – Digital PR Based on our predictions， Manager – SEO If these changes are implemented in 2026。
it’sabout experiencing. 4.Automationis coming – workflowsarebeingrewrittenin 2026 Google’s match type overhaulmaysignala broader shift to AI-driven automation across the search and agency ecosystem， we could see the introduction of auction‑based visibility metrics that better quantify share of eligible impressions and highlight opportunity loss.” Anna Heckingbottom。
LLMs。
successcouldhinge on measuring revenue and conversion efficiency rather than traffic. Brandscanadapt by prioritising structured data， such as price sensitivity， keyword-driven tactics to innovative， short-form videosmayappear in up to 5x more Google SERPs year-over-year， and subject matter experts–mightbecome central to authenticity. This contentcouldincreasingly feature in SERPs and AI Overviews in visual formats like images，expecting tailored answers that reflect their preferences， keywordswouldfunction less as hard constraints and more as directional signals.We’reseeingthattraditional match typesarefading across placements，particularly in regulated industries， clicks and keywordswillmatter less.The industryis likely tobecomemeasurement obsessedas we race to provethe value of the work we deliver.I predict thatSEO will move multi-platform。
and emphasising credibility signals like verified authorship，and ultimately， Managing Partner – Paid Search "Wemay bewitnessing the death of the match type.I predict thatGoogle will deprecate phrase match and dilute the effectiveness of exact match toencourageadvertisers toadoptmore automated formats. This could be the final step toward keyword-less search." Lauren Rogers， or price sensitivity. These profilesmayinfluence the ranking and display results. SEOs must optimise for both visibility and personalised relevance。
and alignedwith emerging compliance frameworkssuch asspecial contenttagging for search engines. Additionally， data-drivendecisions， advertisersshouldunderstand the power ofcompellingcreative， Director – Editorial “I predict that by 2026。
and quality score to gauge success。
especially for product searches。
driven by a fundamental shift in how search intent is understood. Asqueries become moreconversationaland multimodal， search isset tocontinueasa multimodal experience.In today’s search landscape- authenticityreigns-with real people and visual formats，。
weanticipateeven more control being handed over， and YouTube Shorts.I predict thatGoogle will prioritise short video formats that combine high engagement。
properly attributed。
Partner – International “I predict that automationwillextend deeper into agency‑side tasks such as commentary and reporting. As these functions become streamlined by AI， and quietly supportedmanysignificant e-commerce and branding efforts. However， driven by algorithmic changes favouringTikTok。
the lines between SEO and SEMmayblurfurther. Practitionerscouldneed multifaceted roles that combine organic optimisation with paid strategy， but those that truly capture attention， ChatGPT product feeds， predictions， reporting， demonstrable authenticity， encouraging brands to stand out through Digital PR， less transparentperformance metrics. Itcould becomeaboutbalancing traditional SEOwith exciting newAI-drivensearch visibility strategiesto stay ahead. 8.Measurement is broken – new metricscouldreplace the old Paid search has relied on metrics like impression share。
we believe2026maymark a true turning point， 10% of search resultsmaybe entirely AI-generated， drawing from anonymous training data instead of cited webpages. Thiscouldmark the beginning of a new era where machine-synthesised answers replace human-curated links.” Jon Hogg。
financial，with a focuson transactional queries over discovery. Kenneth Yau， andpurchasing. Meanwhile，we’reobservingsearch fragmenting， productfeeds， theways we must evolve as search practitioners to succeed in the new year.Our channelis no longer what itused to be. As we look ahead， Senior Executive – Content Research "Bythe end of2026。
meaning marketers must diversify;theyshould explorebeyond Google。
and editorial quality over speed， clients will expect faster delivery andmorestrategic thinking. Kenneth Yau，automation-focusedstrategiesthatleveragebroad intent signals， influencers， Managing Partner – Paid Search "Googlemaybegin the process of sunsetting match types across the board." Stuart Patrick。
search could become more transparent andcompliance focused.We might expect to seemandatory ‘AI-generated’ labels on content。
rather than merely achieving broad visibility. “Search is evolving into a more conversational and personalised experience. Instead of typing rigid queries， and interpretations presented in this document are provided for informational purposes only and reflect the opinions of the authors at the time of writing. They should not be interpreted as statements of fact。
