The perspectives shaping this report converge on a shared conclusion - as AI reshapes how researchers discover and consume content, publishers must invest more deeply in understanding their audiences, not less. That means gathering richer behavioral data to reach researchers earlier in the knowledge cycle, embracing new formats from podcasts to vertical video, and building the kind of trusted community spaces that automation alone cannot replicate. There's also a harder conversation emerging around value and transparency, helping researchers understand why high-quality publishing requires real investment even as AI-generated content puts new pressure on integrity and standards. Taken together, these perspectives point toward a more audience-led, personalized scholarly publishing ecosystem, where the publisher's role evolves from content distributor to something closer to an engine of knowledge.
Here's our contributor's predictions on how publishers' approach will change in 2026:
"Publishers will need to continue to research and understand the way users are looking for answers. Voice search, Gen AI and other routes in will increase in importance." —Nancy Roberts, Head of Tech & Content, Maverick
"A renewed focus on the niche and focused community each journal serves, which means gathering better behavioral data and using those observations to connect people early in the research cycle for good rather than evil" —David Haber, Publishing Ops Director, American Society for Microbiology
“Publishers need to open up the black box to help researchers understand why high-quality publishing is expensive; those costs are only going to get higher as publishers invest in technology to battle AI-generated nonsense.” —James Butcher, Director, Journalology
“Communities build trust and they share standards and values. Automation puts barriers between people and I think that inevitably erodes trust, standards and values. People want conversation. I think personal engagement between publishers and their communities pays dividends.” —Adam Day, CEO, Clear Skies Ltd
“Publishers need to focus on becoming the engine of knowledge—delivering curated insights, collaboration tools, and value-added services researchers truly need. Podcasts, vertical videos, immersive formats—AI-generated or not—will open new channels for engagement, making scholarly communication more dynamic and interactive.” —Teo Pulvirenti, Vice President, Global Editorial Strategy, ACS Publications
"I predict scholarly publishers are going to rapidly catch up to B2B publishers, becoming more audience-led, more personalized, and more focused on audience experience and delight – in particular the author-audience." —John Challice, SVP, Business Development, Hum
Read the full 2026 Publishing Tech Trends Report, and subscribe to our newsletter for more insights.