As generative AI tools accelerate content creation, brands of every size are under growing pressure to stand out—making visual strategy more essential than ever. According to iStock’s VisualGPS research, six out of ten people now say they distrust the advertising they see, largely because they believe it is AI-generated, manipulated, or inauthentic. For SMBs this trust gap creates both a challenge and an opportunity: audiences are consuming more content than ever, but they’re also demanding greater credibility, originality, and authenticity from the brands they engage with.
“SMBs today operate in a landscape where content volume is exploding, but trust is shrinking,” said Dr. Rebecca Swift, Senior Vice President of Creative for iStock. “Consumers aren’t just scanning visuals, they’re scrutinising them. They want to feel a human touch, a point of view, a sense of truth, and something that feels real. These emerging trends show where audience expectations are heading and help businesses create visuals that feel personal, unexpected, and genuinely relatable. When SMBs understand these shifts, they can cut through the digital noise and build stronger, more meaningful connections with their customers.”
Here are iStock’s key marketing trends for SMBS in 2026:
-
The Risk of Visual ‘Sameness’
As generative tools become embedded across everyday marketing, from presentations and emails to websites, pitch decks and social posts, brands are creating more visuals than ever. VisualGPS data shows that 38% of Brits are using generative AI more often than a year ago, because it is easy to produce fast, polished content. The downside: a lot of content looks and feels the same.
In a sea of look-alike visuals, standing out requires intentional differentiation. VisualGPS image testing revealed that 83% of respondents globally say higher-quality images are more likely to stand out, underscoring the importance of clarity, realism, and craftsmanship – whether content is AI-generated or not.
For SMBs, the opportunity lies in balancing smart use of AI with authenticity. Generative tools can be used to modify real images which helps customise tone, colour, composition, while maintaining the credibility of human craft – especially given that 67% of British consumers say they prefer “real” images in advertising.
-
Designing for Randomness
Randomness is what drives in-person shopping, serendipitous discoveries, and that feeling of stumbling onto something new, both in visuals and in brand storytelling. VisualGPS research shows that skin that appears too smooth, hyper-symmetrical, or clinical and uniform lighting, are some of the biggest visual giveaways that make people think an image is AI. And once an image feels generated, trust quickly erodes.
Algorithmic precision is driving a renewed appetite for materials, textures, and naive, childlike art, anything that feels – and looks – unmistakably human. For SMBs, this means leaning into simplicity, embracing the kinds of visuals that show process, not perfection and that prioritise candor over staging. In a world dominated by artificial and polish, it’s the “happy accidents” that signal authenticity —and that authenticity is exactly what audiences are now seeking.
-
Comfort is Everything
VisualGPS reveals that British consumers’ top concerns today include world peace, inflation, and increased cost of goods/services. In a landscape shaped by economic pressure, job anxiety and ongoing global crises, research shows that what people want most in the next three years is to focus on their own and loved ones’ physical health and financial security.
This collective desire for personal wellbeing is pushing a broader shift toward pause, reset and regeneration. Within this context, comfort becomes the new aspiration: comfort in how we travel, how we work and how we spend time with the people who matter. Visually, this means showing restful, restorative experiences and capturing social moments that reflect “slowness”: small gatherings, meaningful interactions, and friendships that grow over time. Consider imagery that communicates growth, repair, balance, and renewal, signaling the grounded, restorative future audiences want to see.
To inspire and elevate your visual marketing strategy ahead of 2026 with related imagery and videos, visit https://www.istockphoto.com/.