Trending Topics and Latest Updates You Should Know in 2026

 As 2026 races Trending Topics into view, one thing is clear: change isn’t slowing down — it’s accelerating.

Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence are no longer confined to research labs or early adopters — they’re already reshaping classrooms, careers, healthcare Trending Topics and even how we measure our own wellbeing and build community. In 2026, all eyes will be on how this intensifies.

Every December, LinkedIn News spotlights the bold ideas our editors and experts around the world believe will define the coming year. This year’s predictions capture a world in flux, where technology and humanity will press closer than ever, fueling new opportunities and tensions.

What trend or idea do you expect to have the biggest impact in the year ahead? Join the conversation in the comments or share your own prediction in a post or video with #BigIdeas2026. — Taylor Borden

LEADING THROUGH CHANGE & UNCERTAINTY

• Stanley McChrystal, World-Renowned Commander Trending Topics of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan and Co-founder of McChrystal Group
• Gavin Patterson, President and Chief Revenue Officer, Salesforce and Former Chief Executive, BT Group
• Jim Donald, Chairman of Albertson’s Trending Topics, Former CEO of Starbucks, & Former CEO of Extended Stay Hotels, and Former Trending Topics CEO of Pathmark Supermarkets
• Ash Alexander-Cooper, Former Elite Military Unit Commander; Leadership and Resilience Expert
• Kevin Gaskell, Former Group CEO of BMW GB, Former CEO of Porsche GB, and Former CEO of Lamborghini GB
• Sarah Robb O’Hagan, Legendary Business Leader, CEO of EXOS, Former CEO of Flywheel Sports, Former Global President of Gatorade, Former Marketing Director at Nike, Founder & Author of “Extreme You: Step Up, Stand Out, Kick Ass, Repeat”

STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL

World-Renowned Commander of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan and Co-founder of McChrystal Group

A one-of-a-kind commander with a remarkable record of achievement, General Stanley McChrystal is widely praised for creating a revolution in warfare that fused intelligence and operations. He is also known for developing and implementing the counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan and for creating a comprehensive counter-terrorism organization that revolutionized the way military agencies interact and operate

.GAVIN PATTERSON

President and Chief Revenue Officer, Salesforce and Former Chief Executive, BT Group

Gavin Patterson is the president and chief revenue officer of Salesforce.com, Inc., leading the CRM company’s global sales organization. He previously served as president and chief executive of Salesforce International, overseeing their business in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin American, and Asia Pacific. Prior to Salesforce, Patterson was Chief Executive at BT for almost six years from 2013 to 2019. BT is a global communications services company bringing together the best networks and technology with the expertise of its people, to enable businesses to grow, communities to thrive and individuals to get more out of life.

JIM DONALD

Chairman of Albertson’s, Former CEO of Starbucks, & Former CEO of Extended Stay Hotels, and Former CEO of Pathmark Supermarkets

The former CEO of Starbucks, Pathmark Supermarkets, and Extended Stay Hotels, and currently the co-chairman of the board of Albertson’s, Jim Donald is a seasoned executive of large, multinational companies with a distinguished career in retail. He has been named one of the “Top 25 CEOs in the World” by The Best Practice Institute and one of Business Travel News’ “25 Most Influential Business Travel Executives” in 2013. Donald earned Trending Topics a reputation for turning around financially ailing companies early in his career. It was this reputation that prompted Extended Stay Hotels to seek him out after emerging from its bankruptcy proceedings in 2010. The hiring marked the rare choice of an outsider to lead a U.S. hotel company, and he led its successful $565 million IPO. He then joined Albertsons Companies in March 2018 as president and chief operating officer, before being named chief executive officer of the large chain in 2018.

What are business trends?

Business trends are new developments in the business world that affect a company’s priorities, opportunities, and performance. Business trends are often the result of consumer behavior changes, market demands, economic fluctuations, political events, regulatory changes, and technological advances.

What are some business trends right now?

We’ve compiled this list of trends based on insights from some of the leading voices in the business world, including Forbes (global media),Trending Topics McKinsey & Company (consulting), TechTarget (data-driven B2B marketing), the Harvard Business Review (management magazine), HubSpot (marketing software), and LinkedIn (business-focused social media). These trends span multiple industries and may affect a variety of job roles.

Use this list as a starting point for tracking new developments and identifying opportunities to apply them to either a company or your own personal goals.

