The 2026 marketing map on a single page: Use SEJ's Top 10 Trends to find your position

Search Engine Journal has published “The Top 10 Digital Marketing Trends For 2026” (source).

Over the past six months, I’ve written six articles in the GEO series. I thought I had reasonably comprehensive coverage of marketing strategy in the AI search era. But when I cross-checked SEJ’s 10 items against my own articles, only about 30% had been covered. The remaining 70% fell into the “I know about it but haven’t gotten around to it” zone.

Chasing 10 trends one by one won’t stick in your head. So I reorganized them into three layers. On top of that, I built a self-diagnosis chart that lets readers score their own marketing strategy across all 10 items. You don’t need to tackle everything at once. But knowing where the gaps are is the starting point for deciding your next move. Read this as a “health check for your marketing strategy.”

Splitting SEJ’s 10 trends into three layers

Listing all 10 of SEJ’s trends in a row won’t fit in your head. After trying to structure them my way, the cleanest approach was three layers.

First, here’s SEJ’s 10 items translated into a list.

1. Conversational search rewrites SEO
2. Video becomes the storefront itself
3. Privacy and data ownership become competitive advantages
4. Retail media networks shift from niche to mainstream
5. Creators and communities take the lead in co-creation
6. AI becomes the OS (operating system) of marketing
7. Attribution collapses, and measurement gets redefined
8. Immersive gamification rises
9. Human capability (talent and culture) becomes the last line of defense
10. Building integrated authority cuts across everything

These aren’t standalone initiatives. They interlock and influence each other. I sorted these 10 items into three layers.

• Layer 1: “Redefining search” (1, 7, 10) — the change readers feel first
• Layer 2: “Structural shift in where you sell” (2, 4, 5, 8) — a business model story about how revenue gets built
• Layer 3: “Tectonic shifts in the infrastructure” (3, 6, 9) — hard to see, but the foundation that holds up Layers 1 and 2

Layer 1 is the change marketers first sense as “something has shifted” in daily work. Layer 2 is the business model transition: where do you build revenue? Layer 3 is the foundational change that’s normally invisible but supports the two layers above.

I’ll walk through them in this order. Read with awareness of how far down the layers you’ve already responded.

Layer 1: “Search becomes a conversation” — the zero-click tsunami and the collapse of measurement

The share of zero-click searches is expanding rapidly. According to a SparkToro/Datos study (2024 US data), an estimated 58.5% of US searches now end without a click. SEJ and several other outlets cite this figure, and as of 2026, it’s believed to have risen further. Limit it to queries where AI Overviews appear, and the rate climbs even higher — multiple observations put it above 80%. That said, primary verification is difficult, so treat these as reference figures (click-vision study and others).

In the first installment of my GEO series, I wrote, “Even if you rank #1 on Google, it doesn’t matter if AI doesn’t cite you.” That premise itself was correct, I think. But reading SEJ’s report, something hit me. Framing the change in search as a binary “SEO vs. GEO” is itself becoming outdated.

SEJ proposes the concept of “integrated authority.” Build “credibility as a brand” across SEO, GEO, social, video, and community — all of them. The era of optimizing per channel is ending. What’s required is constructing consistent authority across every touchpoint.

The question that follows is, “So what should we measure?” Click counts and search rankings alone no longer capture the whole picture.

SEJ’s answer is clear. Treat media as a pipeline to business outcomes. Operate data as capital. Put AI at the engine. Make measurement function as evidence. Integrating these four is what’s required.

In fact, the collapse of measurement is reaching a serious stage. According to surveys SEJ cites, only a small fraction of CMOs feel confident about ROI measurement (the source is an industry-survey citation, so treat it as a reference value). Privacy regulations, walled gardens, and cross-device fragmentation have piled up, and conventional attribution models no longer function. As a result, marketing mix modeling (MMM) — once a technique reserved for big enterprises — is drawing attention again.

MMM is a method that uses statistical models to analyze ad spend, sales, and external factors and estimate “which initiatives contributed to business outcomes overall.” Instead of tracking individual clicks, it measures the effect of marketing investment from a macro perspective. Google released an open-source MMM tool called “Meridian” starting in 2025. It’s no longer just an enterprise-only technique.

