10 predictions that will define 2026

As 2026 races 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 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, fuelling new opportunities, fresh tensions and a new era of individual empowerment.

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

Check out our local Big Ideas in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and across Asia and Latam.

Europe will take a significant leap towards autonomous transportation in 2026 as driverless vehicles hit the roads in major cities and freight routes, signalling a shift that could transform how we travel and transport goods.

The autonomous cars of Waymo, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, will make their London debut next year, pending regulatory approval. Uber will pilot robotaxis in partnership with UK startup Wayve in the spring of 2026. And in Hamburg, locals will be able to book Volkswagen's self-driving minivans through its ridehailing app Moia.

Given that human errors are the cause of more than nine out of 10 road accidents, letting robots take the wheel could lead to safer journeys. Driverless cabs could also bring down the costs of ride-hailing services, to the point that owning a car could become twice as expensive as taking robotaxis all the time, UBS predicts. Plus, self-driving vehicles are all electric, leaving us with better air quality.

Autopilots aren't just coming for passenger transport: freight will also increasingly move around in trucks with empty driver's seats. Einride's fully autonomous heavy-duty trucks entered Belgian public roads this year and even crossed the Swedish-Norwegian border without a human in the cabin. The Swedish startup's fleet is already being used by companies including Heineken, PepsiCo and Carlsberg.

While this could ultimately lead to millions of human drivers being replaced, self-driving trucks could prove a solution to the hundreds of thousands of job openings across Europe's transport sector. – Pieter Cranenbroek

Loneliness will hit a breaking point in 2026 – and as AI companionship surges in response, an outsized opportunity for real-world connection will emerge.

In the UK, where 82% of adults admit to having experienced loneliness, three in five have never opened up about it, a survey conducted by Ipsos showed. Meanwhile, nearly 10% of EU residents say they have no close friends, according to an OECD report.

Despite technology’s role in driving isolation, many are turning to AI chatbots that offer convincing-but-controversial companionship. New innovations will draw hype, but time and continued research will show their true role in the loneliness crisis: a band-aid at best, an active contributor at worst.

In 2026, investments in genuine human connection will prove the most effective salve. Brands are recognising in-person community-building as an emerging business opportunity, fuelling a revival of offline connection-seeking – from book clubs and adult sports leagues to networking nights and old-school meetups. This year’s Stirling Prize, a prestigious UK architecture award, was even given to a senior home focused on addressing loneliness. Across the Atlantic, new non-profits like the US Chamber of Connection are advocating for the critical value of simple connection points like community service, play and neighbourly interactions. 

“Connection is the single greatest predictor for everything from our health to economic mobility to a functioning democracy,” says Aaron Hurst, the US Chamber of Connection’s founder and CEO. He says leaders will start coming together in 2026 to “mobilise the scale of response needed" to ensure we reverse the loneliness epidemic. – Geri Silver , Edson Caldas

In 2026, a more resilient form of globalisation – the worldwide movement of goods, services and capital – will take shape, despite claims that it’s breaking down. Trade frictions between major economies will remain elevated, but that’s a feature of commercial relations between countries, not a bug. 

There are several factors driving this evolution. The US-China relationship has become much more complex over the last five years. The Covid pandemic also exposed the disadvantages of supply chains built solely with cost efficiency in mind. Business leaders are far more focused on resilience and durability than they were 10 or 20 years ago, and that determination will drive many of the strategic decisions we see in 2026.

Still, changing trade patterns is harder than it seems. A company may decide to shift its supply chains, but that shift doesn’t happen overnight – and even then, those supply chains won’t be completely localised. Companies will continue to weigh a mix of on-shoring and friend-shoring to balance efficient production and delivery, market access and national security.

At the same time, several forces will continue to push against localisation. Capital flows are dynamic and will keep moving toward economies with structural growth, technological innovation and a robust rule of law. And AI is a powerful force – one whose innovation cycles rarely adhere to national borders.

Overall, the resilience of global trade will remain good for global stability and economic growth, leading to higher living standards. Companies that build stronger local foundations will be best positioned to compete and succeed in this evolving global economy. – David Solomon , Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs

Taking pills has been part of human life for more than a century – to cure illness, to optimise wellbeing and, more recently, to set us on the path to longevity. But in 2026, pills will also be able to monitor your health, internally. OnePlanet , a Dutch innovation research centre focusing on nano and digital technology, has developed a “smart pill” that can examine one of the most inaccessible parts of the body: our gut. 

