April in Marketing
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This month in Marketing: April 2026 đŁ
From AI-powered loyalty to smarter packaging and shifting search behaviour, April gave marketers plenty to think about. Across the UK, the biggest themes this month were brands moving from AI experiments to practical deployment, first-party data becoming even more valuable, and discoverability no longer being just about clicks.
The Future of Digital Marketing đ
Search visibility is changing fast as AI summaries become mainstream
Fresh data from Ofcom, published on 2 April 2026, showed just how quickly consumer behaviour is shifting. The regulator found that 54% of UK adults say they use AI tools, up from 31% a year earlier, while 75% of online adults say they read AI-generated search summaries at least sometimes.
Why it matters:
For marketers, this is a big reminder that visibility is no longer only about winning the click. Brands now need to be understood and surfaced by AI-led interfaces too, which puts more pressure on authority, clarity and trusted source signals.
Intelligent Data & Customer Insights đ
Tesco and Adobe launched one of the month’s most interesting AI personalisation plays
Tesco and Adobe announced a strategic AI partnership focused on creating more personalised shopping experiences. The partnership includes the use of Adobe AI and agentic AI capabilities to better interpret customer needs, as well as a new Tesco x Adobe Innovation Lab to test AI-driven personalisation and support faster on-brand content production.
Why it matters:
This feels like a strong example of where marketing is going next: connecting loyalty data, customer insight, decisioning and creative production in a much more joined-up way.
Tesco also turned packaging into a richer customer data and content channel
Later in the month, Tesco announced that its own-brand core sausage range had become the first UK product range to switch exclusively to QR codes, replacing traditional barcodes. The retailer said the move will give shoppers access to richer product information, including traceability and additional digital content.
Why it matters:
Packaging is increasingly becoming media. For marketers, QR-enabled products open up new opportunities around storytelling, recipes, loyalty, post-purchase engagement and richer measurement beyond the shelf.
AI Powered Marketing đ€
UK marketers are feeling more confident enough to increase spend
The IPA Bellwether Report, published on 16 April 2026, found that UK companies revised their marketing budgets up to the highest level in almost two years in Q1 2026, despite wider geopolitical uncertainty.
Why it matters:
This matters because it suggests marketers are not just talking about growth, experimentation and AI efficiency gains, they are putting budget behind them. In a cautious climate, that makes this a meaningful confidence signal for the industry.
April also brought a sharp reminder that AI creativity still needs human judgement
Not every AI story this month was a success story. The Guardian reported backlash against British AI company Narwhal Labs over a controversial ad campaign that drew complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). One of the ads featured a woman next to the line: “She outworks everyone. And she’ll never ask for a raise.” The campaign appeared at Bristol Airport before being removed following the backlash.
Why it matters:
As more teams experiment with AI-assisted creative, this is a reminder that speed and provocation are different from good marketing. Human oversight, brand judgement and ethics still matter, especially when campaigns can travel so quickly.
The bigger picture đ
If April proved anything, it is that marketing is entering a more blended era, where AI, data and creativity are no longer separate conversations. The winners will be the brands that can combine trusted customer insight with strong creative judgement and show up well across both human and AI-led discovery.
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