The data I introduced in “LLM traffic up 527%, no-click 69%” deserves to be reframed in this context too. The decline in clicks itself is a threat. But change the way you measure, and you can evaluate “how much AI-driven brand awareness contributes to the business” from another angle. Don’t despair over fewer clicks — update the measurement framework itself. That’s the heart of this layer.

Layer 2: “Where you sell is changing” — from video commerce to retail media

Four trends concentrate in this layer: video commerce, retail media, creator co-creation, and gamification. The common thread is that the line between content and purchase has disappeared.

Video’s evolution is the most dramatic. According to industry data SEJ cites, 86% of advertisers are either using or planning to use generative AI for video ad production (an IAB survey conducted in 2026). Forecasts also suggest that the share of AI-generated video ads will rise sharply through the end of 2026. We’ve moved into an era where the question isn’t “Can you make video?” but “How do you design video?”

For example, if all you need is one product video, generative AI can finish it in a few hours. But without designing for “who,” “at what stage of purchase,” “what to convey,” and “where to direct them,” the video just gets played and ends there. The ability to design beats the ability to produce. That, I sense, is the essential change in video commerce.

The numbers for retail media are even bigger. According to eMarketer, US retail media ad spend is projected to reach $69.3 billion (about ¥10.4 trillion) in 2026 (source). That’s a 17.9% YoY growth rate, outpacing search and social ad growth. The same eMarketer forecast makes the oligopoly clear: Amazon and Walmart account for over 88% of the total.

The reason retail media draws attention is structural. They hold first-party purchase data and ad inventory inside the same platform. With cookies being deprecated, ad operations that rely on third-party data have hit their limit. Players who hold “data on people who actually bought” now have an overwhelming advantage in the ad market.

It may not feel familiar in Japan yet. But Rakuten and AEON are scaling up their retail media businesses. Ad delivery powered by their own e-commerce purchase data is a movement that even small and mid-sized e-commerce operators can’t ignore. Especially if you think “this doesn’t apply to us” — please consider what these numbers mean.

The rise of creators and communities sits in the same context. The shift is accelerating from companies broadcasting messages one-way to a model where you “build alongside” creators. The key is the posture of welcoming creators in not as “amplification devices” but as partners in product design and content creation. Companies that can do this and those that can’t are starting to show big gaps in results.

A note on gamification too. AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality)–powered immersive campaigns are increasing. This isn’t just gamification for collecting points. It’s the design of “memorable purchase experiences”: trying products on in virtual space, going through brand experiences inside a game. The boundary between entertainment and commerce is, literally, vanishing. Most companies haven’t started in this area yet, but early movers are starting to deliver real results.

The GEO series I’ve written so far concentrated on Layer 1. Layer 2 is largely untouched. In “Ahrefs started doing social media management” I touched on rebuilding the tool stack. But I haven’t yet written hands-on articles about video commerce or retail media. That self-awareness is the starting point of this article.

Layer 3: “Tectonic shifts behind the scenes” — AI marketing OS, privacy, and human capability

Three pieces of infrastructure support Layers 1 and 2 from out of sight.

The first is the change of AI becoming the OS (foundation system) of marketing. Analysis, optimization, media buying, workflow automation, customer journey design — AI works its way in as the foundation of all of them. The shift is happening from “using” AI as an individual tool to marketing activity itself running on top of AI.

In the article “Companies that just took an AI training course,” I covered patterns of companies that don’t get results even after adopting AI. The fundamental problem is the missing “OS-ification” lens. Adopting one tool is meaningless on its own. You need to redesign your entire operational flow on the assumption of AI.

For example, lots of companies say, “We use ChatGPT to write our ad copy.” But the optimization of the ad delivery where that copy is used, the analysis of the delivery results, and the feedback into the next initiative — all of it is still manual. That’s not “using” AI. Use it as a line, not a point. That’s what OS-ification means.

The second is privacy and first-party data. With reliance on third-party cookies hitting its limit, the importance of data you collect and manage in-house has surged. SEJ calls data “capital.” Companies with thick capital and companies with thin capital have fundamentally different marketing options.

Global digital ad spend is forecast to exceed $740 billion in 2026 (eMarketer forecast). Whether you can use that massive investment effectively depends directly on the depth of your in-house data foundation. Stack ad spend on top of no data, and your targeting accuracy doesn’t improve. Cost-effectiveness just gets worse.