Swallow one of their ingestible devices and doctors will be able to see inside your gut. This technology could one day help detect inflammation – and even predict it – reducing the need for endoscopies while saving time, money and easing patient discomfort. An initial study published earlier this year showed that the technology can be used reliably. "We are now launching studies in various patient groups, including people with chronic inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer, to see if we can link our sensor data to the disease," said principal scientist Aniek Even of nanoelectronics research lab imec . "In the future, we hope to use our smart pills to detect diseases earlier, monitor them better and control them more quickly."

Smart pills have been around from as far back as a decade, and they are being used in various ways. The England national football team, for example, is relying on biometric pills to determine players’ readiness for the 2026 World Cup. The global smart pills market, now valued at $5bn, is expected to surpass $15bn (€13bn) by 2033. – Solange Uwimana , Melvin Captein

In 2026, the movement to pull kids off smartphones will go mainstream – reshaping everything from school rules to the devices parents buy.

Momentum has already been building, driven in part by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s bestseller “The Anxious Generation,” which argues that smartphones and social media have transformed childhood and fuelled a surge in anxiety, depression and loneliness. And calls for change are growing. Adolescence, Netflix 's most-watched limited series in 2025, ignited conversations about how the internet shapes children's mental health, while the UK's Smartphone Free Childhood campaign has gained support from thousands of parents.

In 2026, that conversation will shift into policy. More countries are poised to follow Australia, which has introduced a ban on social media platforms for children under 16, and Denmark, which will prohibit smartphones in schools during the 2026-27 academic year and is among the European countries proposing plans to ban social media for under-15-year-olds. In the US, 20 states have already banned phones in the classroom – a number expected to grow as lawmakers respond to rising pressure from parents and educators.

Changes to smartphones themselves are also on the cards. London-based smartphone maker Nothing has partnered with Mumsnet, an online community for parents, to launch a safety-focused phone for teenagers, called the Other Phone. “I remember giving my twins their first smartphones back in 2010 and thinking how brilliant it seemed. We were guinea pigs,” says Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts. “Parents can’t just wait for governments or Big Tech to act  –  they need tools that work with them, not against them.” – Edson Caldas

From the gym to the boardroom, we won’t just track biometric data in the year ahead – we’ll translate it into action.

A new era of biometric-driven training, powered by data once reserved for elite athletes, is taking hold. Large-scale events like Hyrox have normalized data-rich preparation – and Bertie Wilkins, founder of tech-forward fitness studio One City, says everyday exercisers now expect feedback and recovery plans that mirror professional sport. 

In 2026 and beyond, this data-driven mindset looks likely to extend beyond the gym. Workplace wellness will move from tracking to adapting – using biometric signals to shape schedules, environments and team dynamics.

Imagine offices that subtly respond to collective physiology, adjusting lighting, temperature and meeting length based on energy and focus patterns. Teams could even be assembled for circadian compatibility and recovery profiles, optimising wellbeing and output.

Burnout prevention could be the most compelling frontier – a predicament thought to be contributing to UK firms’ £51bn annual mental health costs. Data from companies like Whoop, Oura, Garmin and Apple Watch could guide flexible work policies, such as prompting later starts to avoid commuter rush hours. Wilkins even imagines HR roles dedicated to interpreting biometric insights. Before long, wearables could be calling the shots better than any manager ever could. – Aaron Toumazou

Europe’s official entry into the stablecoin market in 2026 will inject new energy into the global cryptocurrency landscape – and reduce the predominance of the US dollar.

Stablecoins, which peg their value to another asset such as a sovereign currency, allow money to move across borders faster and at lower cost. Dollar-backed coins from Circle and Tether have led the way, and even non-bank private entities can issue their own in the US under the Genius Act.

Today, 98% of stablecoins are pegged to the dollar – but Europe’s entry will change the structure of the market. A consortium of nine European banks, including ING and UniCredit, plan to launch a euro-backed stablecoin in the second half of 2026. Italy's Bancomat is following suit, developing a “system-level” version. The stablecoin market is worth around $280bn (€240bn) – modest, especially compared to the $3tn crypto market – but growing 75% year on year, according to the Bank of Italy. 

This all comes as Europe awaits its most important digital asset yet – the digital euro. European Union regulation enabling its issuance is expected next year, paving the way for the currency’s rollout in 2029.

