The report positions 2026 as the inflection point where marketing moves decisively from generative AI pilots and proofs of concept to agentic execution at scale.

Drawing on industry research from Gartner, Forrester, McKinsey, Anthropic, HubSpot, and Netcore’s operating insights across global enterprises, the report concludes that consumer agentic marketing in 2026 will be defined by multi-agent systems, Brand Twins, Agentic Commerce, human attention, outcomes-based pricing, and profitability.

Multi-agent systems move from pilots to performance

A core finding of Netcore Agentic Predictions 2026 is the transition from isolated AI assistants to orchestrated multi-agent systems (MAS) that operate across the full marketing lifecycle; content, segmentation, decisioning, optimisation, and insights.

The data points to rapid momentum:

• Multi-agent systems outperform single-agent architectures by 90.2% on complex tasks (Anthropic, 2025)
• 56% of organisations report improved scalability after adopting multi-agent approaches (Forrester, 2025)
• 50% of enterprises say MAS adoption creates competitive differentiation (Gartner, 2025)
• Gartner recorded a 1,445% surge in multi-agent system–related queries between 2024 and 2025

The report notes that specialised agents now operate under an always-on orchestrator, continuously adapting to customer behaviour and business goals in real time.

This replaces fragmented stacks and manual coordination with self-optimising marketing engines.

Brand Twins replace reach with relevance

The report introduces Brand Twins as a defining construct of the consumer agentic era. These are always-on, brand-owned AI agents that deeply understand individual consumers and act on their behalf, moving marketing away from mass outreach toward relevance at scale.

The urgency is driven by attention collapse:

• 73% of consumers skim content, while only 27% engage meaningfully (HubSpot)
• The average human attention span has fallen to 8.25 seconds, lower than a goldfish’s 9 seconds (Samba Recovery)

According to the report, Brand Twins continuously learn consumer intent, preferences, and behaviour, enabling fewer but more relevant interactions. Marketing becomes quieter, more contextual, and increasingly trust-led.

Agentic commerce reaches a tipping point

E-commerce is identified as the first sector to fully feel the impact of agentic AI. Key indicators cited in Netcore Agentic Predictions 2026 include:

• By 2030, AI agents will influence 20% of e-commerce transactions (Gartner)
• By 2028, 33% of organisations will adopt agentic AI
• By 2028, 15% of AI agents will make daily autonomous decisions (Gartner)

The report predicts the emergence of agent-to-agent (A2A) commerce, where brand agents and consumer agents negotiate pricing, promotions, inventory, and recommendations in real time, making commerce dynamic, adaptive, and continuously optimised.

Human attention becomes the ultimate growth moat

As consumers increasingly rely on AI agents to filter choices, the report forecasts a dual-audience reality – humans and AI agents acting in parallel.

This shift elevates attention as the scarcest resource:

• Human attention spans declined from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds by 2013, and continue to compress
• AI agents act as gatekeepers, screening relevance before humans engage

The report concludes that brands capable of appealing to human emotion and agent logic simultaneously will convert attention into loyalty, customer lifetime value, and long-term growth.

Outcome-based pricing replaces martech sprawl

One of the report’s strongest predictions is a structural reset in how marketing technology is priced and evaluated.

The data highlights widespread inefficiency:

• 55% of marketers are dissatisfied with martech cost versus value (MarTech)
• Martech cost sensitivity rose from 37% in 2023 to 61% in 2024
• 99% of marketers underutilise their martech stack
• 40% cannot measure ROI, and 18% report no clear ROI (SalesManago)
• 47% of leaders cite stack complexity as the barrier to realising value (McKinsey)

The report predicts a shift toward outcome-based pricing, where brands pay for measurable results, conversions, revenue, and customer lifetime value—rather than licenses and usage.

The CMO is redefined

As execution becomes autonomous, leadership accountability moves upstream.

65% of CMOs believe AI will fundamentally change their role within the next two years (Gartner, 2025)

Netcore Agentic Predictions 2026 forecasts the evolution of the CMO into a Chief AI and Chief Profits Officer, responsible for orchestrating AI systems and directly owning growth outcomes.

“2025 was about proving that AI works. 2026 will be about proving that it delivers,” said Rajesh Jain, Founder & MD, Netcore Cloud. “As autonomous agents take over execution, marketing’s real constraint is no longer technology – it’s attention, outcomes, and accountability. Agentic systems fundamentally change the equation by making growth measurable, continuous, and owned. This is not a tooling upgrade; it’s a new operating model for marketing.”

In a celebration of innovation, technology, and storytelling, the company also took home the award for Best Use of Data in a Marketing Campaign at the Nigeria MarTech (MarkHack 4.0) Awards Night.

This award recognizes brands that have successfully transformed data into compelling narratives and actionable insights to meaningfully engage their audiences.

Akinbulejo Onabolu, senior manager, Segment Management, Enterprise Business at MTN, joined a panel to discuss the power of immersive technologies on consumer behaviour.

