Mid-Year Observations from 2026 So Far: AI, Content & What’s Actually Working
Can you believe we’re halfway through 2026?
I know I’ve been reflecting on the last 6 months in my business, but also thinking about how much has shifted in the online space in a very short amount of time.
I don’t think there’s been a start to the year quite like this in my 7 years of business. And who knows what’s in store for the rest of the year?
So here are my mid-year observations from 2026 so far, plus a couple of truth bombs you need to hear if you really want the next 6 months to be fucking epic for yourself and your business.
Mid-Year Observation #1: AI is making everyone lazy (and trust themselves less)
Yep, starting off by saying the thing people don’t want to hear, but it needs to be said.
There’s no doubt that AI is the hottest bombshell in the online villa. It is top of mind for pretty much every single business owner.
But to quote Kim Kardashian → no one wants to work these days.
And look, I’m all for anything that makes running a business easier BUT not at the expense of using your fucking brain.
Does AI really need to be doing every single thing in your business?
I feel like it has removed the part of the process where you problem-solve and learn how to do something – the part that builds resilience and brilliance.
So it has lowered the threshold for things feeling hard and taking time. Everyone wants everything done now with zero friction.
Not to mention people are treating AI like it’s the source of absolute truth, which is very concerning given that it’s often wrong. Which is why the thing that actually scares me the most is that people will trust a fucking robot more than they trust themselves.
AI DOES NOT KNOW YOU BETTER THAN YOU KNOW YOURSELF.
And don’t even get me started on using AI to create content. When someone says “I built a skill in Claude to write my captions / create my carousels / design my event flier, all while I was drinking cocktails by the pool” – yeah I can tell and so can your dream clients.
And before you say “well I trained Claude on my brand voice, so it sounds like me” – it’s hard hard to train Claude to sound like you, when you haven’t written an original piece of content in 6 months. You don’t even sound like you.
Now before you get in a tizzy, I’m not saying don’t use AI. I’m saying, know the difference between using it as a tool and using it as a replacement for your own brain.
Don’t get so caught up in Artificial Intelligence that you forget about your own Actual Intelligence.
Mid-Year Observation #2: Everyone can create content. Not everyone can create GOOD content (or content that converts)
I honestly HATE opening Instagram and my inbox to see it flooded with the same horrendous AI slop. It hurts my soul.
And to a degree, I get it. Content creation isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time. And any content expert will tell you that you need to be consistent if you want to grow your business – but for the love of dogs can we stop consistently sharing AI slop.
Not only does it hurt my eyes, my brain and my soul – it’s actively repelling your dream clients and doing damage to your brand.
Research shows that consumers become more skeptical and less engaged when they know content is AI-generated
You only have to go into the comments section of any brand who uses AI in their marketing. People clock it instantly and are calling it out in real time.
So sure, you’re creating content consistently, but is your content actually any good? And is it attracting dream humans into your world on repeat?
Your content needs to be MEMORABLE and using the same word and cadence and visuals as every other muggle isn’t going to stand out.
People are craving content that feels like a human created it. And that’s exactly why we’ve seen this swing toward “ugly” content and people yapping.
So do you want to be the person that consistently creates content OR do you want to be the person that consistently creates good content that attracts dream clients into your world on repeat?
Because you have a really great opportunity to stand out right now if you focus on being the second.
Mid-Year Observation #3: AI might speed up the content creation process but it doesn’t speed up the conversion process
Any guru who is pitching you the angle that “AI will save you hours of content creation” is missing one very important thing. Speed and persuasion are not the same skill.
Sure, AI can help you make content faster, but it does nothing (I repeat NOTHING) to speed up how fast someone actually decides to buy from you.
Pumping out content at light speed, means jack shit.
Your content still has to do its actual job – the one that hasn’t changed since before AI existed.
Your content STILL needs to:
- Give your ideal client the information they need to make a purchase decision
- Answer the question sitting in the back of their mind that they haven’t said out loud
- Give them confidence that you’re the person to invest in
Buying decisions don’t happen in one scroll. Nobody sees a single reel and hands over their card on the spot – trust gets built across multiple exposures and multiple channels.
They don’t care how fast your content creation process is or how many hours you didn’t spend on your latest post. But they do care if your offer is going to help them.
And this is my whole issue with AI-generated content.
You want someone to invest their hard earned dollars in your service, but you’re not willing to spend time creating content that shows them why they should invest. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
So those are my mid-year observations from 2026 so far – and here’s what I predict will happen in the rest of the year…
Predictions for the rest of 2026
- Sounding like everyone else is about to get expensive. As the feed fills with content that’s all saying the same thing in the same way, being specific and unmistakably yourself stops being a nice extra and becomes the actual differentiator.
- People are soon going to realise their content problem was never a content problem. They’ll keep posting more, faster, with AI doing the heavy lifting – and their bank account won’t move.
- Buyers are going to demand more proof before they commit. AI has eroded trust across the board – so the businesses backing up their claims with real evidence, real results, real specifics are the ones who get picked.
One thing is for certain it’s going to be an interesting rest of 2026. Who knows what’s about to unfold – guess we’ll have to check in at the end of the year.
The one thing I want you to take away from these mid-year observations from 2026 is to not get caught up obsessing over AI tools to the point you forget about the two most important things in your business – your ideal client AND you.
Things shift fast and often in the online space, but your ideal client and you are constant, so don’t lose sight of that.
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