The scale of a Europe-wide coin could reshape competition in payments – and the continent's central banks see strategic advantages. A shared infrastructure “would enable banks and payment service providers to develop pan-European digital solutions and compete globally,” says Chiara Scotti, deputy director general of the Bank of Italy. – Vittoria Vimercati

The global luxury market battled slower growth and increasingly selective consumers this year. In 2026, the brands that thrive will embrace celebrity stardom as the engine of luxury culture.

Burberry has alluded to this shift. Its latest Christmas campaign features a celebrity ensemble that bridges multiple cultural spheres, including actors Jennifer Saunders, Ncuti Gatwa and Tottenham Hotspur footballer Son Heung-min. Saunders herself created a viral moment at the label’s latest London Fashion Week show, reuniting with Absolutely Fabulous co-star Joanna Lumley in the front row. 

The resulting fanfare showed how celebrities’ roles in amplifying brand narratives is changing. Younger consumers increasingly access culture through stars rather than heritage, making traditional marketing less effective. One report found influential voices now deliver five times more reach and engagement than brand-owned channels.

Some brands have formalised this influence by appointing celebrities as creative directors or consultants. Jaden Smith now helms Christian Louboutin’s menswear, while Harry Styles evolved from brand muse to capsule co-creator. Others, like Prada, leverage cultural moments by teasing launches through music video tie-ins, leaning on Sabrina Carpenter’s star power this summer.

The worlds of luxury and celebrity have always intersected, but their relationship is about to reach new heights. Next year looks likely to bring record-breaking partnership deals, with the influence of real-life moments such as film premieres and personal milestones potentially outweighing the traditional fashion week calendar. Success will no longer hinge on a single campaign face; instead, the brands that break free from the luxury slowdown will assemble an all-star squad whose influence and storytelling resonate across every moment and platform. – Aaron Toumazou

Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is set to replace search engine optimisation (SEO) as the way brands get discovered in the year ahead. As consumers turn to AI chatbots, agentic workflows and answer engines, appearing prominently in generative outputs will matter more than ranking in search engines.

The field of GEO is so new that there isn't even an agreed upon name yet. A look at Google Trends shows GEO to be the most popular term – but answer engine optimisation (AEO) and generative search optimisation (GSO) are also in play. Regardless of terminology, the shift is already reshaping digital strategies. 

“The SEO industry is being pulled reluctantly into the GEO era,” says Michael King, founder of iPullRank. There’s still significant overlap between SEO and GEO practices for brands and marketers – but that won’t last forever, according to King. “That’s why we’ve shifted to a framework called ‘relevance engineering,’ which is a fusion of AI, information retrieval, content strategy, UX and digital PR. It’s designed to define this new era rather than be defined by it.” For media and ecommerce businesses focused on monetisation, it may still be too early to offer a clear path forward. Ads are not yet commonly inserted in leading chatbots and it’s unclear what they’ll look like when they do arrive – or if they’ll even be disclosed as such. Nevertheless, new models and payout systems will need to evolve or the concept of a "dead internet," or an ecosystem dominated by bots interacting with other bots, could become a real concern. – Max Lockie

From global sporting spectacles to music megastars, event tourism will be a standout travel trend in 2026 – poised to become a powerful growth driver for the industry. Sports tourism alone now accounts for 10% of global tourism spending, while the broader event tourism market – currently valued at $1.7tn (€1.5tn) – is expected to soar to $2.6tn by 2035. Gen Z travellers are leading the charge, with 62% planning to spend more on experiences than possessions in the next 12 months.

"Events are powerful catalysts for experiences," says Sylvie Christofle , researcher at the University of Côte d’Azur. Beyond individual moments, events – whether for work or leisure – can help foster community development by attracting investment in infrastructure, transport and local services.

"Organising an event in your region puts it on the map," affirms Jean-Didier Urbain, a sociologist specialising in tourism. And, in most cases, it enriches the area too. According to a study by the Excelia Hotel & Tourism School in France, every euro spent on a festival delivers an average of €2.50 in direct benefits to the regions that host them. In the UK, music tourists spent a record £10bn in 2024, while the economic impact of festivals is also spreading nationwide in Spain, creating thousands of jobs.

Sustainability is increasingly taking centre stage in event planning, giving rise to so-called regenerative events. Their guiding principle, explains Christofle, is "to leave a region in better condition than it was found, rather than merely limiting its impact". Key practices include reusing materials, sourcing supplies from local vendors and co-designing events with local participants. For the researcher, this blend of economic impact, cultural exchange and sustainable evolution represents a genuine “paradigm shift”. – Marie Malzac