Warc forecasts place the growth of global advertising investment at 9.1% by 2026, reaching 1.30 trillion dollars. It is a figure that exceeds the growth rate of the global economy and consumption, and confirms a clear trend since the pandemic: the advertising market has doubled in size. However, this growth is not distributed evenly. Almost 80% of the investment is already channeled towards retail media, paid search and social platforms, leaving the rest of the media ecosystem to share only the remaining 20%. This imbalance is straining classic planning models and accelerating the need for new approaches.

Paul Stringer, Managing Editor of Research & Insights at Warc, sums it up this way: “The established model of media planning and buying is breaking down, and no one yet knows for sure what will come next.”
The consulting firm’s “The Future of Media 2026” report is based precisely on that idea: the previous system no longer works in a fragmented, dynamic environment governed by platforms and algorithms.

From traditional planning to systems planning

The first major axis of the report is the step towards what Warc calls systems planning. Compared to traditional planning – deterministic, linear, based on static plans, channel silos and manual optimizations – a model emerges that conceives marketing as an adaptive system of influence. Under this new approach, media are no longer managed as isolated points of contact and are instead understood as parts of a dynamic system that continuously adjusts, in many cases autonomously through artificial intelligence.

Dan Gilbert, CEO of Brainlabs, defines this change as the design of systems capable of building brands and shaping behaviors throughout the entire consumer experience, taking into account context, category and moment. The focus is no longer just on reach or frequency, but on attention, influence and mental availability. And this requires new capabilities in teams: profiles capable of connecting data, creativity and commerce, and of orchestrating multiple AI systems instead of controlling variables in isolation.

Visibility in the era of AI search

The second block of the report addresses how artificial intelligence is reconfiguring search. Consumers are increasingly using AI-powered search engines for longer, more complex, multi-intent queries that vary by category and context. This introduces a new challenge for brands, which no longer only compete to position themselves in front of people, but now also in front of machines.

Warc points out that traditional SEO does not disappear, but it is no longer sufficient. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is gaining weight, an approach focused on creating structured, credible and authoritative content, optimized for both humans and language models, AI agents and automated response systems. The structure of the content, brand authority, mentions and consistency in owned and earned media become critical factors to maintain visibility in this new environment:

The six strategies to position a brand well in search with AI, according to Warc, are the following:

• Keep doing good SEO: Eliminating traditional SEO would be a mistake, because effective SEO and generative engine optimization (GEO) strategies share key fundamentals.
• Optimize the technical for language models (LLM): Brands can and should adjust the technical aspects of their websites to make them easier to read by LLMs. For example, avoiding blocking them in the robots.txt file.
• Focus on content: It is essential to create updated content that answers real search questions and positions the brand as a credible, reliable and authoritative source.
• Structure content well: Organizing content with clear hierarchies, logical headings, lists and tables improves readability for both people and AI systems.
• Build online authority: Brand mentions, participation in digital communities, and authentic reviews help improve visibility and ranking in AI-powered search.
• Continuously monitor and adapt: ​​Closely monitoring the evolution of AI search is key to maintaining effective, up-to-date and relevant GEO strategies in a constantly changing environment.

Creators: the great canal, with a still low efficiency

The third axis of the report focuses on marketing with creators. According to WPP Media estimates, the creator economy will exceed $376.6 billion in revenue by 2030. However, Warc warns that a significant portion of current investment is wasted. And the reasons are structural: lack of clear definition of the channel, problems of fit between creator and brand, unclear objectives and measurement based on vanity metrics.

Thus, the report identifies recurring failures at three levels: strategy, execution and measurement. Many advertisers have difficulty identifying creators aligned with their values ​​and audience; more than 40% launch campaigns without clear KPIs; and the majority continue to measure the impact with likes or views, without studies of brand lift nor robust attribution models. To reverse this situation, Warc recommends working with clear objectives, prioritizing creative quality, selecting appropriate brand assets, and adopting a structured learning agenda that allows you to scale what works and discard what doesn’t.

Overall, “The Future of Media 2026” paints a scenario of strong growth, but also greater complexity. Planning becomes systemic, search is redefined by AI and creators are consolidated as a pillar of brand building, although still with significant inefficiencies.
The challenge for brands and agencies, in addition to constantly adapting, is to do so based on new mental models, new capabilities and a deeper understanding of how the media influences people and machines today.