As 2025 draws to a close, digital marketing isn’t just changing—it’s accelerating. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we plan and execute campaigns, platforms are rolling out smarter features at speed, and consumer expectations continue to shift in real time. Keeping up is no longer about tracking trends for awareness alone; it’s about knowing what to act on. This roundup of the updates and trends in digital marketing brings together the most important updates shaping digital marketing right now, cutting through the noise to focus on what truly matters.
More than a trend report, it’s a practical guide to what’s happening, why it matters for your brand, and how marketers can adapt today to drive stronger, smarter results in 2026.
1. Google’s December 2025 Core Update
Google launched its third core update of 2025 on December 11, with rollout expected to take up to three weeks. This follows earlier updates in June and August, continuing Google’s emphasis on quality, relevance, and user experience in an AI-driven search environment.
Key Implications for Marketers:
- AI Overviews (AIOs) are expanding, with heavy favoritism toward content that earns citations across tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. YouTube leads with a 29.5% citation rate in AIOs, far ahead of competitors.
- Sites experiencing volatility should prioritize EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) signals, fresh data, and structured content that answers complex queries.
What Marketers Must Do
Audit your content for citation potential. Focus on research-backed, educational pieces rather than thin bottom-funnel guides. Monitor Search Console for “AI Query Groups” and ensure backlinks from high-authority domains.
2. AI Integration Reaches New Heights Across Platforms
AI is no longer experimental. It’s the backbone of marketing tools and consumer experiences.
Google’s Pomelli AI Tool (in beta)
Pomelli, Google’s AI tool analyzes websites to generate “Business DNA” profiles, including tone, visuals, and full social campaign ideas. Ideal for rapid ideation in creative-strapped teams.
Meta’s Advantage+ Automation Default
With Meta’s Advantage+, new campaigns now default to AI-driven tools. This features updates emphasizing creative optimization and account issue resolution via an AI chat assistant.
TikTok Shop
Holiday sales hit $500M (up 84% YoY), with 78% of advertisers reporting AI-driven improvements in efficiency and innovation with TikTok Shop.
Pinterest hit 600M MAUs, with new AI assistants enhancing visual and conversational search, boosting revenue per user.
Studies show Gen Z prefers a human-AI blend. Pure AI content risks lower trust. Therefore, marketers should use AI for efficiency (e.g., ideation, automation) but layer in human creativity for authenticity.
What Marketers Must Do
Test AI tools like Pomelli or Meta’s assistant for campaign brainstorming. Blend AI-generated drafts with human oversight, especially for Gen Z-targeted content.
3. SEO in the Age of Answer Engines and Fragmented Search
Traditional SEO is shifting toward visibility in AI answer engines, not just blue links.
- Zero-click searches and AIOs continue to reduce organic CTR (down 61% in some cases), pushing marketers to optimize for citations and mentions.
- Alternatives to Google (ChatGPT, Perplexity) are gaining traction, with only 25-30% overlap in citations between tools.
- HTTPS will be mandatory in Chrome starting 2026. With this, non-compliant sites risk traffic and authority penalties.
Top SEO Trends for 2025-2026:
- Prioritize third-party signals (mentions, reviews) over traditional links.
- Invest in video/UGC for rankings. YouTube’s dominance in AIOs makes educational content a must.
- Local SEO: Reviews now influence 19% of rankings (behind proximity at 55%).
What Marketers Must Do
Build a “citation strategy” and earn mentions in industry reports, podcasts, and forums. Secure your site with HTTPS now to avoid disruptions.
4. The Rise of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
While traditional SEO remains essential, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) has solidified in 2025 as the complementary discipline for visibility in AI-powered answers. GEO focuses on earning citations, mentions, and accurate representation in tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Google AI Overviews, where users get direct synthesized responses instead of link lists.
Why GEO Matters Now
- AI search adoption is exploding. ChatGPT has nearly 700M weekly users, and AI tools drive billions of queries monthly.
- Zero-click searches are surging. AI Overviews appear in most queries, causing up to 61% drop in organic CTR for affected results.
