2026 APAC REPORT

FUTURE OF
Communications

Five research modules on the forces rewriting communications across Asia Pacific — AI, social & influence, earned media, B2B and health. Built and presented to leadership teams around the region by We. Communications.

Explore the five modules

134 pages · 5 modules · free with a work email

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ChatGPT weekly active users — an 8× increase since 2023

0%

of APAC business buyers use generative AI to research or compare vendors

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of LLM citations are non-paid media — earned authority wins AI search

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of Asian consumers have watched or purchased via livestream commerce

THE SERIES

Five modules. One future.

Each module stands alone as a leadership briefing — together they map the full communications landscape heading into 2026. Read every page in the on-site reader.

MODULE 01 · AI

AI: Reality Over Hype

Adoption and investment are rising at unprecedented scale — but dig deeper and the day-to-day reality is more measured. Will 2026 be the year AI finally delivers transformative ROI?

75%

of knowledge workers now use AI at work — nearly half adopted it in just the past six months.

50%

of company GenAI budgets go to sales and marketing — the largest share of any function.

1 in 4

AI initiatives hit their expected ROI in the past three years. Only 1 in 5 have scaled enterprise-wide.

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31 pages: APAC's AI-agent lead, the zero-click search shift, new AI-era KPIs, the disinformation threat and our 2026 recommendations for leaders, brands and the AI-hesitant.

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31 pages in the on-site reader — flip through every page, and switch modules as you go.

Read the AI module summary, preview and contents →

MODULE 02 · SOCIAL & INFLUENCE

The Social Future Starts in APAC

Global internet users are on 6–7 platforms a month, there are more social profiles than people in several APAC markets, and modern commerce is social. The region isn't following the social future — it's writing it.

69%

of marketers agree more shopping will happen directly on social than on brand websites or marketplaces.

77%

of people wish their favourite brands had a community — members spend 19% more after joining one.

$300B

creator economy is thriving — and virtual influencers and AI avatars are moving in.

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24 pages: the platform primer, Gen Z's music-first playbook, livestream commerce, TikTok's cultural hold and six recommendations — from trend-ops to “DM is the new CRM.”

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24 pages in the on-site reader — flip through every page, and switch modules as you go.

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MODULE 03 · EARNED MEDIA

From Masthead to Models

Journalism is in perma-crisis — and this time AI is the new middleman. Audiences bypass outlets entirely while global trust in news sits at 40%. Earned media isn't dying; it's decentralising.

69%

of all news searches on Google now end without a click through to a news website.

65%

of people now consume social video news, up from 52% in 2020.

97%

of publishers are actively investing in AI, particularly in editorial functions.

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29 pages: the content solar system for AI search, the Substack and journopreneur economy, AI newsrooms and avatars, the print zag — and how to pitch new media in 2026.

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29 pages in the on-site reader — flip through every page, and switch modules as you go.

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MODULE 04 · FUTURE OF B2B

Shortlists Before Sales

The traditional rules of corporate and B2B marketing are gone. AI avatars deliver financial results, 200 influencers post about quantum chips, and GenAI is now the #1 source influencing vendor shortlists.

57–70%

of the B2B buying decision is complete before buyers ever engage with sales — if they do at all.

71%

of B2B buyers globally are now millennials — tight groups of 3–4, social-first and sales-averse.

81%

of APAC B2B decision-makers say poor crisis response directly reduces likelihood of future business.

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31 pages: the new deal funnel, TikTok/Reddit/WhatsApp for business, always-on influencer programs, the social-savvy CEO effect and AI-era measurement.

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31 pages in the on-site reader — flip through every page, and switch modules as you go.

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MODULE 05 · AI IN HEALTH

AI in Health

Healthcare faces an 11-million-worker global shortfall by 2030 and 47-day specialist wait times in APAC. AI will certainly try to solve it all — McKinsey estimates $60–110B a year in economic value from GenAI in health.

48%

of global clinicians already use AI tools at work every day — double the 26% reported in 2024.

83.6%

of health information queries now trigger AI overviews. “Dr. Google” has become “Dr. ChatGPT.”

723%

year-on-year increase in APAC healthtech fraud in Q1 2025 — health deepfakes rose 245% globally.

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19 pages: the regulatory map across 12+ APAC markets, AI doctor and nurse agents, health influencer avatars, the deepfake threat and four takeaways for health communicators.

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19 pages in the on-site reader — flip through every page, and switch modules as you go.

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ABOUT THE SERIES

Presented to leadership teams across Asia Pacific

The Future of Communications is a thought-leadership series researched and written by We. Communications. Custom sessions are available on every module — tailored to your market, your category and your leadership team.

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