Research · Updated October 2026
How AI changed marketing in 2026. Twenty numbers, all sourced.
AI search, marketing teams, New Zealand businesses, UX and social commerce. We checked every figure in October 2026, and each card links to the research it comes from.
- AI search
1B people use ChatGPT every week, as of August 2026.
For a lot of buyers, a chatbot is now the first place they ask, before Google or your website.
- AI search
1B+ monthly users on Google’s AI Mode, less than a year after it launched worldwide.
Google’s own AI answers now reach as many people as ChatGPT does.
- AI search
48% of tracked Google searches show an AI Overview, up from about 31% a year earlier.
Close to half of searches now open with an AI summary above the first link.
- AI search
68% of US Google searches ended without a click from January to April 2026.
Fewer than one search in three now sends anyone to a website.
- AI search
8% of Google visits with an AI summary led to a click on a normal result. Without a summary it was 15%.
When the summary answers the question, most people stop reading there.
Source: Pew Research Center, July 2025
- AI search
4.4x the value of an AI search visitor compared with a regular organic visitor, measured by conversion rate.
AI tools send fewer visitors, and the ones who arrive are closer to buying.
- AI search
14% of marketers track how often AI tools cite their brand. 65% say AI search is their biggest challenge.
Most teams still can’t see whether ChatGPT or Google’s AI mentions them at all.
Source: GoodFirms survey, April 2026
- AI at work
86% of marketing teams use AI in at least part of their work.
Only 1.7% neither use AI nor plan to.
- AI at work
2 in 3 marketers say AI saves their team 10 or more hours a week.
About a third save more than 15 hours a week.
Source: HubSpot 2026 State of Marketing
- AI at work
15.3% of the average marketing budget now goes to AI. Only 30% of CMOs say they’re ready to scale it.
The money is moving faster than the skills to use it.
- New Zealand
91% of New Zealand businesses use AI, but only 4% use it to change how their core operations run.
Up from 66% in 2024. Nearly everyone has started, and very few have gone deep.
- New Zealand
66% of New Zealand businesses gave their people AI training in the past year, up 10 points.
Strategy is behind: just 16% have a clearly defined AI strategy.
- UX and design
91% of designers say new AI tools improve their designs.
From a survey of 906 digital designers across five regions.
Source: Figma State of the Designer 2026
- UX and design
41% of designers now take part in development work, up from 21% a year earlier.
Developers are moving the other way too: 60% now take part in design.
- UX and design
70% of online shopping carts are left before the order is placed.
The average of 50 separate studies: 70.22%.
Source: Baymard Institute, Sept 2025
- UX and design
35% higher conversion is within reach for a large online store by fixing checkout design alone.
Good UX shows up in sales you can measure.
Source: Baymard Institute, Sept 2025
- Creators
$37B in US creator advertising in 2025 (US dollars), up 26% on the year before.
About four times faster than media spend overall. IAB expects $44B in 2026.
- Creators
86% of consumers buy something because of an influencer at least once a year.
Half of influencers charge between US$250 and US$1,000 a post.
- Commerce
$23.4B forecast US sales for TikTok Shop in 2026 (US dollars), ahead of Target’s online store at $21.9B.
Social apps are now a place where people find and buy products.
Source: EMARKETER, Aug 2026
- Commerce
$15T of B2B spending will go through AI buying agents by 2028 (US dollars).
Gartner expects agents to handle 90% of B2B purchases. Your site has to make sense to software as well as people.
Want your team ready for this? The 11-week search marketing certification covers SEO, Google Ads and AI search visibility. Short on time? Start with a one-day digital marketing masterclass, or design better checkouts with the UX product design certification.
Figures checked on 16 October 2026. They are worldwide or US data unless the card says New Zealand, and dollar amounts are US dollars. Compiled by the Institute of Digital Marketing New Zealand (IDNZ). Free to reuse with a credit and link to id.ac.nz (CC BY 4.0).
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