What is the future of content marketing? 5 predictions for 2026

From physical media to people-first content, here’s what Wonderthink founder & director Brooke Hill is predicting for 2026.

People are craving meaning from their content.

And in 2026, I believe that will shape how marketers approach every message, in every format, on every channel.

We’ll see a rise in real thought leadership, a shift in social media consumption, and a renewed love for print. Brands will lean into the power of everyday authenticity – and, hopefully, stop spiralling over AI search.

The future of content marketing isn’t AI slop. It’s content that’s crafted by – and for – real people. Here are my predictions for the year ahead.

1. A rise in thought leadership content

There was a 56.7% surge in content production after the launch of ChatGPT. And the vast majority of that content? Not good. In fact, we even have a term for it now: ‘AI Slop’ – Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year in 2025.

In 2026, smart brands will rise above the noise by returning to something far more powerful: real thought leadership. That means long-form, research-backed content. Think op-eds, white papers, and deep-dive articles built around original insights, interviews, and a clear point of view.

The brands (and humans) who’ll stand out are the ones who specialise. As Forbes puts it: ‘Specialists who own a specific element of a topic stand out and make a name for themselves. Have a unique slice of a topic or really specific point of view, and commit to focusing on it.’

And the biggest bonus? Niche, perspective-rich content isn’t just more useful to your audience – it also signals expertise to search engines and, increasingly, to AI models scraping for citations.

2. Social media will plateau

Many are calling 2026 the Year of the Analogue – ‘reclaiming the gift of being present,’ writes Jess Kirby. ‘[Going analogue] is a shift from watching life go by behind a screen, to experiencing it in real time, with all of its joy, pain, mundanity, and wonder.’

Time spent on social media has been decreasing since 2022, led by steep usage decreases among young people, according to global research from GWI – even (gasp) on TikTok. The research – which looked at 250,000 adults across more than 50 countries – shows that social media usage has since fallen by almost 10% since 2022.

In Australia, where social media has now been banned for kids under 16, many adults are also reflecting on their own usage of the platforms, and choosing to switch off (or at least pressing pause for a little while).

Don’t get me wrong: Social media isn’t dead, it’s not going anywhere, and brands will (and should) invest in social. . But as a channel? It might have peaked. So brands are going to have to work even harder to make sure their social content pulls and retains attention.

3. A return to print and slow media consumption

Remember books? Thanks to #BookTok – and the aforementioned analogue trend – they’re making a comeback. People are craving real, tactile objects that they can hold in their hands,, and that includes marketing. Future Lab reckons ‘books are becoming a new medium for brands’.

We’re already seeing brands across industries embrace this trend. Monzo, a digital bank, recently published its Book of Money – a Penguin guide to personal money management, written by the bank’s own financial experts. Not to be outdone, IKEA Paris went so far as to open a library beside the Seine.

Premium publications, too, are back on the radar for many brands – particularly those targeting affluent or discerning customers. Art Gallery of NSW publishes Look, a quarterly art magazine for its members. American Express’s luxury lifestyle magazine, Departures, is purely for its Platinum customers.

You’ve heard it here: soon, we’ll all be fawning over print stocks and that sweet smell of fresh ink on a page, just like we used to.

4. Authenticity of the every day

As the AI aesthetic floods our feeds with flawless surfaces and content curated for algorithms rather than humans, people are craving something real. Future Lab says ‘brands will seek to restore connection in a world saturated by noise.’

In 2026, we’ll see a shift toward content grounded in people’s lived experiences. That means highlighting the small, specific, human details: the hands that make your product, the rituals of your customers, the unfiltered stories that sit behind the brand.

As Future Lab puts it, ‘consumers [are seeking] imperfection and emotional honesty in both products and experiences – qualities that technology can imitate, but never truly replicate.’

Thinking about getting real? Consider Storyfinding – spending time uncovering the unique stories and details of your brand, and sharing them through social and long-form web content (think FAQs and niche blog topics).

5. People will calm down about AI search

Okay, this one’s half prediction, half hope – but I’m calling it: 2026 is the year marketers calm down about AI search.

In 2025, panic took hold. The rise of zero-click results and conversational search sent SEO strategies into a spin. ‘SEO is dead!’ became the cry, and many brands rushed to pivot, pouring resources into AI search.

But research by Conductor found that AI search makes up just 1% of traffic.The other 99%? It’s still coming from well-crafted SEO content.

And let’s not forget: traffic is a vanity metric. What really matters is visibility (which is AI search’s real role) and conversions. Better to have 100 of the right people on your site, than 100,000 of the wrong ones.

So yes, AI search has a role to play, but in 2026, smart marketers will be focused on holistic search experience optimisation (SXO) – not one component of it.