AI is changing the way people discover information, consume content, and interact with brands. Search results are increasingly being summarized by AI. Content can be generated in seconds. Advertising can be automated and optimized at an unprecedented scale. And consumers are beginning to use AI not just to find information, but to evaluate products and make purchasing decisions. The newly-released IAB 2026 Outlook Study: September Update highlights this shift, identifying the challenge of keeping pace with evolving consumer behavior as consumers turn to AI for product discovery, evaluation, and purchase.
That shift creates a new question for marketers: How do you build influence when more of the consumer journey is being shaped by algorithms? As AI increasingly helps people decide what to consider and what to buy, the value of human connection may actually increase.
That’s where podcasts have a unique advantage. Podcasts are built around people: hosts with personalities, opinions, expertise, and loyal audiences. Listeners don’t simply consume information; they develop relationships with the voices they hear regularly. A host sharing why they use a product or telling a personal story can make an advertisement feel less like an interruption and more like a recommendation from someone the listener trusts.
This matters even more as consumers encounter an ever-growing volume of AI-generated content and automated advertising. Who delivers a message can matter just as much as what the message says. Podcasts give brands the opportunity to connect with audiences through trusted voices, while also reaching people within content that is highly relevant to their interests, behaviors, professions, or passions.
AI will undoubtedly make advertising more efficient. But efficiency isn’t the same thing as influence. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in discovery, evaluation, and purchasing decisions, the brands people already know, recognize, and trust may have an advantage. You don’t just want people learning about your brand. You want them hearing about it from trusted voices, building associations with it, and remembering it, so that when they eventually plug your brand into AI, there’s already a story, a recommendation, and a relationship behind it.