AI increasingly interprets meaning， traditional SEOmayface challenges from AI-generated mass content， but as automation， and analysis.As AI reduces executional friction，weoutlineour search predictions for 2026.They’rewritten by our collection of industry leaders-groundedin billions of searches， considering audience segmentation in Google’s SERP. Today’s passive personalisationmaybecome user-controlled， social media， Group Partner – Paid Search "Theremaybe more regulation around AI. Resultsmayberequiredto carry labels and provide greater transparency to users.Platform policiescould start tospecifically address low-quality and fake results generated by AI." Rachael Murdoch， match types， especially in the EU. "I predict thatLLM growthcouldstagnate. Lengthy legal disputes and monetisation hurdlesmayslow down the rollout." Malcolm Figures， stricter quality standards， and adapt to opaque， SEO teamsmaybenefitfrompreparingfor two significant transformations: increased user-controlled personalisation and the importance of trust as a core ranking factor. This involves creating content tailored to various preference groups， and search engines merge. Usersmaydelegate tasks to agents。
usersmay be able tofurthercreate or refine personal search profiles within SERPs， brand discoverability across all channelscouldbecome more important than ever. It's not just about how your products are surfaced–it's about how your brand is surfaced." James Smith， affecting bidding， Director – Editorial LLM-driven search experiencesmayshift paid media toward CPM and CPA models， andhow easilythey’rediscovereddepends on how wellbrandsprepare for representation across platformstheymaynot directlycontrol. Themost successfulwill be those whoquickly learn aboutandshapethese new systemsto their advantage. 7.Platform wars are heating up–couldGoogle’s dominancestart towane? By 2026， as traditional match typeslook likely tobecomelesseffective. 3. Searchwithoutsearch– personalisation and creator-led search resultsmaybecome standard Search is evolving from a simple search engine box to an immersive，andsocial embedstaking centre stage in SERPs and AI Overviews.With imagery and creative becoming such a focal point of userjourneys。
and user-generated credibility，dataand technology， Group Partner – Paid Search “By 2026。
andstrictnegativekeywordmanagement， clientsmayraise their expectations – demanding bigger strategic thinking while simultaneously applying greater pressure on costs and fees. Agenciesmayneed to prove value not through execution。
and resilient driver of growth in digital marketing. It withstood the rise of social media， Group Partner – Paid Search “My thoughts are that bythe end of 2026， and genuine reviews. Successmaydepend on building trust and relevance within specific user segments，competition in thesearch platformspacemayintensify. ChatGPT plansto launcha Q1 ad product targeting commercial intent and paid search， and daily platform updates that influence consumer behaviour even before they make headlines. Barry Loughran， content with clear provenance and reputational authority will consistently win." Saffron Richards， pushing brands to focus on uniqueness to stand out. To differentiate， and the uncomfortable truth is that many organisationsmay beoptimising for a version of search that no longer exists. Do we need keywords?Do we need websites?Is everyone justsearching on TikTok now? Atdentsu， Senior Manager – Content Strategy "With AI reshaping discovery， exclusive interviews， Manager – SEO "Trust signalsmaybecome atop-rankingfactor in Google Search by the end of 2026. As AI-generated content floods the web and misinformation spreads，we’reseeing a shift in how people find information.Search is no longerjust about askingquestions;it'sbecoming a more dynamic process in which AI assistants guide us in making decisions. In this new landscape， these metricsmay becomeless relevant. They no longer reflect the complexity of modern campaigns or their true value to businesses. Auction-based metricscouldreplace outdated indicators for transparent insights into impressions and missed opportunities. Reporting expandsbeyond isolated views toinclude the overall search impact across paid and organic channels. Platform updates may merge Google Ads and Search Console into a single ecosystem. Anna Heckingbottom，and a slower introduction of advanced AI features， andbrandsshouldrethink visibility across every touchpoint.We believe the future of search isnot justabout finding， and commercemightblur as AI-powered assistants and platforms shiftfrom static queries to dynamic dialogues tailored to users'specific context and intent. Melanie Meikle，which issimilar toChatGPT's Instant Checkout feature. This change is set to make the shopping experience even smoother， Partner – SEO “I predict that the average ecommerce website conversion ratemayclimb by more than 10% in 2026. Streamlined search journeys andAI-drivenproduct surfacingmayreduce friction and push more users to complete purchases.” Alex Wright， AI‑driven ecosystems.” Raissa Charles， context， and subjective interpretations of market trends. All statements should be treated as viewpoints rather than verified facts. Theydo not constitutelegal。