Drawing from MTN’s launch of its 5G Digital Experience Centre in Abuja last year, Onabolu highlighted the rapid evolution of immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) stating

“Our 5G centre is a sandbox for our customers to come and see how technology can shape things. At the launch event, we unveiled a smart city to customers, clients and dignitaries in attendance, with gaming and other tech experiences.” 

On the intersection of data, AR and VR, he added:

“Co-creating with MTN takes our minds to a platform where different partners, companies and creators can bring their buildings, products and businesses for people to see via augmented reality and connectivity, just swiping through and following through that journey. As a part of impacting our customer’s lives, a few years ago, we also played around with the Metaverse and we ended up creating some of our back-office processes with some of our customer journeys on augmented reality and virtual reality such that a customer somewhere can engage with a virtual agent to solve real life problems and integrating that back into our operating systems. As an organization, at a lot of our events, you will find a lot of AR and VR experiences.”

Speaking on how MTN is embedding immersive technology into its day-to-day operations, he explained that the company is prioritizing both internal capability development and external engagement.

“85% of our organization has undergone extensive training on AI and that already is a great addition to our daily lives. We’re using it to do things differently, developing user journeys and brainstorming different things. In terms of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, we are working with organizations to develop training programs which we use internally.”

He described the bases for this tech as stable connectivity, high bandwidth, high speed and low latency.

“Over the past year, we’ve doubled our 5G capacity across the entire country. Wherever you are, you’ll probably start to pick up 5G. With our FibreX service, we’re going way beyond connectivity to create the systems and platforms to support the ecosystem, AR and VR. In addition to this, we’re also engaging regulatory systems to start to tease this out and build the proper governance.”

The session, moderated by Daniel Adeyemi, managing editor at Condia Business, also featured insights from leaders in FMCG, consulting, and global marketing, all underscoring the transformative potential of immersive technologies for Africa’s future.

This year’s conference, themed “Marketing in the New Economy: Data-Driven Success in Challenging Times”, reflects the urgent need for African marketers, businesses, and policy leaders to evolve with the digital era and economy and reshape Africa’s marketing future.

According to Victor Ojeakhena, the co-founder/CEO of Marketing Analytics Africa, the Africa Marketing Technology and E-commerce Conference (AMTEC) is an annual marketing event that brings together thought leaders, executives, marketing innovators, and data strategists from across Africa to explore the latest trends, tools and tactics in martech, e-commerce, data intelligence, and customer experience optimisation, all essential for thriving in today’s economic landscape.

Victor also hinted that this year’s AMTEC event will feature a top line up marketing professionals like Feyi Olubodun, Managing Partner at Open Squares Africa; Maurice Igugu, the Chief Marketing Officer at Sterling Bank Plc; Tomisin Adetola, Colgate’s Head of Marketing; Chinwe Bode-Akinwande (CBA), Head of Sponsorship and Events at First Bank, among others.

In a show of strong industry collaboration, brands like Colgate, Nutrify, Addmie, Indomie, Ladycare, DStv Nigeria, Dochase, Legit.ng, Cybertron, Accret Experience, among others, have joined MAA as official partners for #AMTEC2025.

These partnerships further cement the event’s credibility and impact as Africa’s leading martech and e-commerce knowledge hub.

While disclosing why AMTEC 2025 matters, Victor Ojeakhena hinted that the event has a focus on transformation, insights, and inclusion, thereby aiming to: empower brands and marketers with cutting-edge digital marketing strategies, showcase the role of data and emerging technologies in achieving scalable growth, provide a networking platform for professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors, and drive partnerships and collaborations for sustainable innovation across Africa.

AMTEC 2025 is scheduled to take place on the 24th day of May, 2025, at Landmark Events & Conference Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, by 9:00 AM prompt.

Marketing Analytics Africa is calling on all marketing leaders, top executives and professionals, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises who are in search of fresh marketing ideas and innovations, to be part of AMTEC 2025.

Forget dusty old playbooks – they’re throwing open the doors to a new era of “Turning on the Market” through creativity and cutting-edge technology.

Nestled in the heart of Lagos’ vibrant tech hub, Teon Engine doesn’t just talk innovation, it embodies it. Its arsenal? The Teon Suites, a suite of meticulously crafted tools designed to empower brands at every stage of their marketing journey. This isn’t just storytelling, it is storyselling.

Its comprehensive suite of “MarTech” solutions is designed to empower brands across every stage of the marketing journey. One of such is the TrendTeon.

This innovation isn’t the average social listening tool. TrendTeon acts as a campaign aggregation platform, facilitating direct connections between brands and influencers. Forget sifting through endless profiles – both parties can easily find ideal partners, streamlining collaboration and maximizing efficiency.

PollTeon, another innovative tool from Teon Engine is designed to crave audience insights. PollTeon serves as your opinion-gathering powerhouse. Craft engaging polls, collect valuable data, and analyze results with ease.

It also enables users to share their findings seamlessly and gain a deeper understanding of their target audience.