- Citation overlap between tools is low, meaning Google rankings don’t guarantee AI visibility.
- According to recent studies, top citation factors include referring domains (strongest predictor), content depth/structure, social signals, reviews, and technical performance.
- 90% of businesses fear losing visibility to AI, and more than 85% are investing in AI/LLM optimization.
GEO vs. Traditional SEO: Key Differences
SEO optimizes for rankings and clicks in link-based results. But GEO optimizes for citations, share of voice, and sentiment in synthesized AI answers (often no clicks needed). Strong SEO foundations (EEAT, backlinks) boost GEO, but GEO requires extra layers like third-party mentions and AI-parseable structure.
Proven GEO Techniques for 2026
- Build Authority Signals. Earn mentions on high-trust sites (Reddit, Quora, Wikipedia, reviews). Brand mentions can lift organic clicks even in AI-impacted SERPs.
- Structure Content for AI Parsing. Use clear headings, bullet points, tables, statistics, quotations, and fluent language. Add unique data/visuals. AI favors quantifiable, easy-to-extract info.
- Implement Rich Schema Markup. Structured data (e.g., TechArticle, Organization) helps LLMs understand and cite accurately.
- Foster Third-Party Engagement. Encourage UGC, reviews, and forum discussions. social/Reddit signals act like “AI backlinks.”
- Monitor and Track. Use emerging tools (e.g., Geoptie, Promptmonitor, Semrush AI kits) for AI share of voice, citation rates, and cross-platform performance.
What Marketers Must Do
Start with a GEO audit. Test key queries in multiple AI tools. Build a “citation outreach” plan targeting mentions in reports, podcasts, and communities. Blend GEO with SEO, and optimize existing high-ranking pages first for quick wins.
5. Paid Media and PPC
PPC in 2025 was defined by AI automation and rising engagement costs.
- Google’s Ads Advisor and Analytics Advisor were launched, enabling full campaign creation from single prompts.
- Meta’s 2025 shift: Highly optimized creative is essential, with automation handling targeting and bidding.
- Creator partnerships delivered massive lifts: +70% CTR and +159% engagement on platforms like TikTok.
Emerging Trends:
- Cross-platform attribution and first-party data are critical amid privacy changes.
- Video ads (especially short-form) dominate budgets.
What Marketers Must Do
Shift budget toward broad targeting with strong creative testing. Use Google’s new AI agents for rapid setup, but monitor for quality.
6. Social Media and Commerce
Social platforms are maturing into full-funnel channels.
- TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts remain dominant. According to reports, posting 11+ TikToks per week can improve views by 34%.
- Threads reached 400M MAUs, and Pinterest emphasized AI-driven discovery.
- Holiday trends: Fewer discounts were seen, but social commerce exploded.
What Marketers Must Do
Double down on short-form video and creator collaborations. For holidays, emphasize value/authenticity over heavy promotions. This is especially important because a large percentage of shoppers check reviews pre-purchase, and influencers have a huge impact on this.
7. Security, Compliance, and Platform Vulnerabilities
- WordPress vulnerabilities persisted (multiple plugins affected in 2025). Therefore, regular audits are non-negotiable.
- Ad fraud concerns: Meta faced scrutiny over China-based fraud, but overall invalid traffic declined.
What Marketers Must Do
Schedule quarterly security audits. Report suspicious ads promptly to maintain account health.
Looking Ahead to 2026: Strategies for Success
AI accelerates everything, but human elements (creativity, authenticity, trust) differentiate winners. This is the overarching theme for 2026.
Weekly Homework for Marketers
- Audit YouTube Shorts performance and plan fresh content.
- Brainstorm TikTok Shop incentives for Q1.
- Test AI tools (Pomelli, Meta Assistant) on a small campaign.
- Review site security and HTTPS compliance.
- Build a citation/mention outreach plan.
By staying ahead of these shifts, and by embracing AI as a co-pilot while prioritizing quality and user trust, marketers can navigate volatility and capture growth in 2026. Monitor tools like Google Search Console, Ads Manager, and industry hubs for real-time updates and trends in digital marketing.