The third is “human capability.” Paradoxically, in an era when AI is the OS of marketing, the value of work only humans can do is rising. SEJ positions talent and culture as the “last line of defense.” Hand off the operational areas AI is good at to machines, and have humans focus on the brand worldview, customer relationship building, and ethical judgment.

These three are unflashy, but if they’re weak, neither Layer 1 nor Layer 2 functions. Even if you nail GEO search optimization, the absence of measurement infrastructure blocks proof of impact. Even if you invest in video commerce, without first-party data your targeting goes sloppy. The infrastructure behind the scenes is the ground that determines the outcome of every initiative.

Honestly, the area where I can confidently say “I’m using AI” is still limited. With Claude Code, I’ve automated my article-production workflow. But asked whether I’ve redesigned my entire marketing operation on an AI foundation, the honest answer is: still halfway. The very person who wrote “Just using AI doesn’t create a gap” has gaps in his own Layer 3. That honest self-assessment leads into the next section’s self-diagnosis.

Self-diagnosis chart — score “your current position” on 10 items

If, after reading this far, you’re thinking, “So what should I actually do?” — many readers feel the same way.

I built a 10-item self-diagnosis chart. For each item, answer in three levels: ”○ (already addressed),” ”△ (aware but not started),” or ”× (heard for the first time).”

#	Layer	Checklist item	Status
1	Layer 1	I’ve started addressing conversational search (GEO/AEO)	○/△/×
2	Layer 2	I design video as a “purchase funnel,” not just “awareness”	○/△/×
3	Layer 3	I have an infrastructure for collecting and using first-party data	○/△/×
4	Layer 2	I’m considering or running retail media advertising	○/△/×
5	Layer 2	I’m doing co-creation with creators (not just amplification asks)	○/△/×
6	Layer 3	I’ve started AI-foundationing the marketing operation (full-system design, not isolated tool adoption)	○/△/×
7	Layer 1	I have a post-cookie attribution measurement method ready	○/△/×
8	Layer 2	I’ve experimented with immersive content (AR/VR/gamification)	○/△/×
9	Layer 3	I’ve clearly separated jobs to leave to AI from jobs for humans	○/△/×
10	Layer 1	I’ve designed consistent brand authority across channels	○/△/×

Here’s a guide to interpreting the results.

7 or more ○s — You’re fairly advanced as a 2026 marketing strategy. Focus on converting your remaining △s into ○s.

4 to 6 ○s — You’ve responded partially but have gaps. Especially if Layer 3 (AI OS, privacy, measurement) is weak, you should reconsider the foundation. Otherwise, your Layer 1 and Layer 2 initiatives are prone to landing in the “doing it but not getting results” trap.

3 or fewer ○s — Frankly, this is a moment to feel a sense of urgency. That said, trying to do everything at once will collapse. The highest ROI is starting with Layer 1’s “conversational search response.” If you haven’t read the GEO series, “The map of search has changed” is a good entry point.

For reference, my own result was 3 ○s, 5 △s, and 2 ×s. That’s the score for someone who’s written six GEO-series articles. The biggest realization was that Layer 2’s video commerce and retail media were almost entirely untouched.

Conclusion — you don’t need to do all of it. But “I didn’t know” isn’t an option.

SEJ’s 10 trends aren’t standalone initiatives. They interconnect as three layers that hold each other up.

Almost no company can run all of them simultaneously. For a sole proprietor or small team, even more so. What matters is grasping “where I stand right now and where to move next.”

In my case, the GEO series covered Layer 1 reasonably well. What I should tackle next is Layer 3’s “AI foundationing” and “redesigning measurement.” Beyond that comes Layer 2’s “video commerce.” The priority order will be different for each reader. That’s exactly why I want you to use the self-diagnosis chart to check.

Just one thing I’ll say flatly. If you have three or more ×s, you should start a marketing-strategy audit immediately. Not to chase trends. It’s the work needed to plug the holes in your own business. If you know, you can act. If you don’t, you can’t even notice the holes are there.

The marketing map gets rewritten every year. But 2026’s change isn’t a continuation of the past. The shape of search has changed, where you sell has changed, and the infrastructure that supports it is being swapped out from the ground up. You don’t have to respond to all of it, but running on without a map is dangerous.

If you haven’t read the GEO series, “Why just using AI doesn’t create a gap” is a recommended entry point. It’s easy to grasp the big picture of Layer 1 there. Adding even one ○ to your self-diagnosis is the first step that changes tomorrow’s marketing strategy.