On the other hand, SurveyTeon enables users to dive deeper with and positioned to be a researcher’s dream tool. It designs dynamic surveys with diverse question types, gather high-quality data, and extract meaningful insights to inform your next steps.

The Teon Suites are more than just tools. Teon Engine’s power lies in its combination of technology and human expertise.

Funke Ogunsina, chief operating officer, highlights this transformative approach:

“Teon Engine represents a paradigm shift in African marketing communications. We blend cutting-edge technology with deep strategic expertise, empowering brands to unlock their full potential and truly ‘Turn on the Market’.”

Ogunsina emphasizes Teon Engine’s commitment to pushing boundaries saying;

“We operate under the ‘FURTHER FORWARD’ ideology, constantly pushing boundaries and unlocking new possibilities for clients. Marketing communication needs continuous reinvention, and we’re here to lead the charge.”

Teon Engine is already making waves, partnering with Prof Tunji Azeez an astute professor in LASU, Marketing Edge the leading marketing news platform in Nigeria and so many other collaborations and partnership are in the works and will be announced subsequently.

With its data-driven approach, powerful tools, and dedication to growth, Teon Engine is poised to be a game-changer in the African marketing landscape.

They’re not just telling brand stories, they’re empowering brands to become active participants in the conversation, one click, one insight, one connection at a time.

This was made known at the 2023 Netcore Cloud Smartech’s Awards Night and Masque Ball which was held in Lagos recently.

According to Nisham Chhabra, Netcore’s Vice President for the Middle East and Africa (MEA), the acceptance, utilization and adoption of marketing technology in Nigeria has grown exponentially and this has led to a mutually-engaging and beneficial relationship between the various brands and their customers.

He said:

“Netcore’s mandate is to deliver a highly personalized and exceptional customer experience with a human face. Since we began in Nigeria, we have witnessed a steady and rapid adoption of this technology by top brands and business in the country. This is why we are here today to reward some of these clients who have used our platform to reach and deliver their messages to their target audience. We will be awarding Nigeria’s top brands in the banking, fintech and aviation sectors.

“Wema Bank won the Best Engagement Strategy award; Ecobank (Champion of Email Engagement); UBA- Omni-channel journey master; Sterling Bank (Best Innovative App of the Year); First Bank (Best Email Engagement); Interswitch (Best Engagement Strategy); Access Bank (Martech Thought leader); Stanbic IBTC Bank (Best Email Campaign); Polaris Bank (Best Use of AI  and Analytics; Carbon (Martech Team of the Year); Opay (Emerging Martech Champion); Fidelity Bank (Martech Automation award of the year); Wakanow (No Code Innovation award)”.

In his own remarks, Chief Edirin Abamwa, CEO of Axon Analytics Limited, one of the subsidiaries of Netcore Cloud, noted that the company is excited with the way marketing technology has come to stay in Nigeria and the impact made so far.

“We are happy with the way marketing technology has become a game changer for various businesses in Nigeria. Tonight, we are reflecting on the many strides made by Netcore Cloud in the evolving landscape of marketing technology which serves as a reminder that excellence knows no boundaries, innovation continues to drive progress.

“We see e-commerce as the next major industry sector to be transformed by mobile marketing and marketing automation”, said Dimitris Maniatis, CEO of Upstream. “The addition of Socital’s technology and expertise in this space will therefore enable us to speed up our go-to-market with a comprehensive solution for online retailers seeking to dynamically engage with customers across multiple channels and platforms.”

Socital’s platform helps online retailers collect valuable first-party customer data and increase sales by enabling them to deploy highly targeted promotional campaigns, alongside cart abandonment and exit intent solutions.

Socital is deeply embedded in the e-commerce ecosystem, available on numerous popular platforms, including Shopify and Wix.

Under the terms of the agreement, Upstream secures the technology and expertise of Socital in the e-commerce domain.

An extended team has already started working on integrating Socital technologies within Upstream’s ‘Grow’ mobile marketing platform via a converged Marketing Automation SaaS offering.

The aim is to support e-commerce businesses in customizing their marketing communications and convert more traffic over the mobile, which is increasingly becoming the top channel for e-com sales.

Socital will continue to operate as an independent company under a non-compete clause with Upstream.

A pilot version of the combined Upstream- Socital platform will be trialled next month with three major retailers in Greece: Sephora, Pandora and attrattivo.

The next phase of trials is scheduled to take place later in the year with selected retailers in Brazil, among the top ten markets in terms of value in the world and the second-largest in terms of growth.

“Success in online retailing is increasingly being driven by the ability to tailor customer experiences – which means retailers being able to seamlessly collect ‘first party’ data and dynamically adapt to online behaviours,” said Theofilos Vasileiadis, CEO of Socital. “Today’s partnership between Upstream and Socital is designed to capitalize on these trends and unlock new opportunities with leading brands around the world.”

Upstream’s Grow offering comprises audience management, automation, channel orchestration, insights and analytics, security, and a creative studio on a single platform. It is currently delivering successful multi-channel campaigns for mobile operators and large global brands across industries, including Amstel, Gameloft, Nokia, and Vodacom.