New Research Reveals Key Digital Content Trends for 2026

Canto's State of Digital Content Report highlights the impact of fragmented content systems on businesses

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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Canto, a leader in AI-powered digital asset management, has released its fourth-annual State of Digital Content report, which examines how content and creative teams are scaling production while dealing with operational friction across disconnected tools, workflows, and repositories. The report identifies the measurable business impact of fragmentation in content and creative operations, including employee frustration, wasted budgets, duplicated work, missed revenue opportunities, and delayed campaign launches. It also highlights the advantages of connectivity, with content and creative teams with full connectivity between product content and digital assets over four times more likely to report significant improvements in content ROI.

Why it matters

The report underscores the growing importance of centralized and connected content management systems in the AI era, as businesses struggle with the costs of fragmented content workflows, including decreased productivity, wasted resources, and missed revenue opportunities. As content production and distribution continues to expand across more channels, the ability to efficiently manage and update digital assets and product information becomes increasingly critical for maintaining brand consistency and driving business results.

The details

Key findings from the report include: 54% of teams using AI for asset search say locating assets is 'extremely easy,' compared to only 6% of teams who are not using AI; teams using two or more solutions to manage digital assets were more likely to report delayed campaign launches, missed revenue, burnout, and wasted budget than teams using one solution; only 35% of respondents feel very confident employees are always using the most up to date, approved version of brand assets; and only 32% can update content or product information across channels immediately, with most teams needing a few days or up to a week. The report also found that faster content updates correlate with stronger revenue outcomes, with 65% of teams that can make real-time updates reporting significant revenue increases, versus 16% among teams with slower update timelines.

  • The survey was fielded in November 2025.

The players

Canto

A leader in digital asset management (DAM), helping global brands maximize the value of their digital content with an intuitive, AI-powered platform.

Ascend2 Research

The research partner that conducted the online survey of 434 professionals involved in content and creative asset production, management, or strategy.

Jen Neary

Director of Content & Communications at Canto.

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What they’re saying

“Content and creative teams are under so much pressure right now to move faster across more and more channels while still keeping brand and product information accurate. The State of Digital Content 2026 shows that the cost of fragmentation is concrete, and it shows up in wasted spend, duplicated work, and frustrated teams. It also shows a clear path forward. When brands centralize assets and connect them to product content, it becomes easier to govern what is current, update information quickly, and reuse work instead of recreating it. The result is better execution, stronger consistency, and more measurable ROI.”

— Jen Neary, Director of Content & Communications at Canto

What’s next

The full State of Digital Content 2026 report is available for download on Canto's website.

The takeaway

The report highlights the growing need for centralized and connected content management systems to help businesses overcome the challenges of fragmented content workflows, including decreased productivity, wasted resources, and missed revenue opportunities. As content production and distribution continues to expand, the ability to efficiently manage and update digital assets and product information will be critical for maintaining brand consistency and driving business results.