5 Major Video Marketing Trends for 2026: AI, User-Generated Content, and More

Video continues to be one of the most powerful formats in digital marketing. Its ability to convey emotions, simplify messages, and adapt to any platform makes it a versatile tool for connecting with audiences. Today, artificial intelligence, shifts in consumer behavior, and the constant demand for authenticity are completely reshaping how brands plan and execute video strategies.

Advances in generative AI, interactive formats, and large-scale data analysis are creating a new roadmap for digital engagement. The following trends highlight how video marketing is evolving and creating unprecedented opportunities for conversion, personalization, and loyalty.

YouTube and TikTok as Essential AI Data Sources

Platforms like YouTube and TikTok have moved beyond entertainment to become critical sources of information. They provide some of the richest datasets for multimodal AI engines like Gemini, Copilot, ChatGPT, or Grok. These systems analyze video content through subtitles, descriptions, metadata, and—most importantly—user interaction signals. Comments, likes, and shares offer a detailed map of consumer sentiment, emerging trends, and unmet needs.

AI’s ability to process data at such a large scale has proved transformational for marketers, enabling better personalization and stronger connections with consumers.

AI-Generated Videos: A Creative Game-Changer

The way videos are created is undergoing a radical shift, thanks to generative AI tools like Google’s Veo 3 and OpenAI’s Sora. These platforms are breaking down traditional barriers of cost, time, and technical resources in video production. Tools like Veo 3 allow brands to generate high-quality videos from text or images, achieving realistic visuals and precise creative control quickly.

This democratization lets companies of any size produce professional-level content without massive teams or budgets. The biggest advantage might be the ability to create and test a high volume of creative variations, directly improving conversion rate optimization (CRO).

AI for Video Creation and Personalization

AI is also changing how brands produce and personalize video content. Companies are using AI to write scripts, edit clips, and automatically tailor videos for different audiences or languages. This automation reduces costs while increasing the relevance and consistency of the message.

By 2026, it’s estimated that 75% of marketing videos will be AI-generated or AI-assisted, marking a structural shift in creativity. AI also enables mass personalization, letting brands create multiple versions of a single video tailored to user interests, location, or behavior, which increases the chances of conversion. In sectors like retail, education, and healthcare, this capability multiplies emotional impact at scale without sacrificing efficiency. The key is balancing tech efficiency with human authenticity, combining data, storytelling, and automation to deliver truly personalized video experiences.

Interactive and Shoppable Video for Direct Conversion

Video is becoming a direct-action channel. Shoppable videos let users interact with products, answer polls, or buy without exiting the content, with platforms like TikTok Shop leading the way. This format integrates visual inspiration with instant transactions, making it one of the most powerful tools for conversion.

Interactive video also provides advanced behavioral insights, as every click, pause, or interaction gives valuable data to optimize the conversion funnel. In industries like fashion, beauty, and travel, interactive videos create immersive experiences that combine emotion with functionality, moving marketing from storytelling to active engagement.

UGC, AIGC, and the Rise of AI-UGC

The content landscape is evolving rapidly, with projections showing that user-generated content (UGC), including AI-assisted content, will soon surpass professionally produced material. 

UGC remains important, but AI-generated content (AIGC) offers unmatched speed and scalability. It meets high content demands but often lacks the emotional connection of human-created material. The most disruptive trend in this area, however, is AI-UGC, a hybrid approach that combines the authenticity of UGC with AI’s scalability. A user-created video can be optimized, captioned, or translated at scale with AI, enabling brands to quickly boost reach, virality, and impact with minimal investment. AI-UGC represents the future of authentic, efficient content creation.

Conclusion

Video marketing is in a constant state of growth and reinvention. The pace of consumption, intelligent automation, and demand for authenticity are defining a format that evolves with user behavior. Brands that combine human creativity, technology, and narrative sensitivity build trust and long-term relevance.

The core challenge remains connecting with people through stories that inspire, inform, and drive action. Video, in all its forms, remains the most direct language for achieving that connection.