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With 2025 almost at its end, we’re seeing a lot of businesses and institutions lean back to consider the coming year. Given how chaotic 2025 has been, with how AI, conflicts, and policies have affected business, how good can 2026 be? Surprisingly, a lot of businesses are still optimistic about what lies ahead.

According to a recent survey by McKinsey & Company, 63% of executives expect profits to rise in the next six months. This anticipation of stronger demand and profits in 2026 comes as concerns about trade policy have begun to recede.

So, if you run a business or are in a position of power, what changes should you be making for 2026 before it begins? Today, we’ll explore three key shifts that are happening that can give you some perspective. Let’s jump right in.

1. Moving Back To Core, Cash-Generating Ventures

One change that is clearly visible is the shift away from certain priorities. The best examples of this seem to be DEI and ESG initiatives. For a time, businesses seemed to be heavily invested in these causes. There were entire departments dedicated to DEI and ESG, with full apparent support from leadership.

However, as we’ve seen with some of the major layoffs in 2025, it’s these departments that get the axe first. Likewise, PR Newswire highlights data from The Conference Board, which shows that 80% of corporations are now reworking ESG strategies. They also found that 90% of respondents believed backlash against ESG will persist or even intensify over the next few years.

To industry veterans, this isn’t surprising. In a capitalist society, anything that takes away from profits isn’t likely to last long anyway. Now, supporters of DEI and ESG initiatives will also have to prove their financial benefits, which wasn’t expected earlier.
At the same time, considering how many consumers care about sustainability, ESG will continue to prevail in some form or another.

2. More Widespread AI Implementation

Over the last two years, countless companies have tested the waters with AI and understood its value. Thus, it’s likely that in 2026, true integration of AI will become more widespread. Initially, we’re likely to see much more of the ‘low-risk’ implementations, like website design.

As Hocoos explains, many businesses have already used AI to create entire websites with template builders. You simply answer a few questions regarding your needs, and AI takes care of the rest. Such quick-and-easy AI use cases are going to skyrocket when businesses see the cost savings to be had.

Deeper into 2026, we will likely see businesses willing to invest in more advanced features like chatbots, custom analytical tools, and more. While we’ve already seen these used by businesses, it’s only going to get more widespread from here on. It also goes without saying that AI that actively increases efficiency and saves money will get priority over QOL AI tools.

3. Reskilling and Repurposing of Employees

This is another change that is also driven by the rise of AI. As businesses begin to implement AI tools and services, it’s going to significantly affect employee roles. While some businesses will turn to layoffs, others might choose to reskill and repurpose them. This is highly likely in situations where the business has already invested considerably in the employee.

For instance, Gartner predicts that by 2028, in niches like B2B procurement, 90% of buying will be handled via AI agents. They believe that over $15 trillion in B2B spending will soon be under AI agent exchanges. Given the very real fear that AI will take over many roles, it’s not a stretch to imagine mass employee reevaluation.

This will undoubtedly be a challenging time for both businesses and employees. On one hand, employees have to deal with the double frustration from the loss of responsibilities along with skill-up requirements. On the other hand, employers have to deal with the challenge of finding the right role to redirect their displaced workers to.

Ultimately, the world of business is looking incredibly interesting in 2026. It will be the first time that we’ll witness the results of the last few years of AI investment pay off. It will also be interesting to see some of the novel ways that AI ends up being used.

So far, the initial implementation has often felt forced and tacked on, and just for the sake of it. However, with the maturation that AI has seen in recent years, we’ll likely see several revolutionary use-case scenarios for businesses.