As our SVP of Strategic Solutions & Services, Alan Chumley, phrased it: we’re in the middle of “scary season.” There’s a flurry of events (Davos), reports (Edelman Trust Barometer), and necessary planning that make strategic shifts feel like operating “in quicksand.”
To help you navigate these shifts, in this edition, we’re highlighting 3 trends from our recently published PR & Marketing Top 5 Trends Report.
The question we’re asking: Which new technologies are piquing the media’s interest the most in 2026, forcing us to consider new ways of working, searching, and discovering new information?
The new way to work: Conversations around agentic AI saw an average month-on-month growth of 9.97% in online channels and 66.15% across social platforms.
Agentic AI has moved from an experimentation phase to an enterprise need. Gartner predicts that 40% of enterprise applications will integrate task-specific AI agents by the end of 2026.
Signal AI’s CEO & founder, David Benigson, was on the ground floor at Davos 2026, bringing behind-the-scenes information on what he was hearing from today’s business leaders.
From David’s POV: “The question of today isn’t about capabilities or possibilities or promises, as in, ‘what can agentic AI agents actually do?’ Now, it’s about return on investment and competitive advantage: ‘How do we translate this investment into measurable business value?’”
According to research shared at the World Economic Forum's Davos meeting, only 23% of organisations currently report measurable ROI from their AI investments. “The leaders I spoke with aren’t giving up on AI; they’re getting serious about it.”
The new way to search: Media conversations around GEO saw a monthly growth of 48.12% during 2025.
By 2026, Gartner projects that traditional search engine volume will drop by 25% as users get answers directly from AI interfaces without clicking through to a website. This is the "Zero-Click" reality.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is quickly becoming the new battleground for brand health. For reputation professionals, this shift means that being "findable" on Google is no longer enough; you must be "citable" by the LLMs.
David Benigson shared his predictions for marketing and communications, stating: “Measuring perception with non-deterministic AI interfaces becomes the new ‘black box’ to crack.”
In addition to LLMs, some argue, “to win AI search, you must win social.” Social citations are accelerating faster than any other source type: 4.1X growth from September to November, compounding 2-3X faster than the overall citation universe. “AI systems are getting better at citing short-form social content when it's accessible and extractable.”
So let’s talk about social media and alternative social dominating the narrative…
The new way to discover: Truth Social was the third-most-discussed social platform in media coverage in 2025.
The "universal" conversation has fractured into ideologically distinct silos, meaning brands can no longer rely on a single message to reach a mass audience.
Research from Forbes shows that 24% of people already prefer to use social media platforms over Google for search queries, and that trend is growing among younger audiences.
In the chart on the right, you'll see TikTok, LinkedIn, and Truth Social in the majority of media conversations.
If your visibility strategy is still focused on your own newsroom, you're optimizing for the smallest slice of the pie. Your narrative is increasingly shaped by earned and social sources rather than owned content.
Final thoughts: New 'information superhighways'
In this new information superhighway, controlling the narrative is more complex than ever. I’ll end this newsletter with a quote from Jon Greer, VP of Marketing, Community & Communications at DirecTV, from our recent webinar.
He beautifully described the state of PR & communications today and how we can manage these shifts, which I’ve summarized:
“We're operating in a fundamentally different environment than we were just a few years ago. You layer on AI acceleration, political uncertainty, cultural volatility, and they aren't side challenges anymore, but they're defining the landscape that we're having to operate within. Successfully navigating this landscape requires your perspective to shift from the old siloed and reactive model to one that is integrative and proactive.
Sentiment still matters. What matters more has shifted to how narratives are formed, how fast they're moving, who's controlling those narratives, and where the risk is emerging before it even becomes visible inside your walls or outside. And we also shifted communications from being the single owner of reputation to being more of a chief steward of the reputation.”
Does this resonate? You can watch the full conversation on demand, featuring Jon Greer and hosted by Alan Chumley, here.
Now what?
You make important decisions every day as a business leader. That’s why you need trusted data to help you build a more informed strategy and make more confident business decisions.
Signal AI helps you map your next move by delivering market trend analysis that highlights both hidden business risks and whitespace opportunities, giving you the foresight to shape your long-term plan.
What do you want us to explore next? Email me at [email protected].
Resource Round-Up
Resources
- https://signal-ai.com/insights/resource/5-trends-defining-pr-marketing-2026/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=pd-email&utm_campaign=risk&utm_content=trends-report&sf_campaign_id=701N100000gJWYiIAO
- https://signal-ai.com/insights/resource/the-trends-setting-comms-strategy-in-2026/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=pd-email&utm_campaign=corp-comms&utm_content=signal-in-the-noise&sf_campaign_id=701N100000EVOKUIAK
- https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/12/some-phrases-you-might-hear-at-davos-wef-2026/
- https://fortune.com/2026/01/20/davos-world-economic-forum-leaders-shift-focus-to-ai-roi/
- https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-02-19-gartner-predicts-search-engine-volume-will-drop-25-percent-by-2026-due-to-ai-chatbots-and-other-virtual-agents
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bermawy_to-win-ai-search-you-must-win-social-we-activity-7421611372473405441-dtr8?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABVCGOIBDFeoyx3mbVlpxvrKYlJ3bo-lkAc
- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/social-media-new-google/
- https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-08-26-gartner-predicts-40-percent-of-enterprise-apps-will-feature-task-specific-ai-agents-by-2026-up-from-less-than-5-percent-in-2025
Get Signal in the Noise in your Inbox
Most newsletters tell you what happened. We tell you why it matters to your brand’s bottom line. Get proprietary data and strategic "Now What" insights delivered bi-monthly to help you navigate global reputation and risk.
Cut through static. Find the signal in the noise. Sign up now: