Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
I recently published an article about 2026 predictions in pop culture. If you haven’t seen it, I hope you’ll check it out. I wrote the article because of an artificial intelligence (AI) experiment I did last year where I asked ChatGPT for predictions in business and pop culture. So today, I want to give you a quick debrief on how ChatGPT did with its 2025 business predictions … and share its business predictions for this year.
In my personal opinion, I believe ChatGPT did pretty poorly in its 2025 predictions. On their “in” list was remote / hybrid work, sustainability, and diversity / inclusion. If you’ve been reading the news, then you know many organizations are moving away from these topics. On the “out” list was cash transactions and non-digital customer service. From my experience, organizations are looking for customers to pay with cast – or add on service fees. And the companies I’ve contacted recently are all about AI customer service. Oh well, my takeaway is artificial intelligence doesn’t always get it right. We’re going to want to remember this when it comes to using AI in our personal and professional lives.
That being said, all the AI organizations tell us that AI is constantly learning so it can improve. So, let’s give AI another try. We asked the same question, “What’s going to be ‘in’ and ‘out’ in business for 2026?” Like last year, I’m not going to list their predictions about artificial intelligence. It’s just sounds too promotional to say, “AI says that AI will be ‘in’ for 2026”. Oh, and to offer some contrast, I asked both ChatGPT and Google Gemini.
What’s IN for business in 2026?
ChatGPT: preemptive cybersecurity, flexible work environments, real-time decision-making, digital upskilling, tailored customer experiences to build brand loyalty, and sustainability as part of a core business strategy.
Google Gemini: networking within smaller more trusting groups (i.e., “tribes”), selling human access as a luxury, chaotic / messy marketing (think “weird” vibes), managers as coaches, and radical candor.
What’s OUT for business in 2026?
ChatGPT: outdated websites, transactional experiences, command and control leadership, single-channel sales approaches, generic marketing, and treating hybrid work as a temporary perk.
Google Gemini: leaders who avoid politics, greenwashing, fast shipping, hustle culture, obsessing over internet views and reach, and “spray and pray” advertising.
I must say there are some interesting themes in these predictions. It seems like many of the predictions are related to effectiveness and efficiency. No surprise there. Organizations are always looking for ways to be more effective and efficient. What will be interesting is to see if they do some of the actions suggested like digital upskilling and sustainability. And to what extent?
There’s also a core theme around delivering good experiences, whether that’s part of the customer experience or the employee experience. I thought the predictions around leadership, management, and radical candor were fascinating. Especially in our current political and social climate. Again, developing leaders and managers isn’t a new conversation. What will be interesting is 1) do organizations start focusing on developing their workforce? And 2) to what extent?
Like the pop culture AI experiment, I think this is a (fun) and educational way to learn how to use AI and measure its effectiveness. Artificial intelligence isn’t going away, in fact, quite the opposite. So, learning more about it and developing some opinions about the best way to use it are critical.
Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of San Francisco, CA
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