As AI becomes a primary interface between customers and brands, having a static website — or worse, inconsistent info across platforms — won't cut it.
Most websites are static for days, weeks, months, years. That needs to change, says Christian Ward, EVP and Chief Data Officer at Yext. Start understanding that you need to update this information everywhere as fast as you can because AI is very likely to reward that behavior.
Today's AI doesn't just pull from one source. It cross-checks your information across dozens of surfaces. If you havent cleaned up outdated hours, expired promotions, or conflicting location data, youre sending mixed signals. And that undermines both customer trust and AI visibility.
"The more knowledge brands are willing to share directly with these AI systems through the crawlers and through putting it on their website, the better off they're going to be," Ward explains. "Real-time synchronized data beats delayed data."
Prediction 2: Your brand is accountable for what AI gets wrong
In traditional search, users might blame themselves when they don't find what they need. But with AI, it's different. It's more of a conversation.
"If AI brings something wrong to you, you're more likely to quit the conversation," Ward says. "And the real issue for AI platforms is there's no cognitive burden or cost to me as the human of changing."
That switch is instant. And when AI gets something wrong about your brand, customers don't just lose trust in the platform — they lose trust in you too.
The takeaway: monitor where your brand shows up, clean up inconsistencies, and align structured data everywhere — from your website to third-party listings.
Prediction 3: Accuracy and consistency will be the new benchmarks for visibility
Search used to be about rankings. In 2026, it's about recognition, and that starts with getting the facts right across every channel.
Ward points to one major shift already underway: AI tools now rely on corroboration of information.
"They seek corroborating evidence," he says. "That's the word for 2026: AI will think, 'I found this information in 26 places, so I'm pretty confident it's true.' Versus, over here, I found it in four places, so I'm not so confident.'"
AI models don't guess. They assign confidence based on how many times — and how consistently — they see the same data. Brands that share structured, real-time facts across all their digital touchpoints earn more accurate responses. And in turn, more visibility.
Prediction 4: Memory will change everything
AI's next leap — memory — is already starting to reshape how we interact with information. Tools like Gemini are showing what's possible, and future models like OpenAI's GPT-6 will take this even further.
Memory enables highly personalized, context-aware experiences. But it also raises new questions about trust, control, and what it means when technology remembers everything.
Humans forget, and that helps us forgive. Brands will need to walk a careful line: relying upon AI to deliver personalized experiences without crossing the line into overreach.
Prediction 5: Personalization shifts power to the individual
2026 will be the year customers take more control over personalization. AI agents — used by individuals, not just brands — are making it easier for people to decide what they share, when, and with whom.
That means personalization won't be something brands do to customers. It will be something customers opt into (on their terms).
To earn that trust, brands need to show they're worthy of it. That starts with transparency, accurate data, and experiences that adapt in real time — not based on assumptions, but on permission.
What CMOs should prioritize now
To stay up to speed in 2026, marketing leaders should:
Audit your brand's visibility for outdated, duplicate, or inconsistent information. (Hint: Yext Scout can help. Click here for a free visibility scan.)
Streamline ownership of brand facts across teams (locations, offers, jobs, hours, and more).
Publish structured, real-time data to your website, local pages, and syndicate to key third-party platforms via a centralized knowledge graph.
Think beyond "evergreen." Timely updates are now essential to brand trust.
This year, it's time to reframe brand visibility as more than rankings or reach. It's about delivering clarity at scale — in every channel, and every conversation. When you start with accurate, real-time data, you don't just show up. You show up ready.
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