Generative AI

GenAI tools help organizations across industries develop text, audio, and video content, as well as computer programming code, product designs, virtual environments, Trending Topics and simulations for a variety of business situations. For example, a start-up company could use ChatGPT to develop weeks’ worth of content for a brand awareness campaign.

Generative AI can speed up these processes and enable people without technical expertise in a specific area to explore possibilities. For example, you can bring a design idea to life with tools like Midjourney or Adobe Firefly, even if you don’t have training in design.

Dining & drinks

“India’s alcohol market is adding 23 million new legal-age consumers every year, giving it a growth runway that mature markets like the US and UK no longer have,” says Narayan Manepally, cofounder and CEO of Geist Brewing Co. This and the sober-curious movement mean that drinking in 2026 will be about craft beers, low or no alcohol cocktails and a push to India’s craft spirits. Agave and rum are the new gin. Foodwise, micro diners and multi-sensory dining where presentation, sounds and atmosphere add to the experience will rule. What is also going to mark the foodscape in 2026 are chefs who work with farmers, thereby championing responsible sourcing and reviving biodiversity.

Entertainment

Entertainment will see growing blowback from creatives as AI seeps further into nearly every stage of content creation. In response, actors have begun proactively copyrighting their names, likenesses and unique attributes to retain control over their identities. The year ahead is likely to set the balance for how far AI can both disrupt and contribute to entertainment. Industry insiders say the focus will increasingly shift to building guardrails that protect the creative community and preserve the sanctity of copyright.

Fashion

Trend forecasting agencies have called 2026 ‘the year of personal style’. Stylus’s trend forecaster Emily Gordon-Smith told CBC that there’s a renewed emphasis on personal style as a response that goes “against the algorithm”. This will impact how people will dress in 2026. However, as per the State of Fashion 2026 report by McKinsey, the global fashion industry will post low single-digit growth this year. What is showing growth, the report said, is secondhand fashion, with customers spending more on it in search of value as prices continue to rise in the primary market.

AI-generated content will become mainstream

In the year ahead, AI’s influence on social media marketing will continue to grow. Marketing leaders are buying into its importance more than ever, with 97% saying that marketers must know how to use AI, according to The 2025 Index.

More specifically, AI-generated content will become increasingly common. Thanks to these innovations, marketers won’t need advanced skills to bring posts to life. Instead, they can focus on ideation and quality assurance, while AI handles the basics.

“AI allows the average person to simply imagine content and publish. Without the need for equipment, editing skills or people, content will only require a great concept or idea to become a reality,” explains Jim Lin, Director of Enterprise Social Media at Caterpillar.

Heinz started experimenting with AI-generated content in 2022 when it launched its AI ketchup campaign. The premise was simple: the company asked multiple AI tools what it thought ketchup looked like. While the results varied, each bottle had one thing in common: they bore a striking resemblance to Heinz bottles. The takeaway became that, like humans, bots prefer Heinz ketchup.

Serialized content will earn audiences’ attention

In the Sprout Social Q2 2025 Pulse Survey, we asked people what they most want to see from brands on social. Two responses came neck and neck: interacting with audiences (58%) and posting original content series (57%).

But what is it about serialized content that consumers enjoy so much?

Oftentimes, content series enable brands to delve deeper into topics that matter to them and their audience, laying the groundwork for more meaningful connections. Plus, series often feature a recurring cast of characters. As viewers continue to tune in, they get to know these characters—and that keeps them coming back, our 2025 Content Benchmarks Report found.

According to Angelo Castillo, the creator behind ProfitPlug, that’s because “people follow people, not brands. The hype around just a brand name is fading. Audiences want personality and consistency from faces they recognize.”

With that in mind, Castillo says some series work better than others.

“Two extremes are doing well: raw, unedited yap videos and highly cinematic production-heavy content,” he explains. “A lot of brands and startups are creating series that mirror TV shows, like Office-style workplace content. The common thread is serialization; people want to follow along and come back for the next episode.”

Taking a page from “The Office” is what Shameless Media did to create serialized content. While the Australian media business usually shares clips from its various podcasts on its accounts, it also launched an Office-style series entitled “The Shoffice”.

The series features raw footage of the Shameless women at work, giving an unprecedented peek into the brand’s fun, fresh workplace culture. Equal parts cheeky and unfiltered, “The Shoffice” resonates with the brand’s Millennial and Gen Z audiences, who crave authentic, behind-the-scenes access.

Shameless even built on the momentum by giving it its own spinoff series, “Out of Shoffice”, which captures the staff’s out-of-office adventures with the same playful charm.