CES 2026 was full of big ideas, but what stood out most wasn’t what was new; it was how familiar many of the challenges sounded. Across panels and conversations, we kept hearing leaders describe the “next frontier” in media and marketing. In many cases, they were problems Futuri has already wrestled with or is actively solving.
At Futuri, we are experienced media executives, marketers, and technologists who build AI for people who have lived the pressure of deadlines, ratings, revenue, and newsroom reality. CES just underlined how uncommon that perspective is, and how powerful it can be when it shows up in the wild.
Human-Led AI Is Not a Trend. It Is the Baseline.
This message kept resurfacing at CES, no matter the room or the speaker. Humans still need the wheel.
Taste. Judgment. Context. Perspective.
Those do not scale neatly, and they probably should not.
Yes, AI can accelerate work. Sharpen it. Take the repetitive tasks off your plate. But replacing human instinct? That is a line most people are not eager to cross. And frankly, neither are we.
This is not some shiny philosophy we picked up in Vegas. It has been baked into Futuri from the start. People set the direction. Our technology clears the roadblocks. That is the deal. We do not automate just to say we did. We build tools that slide into real workflows without drama, without disruption, and without forcing teams to relearn how to think.
Technology should help you breathe easier, not make you nervous.
At CES, industry leaders kept circling the same advice:
- Use AI to protect and extend your business, not gamble it
- Look forward with AI, not just inward at efficiency
- Double down on trust and transparency as adoption ramps up
For us, that is not aspirational language. It is Tuesday. It is how we operate, backed by real-world outcomes and partners who trust us enough to keep coming back.
Marketing Is Less About “Who” and More About “Why”
Another shift came through loud and clear, and honestly, it has been building for a while. Traditional demographic targeting is starting to feel a little tired. The real energy is moving toward intent, motivation, and context. The why behind behavior.
Marketers at CES were not mincing words:
- First-party data is no longer optional; it is oxygen
- Testing is not a nice-to-have. If you do not measure, you are guessing
- Audiences should shape the ecosystem, not be squeezed into it
- Influence beats control, every time
- Marketing is an experience, not just a broadcast
- Creative leads, platforms follow, not the other way around
None of that feels radical to us. It feels logical. The best strategies do not chase algorithms like lottery tickets. They start with people. Messy, emotional, inconsistent people. Then they build outward from there.
That has been core to how we think about content intelligence and performance-driven creativity for years. Trends come and go. Human behavior sticks around.
Trust Was Everywhere, for Good Reason
If CES 2026 had a single heartbeat, it was trust.
Trust in data.
Trust in AI outputs.
Trust in brands.
Trust in intent, how and why technology is being used at all.
You could feel it in the questions people asked. Not “Can this do more?” but “Can I rely on this?” As AI weaves itself deeper into daily workflows, trust stops being abstract. It becomes the deciding factor in adoption, impact, and longevity.
That is why we obsess over transparency. Proof. Systems that explain themselves instead of acting like black boxes with confidence issues. Innovation does not win just because it is new. It wins when it fits quietly and naturally into how people already work.
Walking Out of CES Feeling Grounded
CES is never short on shiny objects. New technology everywhere you look. Big promises. Bigger screens.
But what stayed with us this year was recognition. Hearing media leaders describe a future that, in many ways, already looks like Futuri’s present was grounding in the best possible way.
We are heading home energized. Confident. Proud, honestly. Proud of what we are building and who we are building it with. Broadcasters, publishers, marketers who care about quality, outcomes, and doing this the right way.
If CES 2026 proved anything, it is this. When trust leads and human insight stays in charge, the future does not feel so intimidating. It feels workable. Familiar, even.
And yes…very exciting.
