2025: The Year AI Remade Marketing — And What It Means for 2026

2025 will go down as the year marketing changed forever. As the MA’s Digital Special Interest Group (SIG) reflects, the rise of AI — not hype, but real, practical adoption — has already disrupted the status quo for marketers both in Aotearoa and globally.

The Big Disruption: AI Everywhere

• According to SIG contributors, AI moved well beyond experimentation in 2025. Tools once used for novelty are now embedded in everyday marketing workflows.

• Reportedly 76-88% of marketers now use AI tools daily — a huge adoption rate.

• For those who implemented AI strategically (rather than sporadically), results were tangible: 44% higher productivity, and saving around 11 hours per week on average.

• Meanwhile, the shift isn’t just about speed — it’s about creative and strategic transformation. Marketers are using AI to streamline grunt work and free up time for high-impact tasks: strategy, creative thinking, personalisation, and experimentation.

In short: 2025 was more than a “warm-up” year. It was the start of a new chapter for anyone willing to evolve with AI.

SEO & Search: A Radical Evolution

Traditional SEO looks nothing like it did a few years ago. According to MA’s SIG:

• With the rise of AI-powered “answer engines,” AI Overviews now account for 13%+ of all searches.

• For many sites, organic click-through rates plunged — from 1.76% down to 0.61% when AI Overviews appeared, a 61% decline. Paid ad CTRs fell even more sharply — by roughly 68%.

• For major publishers, the impact has been severe: some lost 70–80% of traffic on informational content.

• At the same time, overall search volume continues rising: Google reportedly processes between 9.1 and 13.6 billion searches per day in 2025, up from 8.5 billion in 2024.

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These shifts illustrate that search has fundamentally changed: it’s no longer just about ranking. It’s about being visible and authoritative in a world of AI-driven results. For marketers, that means embracing GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) — optimising to be cited, not just clicked.

Practical SEO actions for 2026 and beyond

• Run audits of your “AI visibility”: ask common customer questions across AI platforms (chat tools, virtual assistants, AI-search) and check whether your brand gets cited.

• Structure content for clarity: put concise answers (40–60 words) up top, use well-structured headings (H2/H3), and embed FAQ-style schema markup.

• Build brand authority: backlinks remain relevant — but brand mentions, citations, and high-quality content are becoming the “new backlinks” for AI systems.

  
  

Everywhere Search & The Death of the Traditional Funnel

Another striking shift in 2025: people don’t just search via Google anymore. As SIG members observed:

• Search happens on social networks (TikTok, Instagram), via influencers, in group chats — even directly within AI assistants — not just via traditional search engines.

• The traditional linear sales funnel — awareness → interest → consideration → purchase — is giving way to more dynamic, context-driven “agentic commerce.”

• As a result, marketers who cling to old techniques — traffic chasing, paying for clicks, siloed channel thinking — risk falling behind.

  
  

In 2026, winning brands will be those who show up wherever customers are — and craft creative, personalised experiences that feel native to each platform.

What This Means for 2026 — And Why DxM Marketing’s AI Platform Matters

As we move into 2026, the future belongs to marketers who combine human insight with machine intelligence — and structure their operations around data, agility, and continuous learning.

That’s exactly where DxM Marketing can make a difference.

• Plug-and-play AI workflows: Our platform helps teams automate the repetitive parts of marketing — content drafts, metadata generation, schema markup, basic SEO adjustments — freeing up time for strategy, storytelling and creative experimentation.

• GEO / AEO readiness: With tools to help structure content, test AI visibility, and optimise for AI-driven search, DxM gives your brand a head-start for the next generation of discoverability.

• First-party data + personalisation at scale: As third-party tracking becomes less reliable and consumers value privacy more, consolidating first-party data and using it for intelligent personalisation becomes essential. DxM supports data infrastructure that powers predictive content, dynamic CX, and AI-native personalisation.

• Cross-channel agility: Whether it’s social, search, video, or conversational commerce — DxM lets you manage and optimise campaigns across all channels, so you’re visible wherever customers are looking.

• Team upskilling & future readiness: The most important asset in 2026 is not a tool — it’s the people using it. By building AI literacy and embedding AI into your workflows, DxM helps make your team future-proof.

In other words: if 2025 was about waking up to AI, 2026 is about building systems, workflows and culture around it. DxM Marketing AI platform is designed exactly for this moment.

Final Thoughts

The message from the MA Digital SIG is clear: marketing has evolved — and fast. In 2025 we saw AI adoption cross the chasm from experimental to essential. SEO changed. Search changed. Customer behaviour changed.

But with disruption comes opportunity. For marketers and brands willing to adapt — to think in terms of visibility, trust, context and customer experience — there’s massive potential to get ahead.

For companies already embracing AI strategically, 2026 could be a year of unprecedented growth. With the right tools, people and mindset, they won’t just survive the shift — they’ll lead it.

If you’re curious to learn how DxM Marketing can help your team get ready for 2026 — from GEO/AEO optimisation to AI-driven workflows and cross-channel growth — let’s talk.

Email info@digitalx.marketing or visit www.digitalx.marketing to learn more.