As we head into 2026, one thing feels pretty universal: AI isn’t a shiny new experiment. It’s simply part of how we work and live online. Last year we looked ahead to 2025 and saw big changes coming, but the past twelve months moved even faster than expected. Now, leaders across Wix are noticing a deeper shift taking shape. It’s no longer just about better tools or quicker workflows. It’s changing the way businesses run, how people shop, and what day-to-day work looks like for many professionals.

FinTech Shifts With Innovation and Embedded Conversation - Amit Sagiv and Volodymyr Tsukur, Co-Heads of Wix Payments

Fintech is experiencing one of its most transformative moments yet, and 2026 will bring both innovation and new complexity. One of the biggest shifts they anticipate is the rise of agentic commerce. These are AI systems that shop, compare, and check out on behalf of users. While this will make buying more seamless than ever, it also opens the door to a new breed of fraud challenges. Payment platforms will need to balance airtight security with the frictionless experiences customers now expect, keeping money moving without slowing down transactions.

Another concept we expect to see gain traction is “vibe management,” a term to describe a new era of conversational money interactions. Instead of dashboards full of charts, users will increasingly manage finances through natural language. They might ask their AI to optimize cash flow, shift budgets, or schedule payments. The wild part is that the system will be able to handle the details. This is part of a broader evolution toward Embedding 2.0, where financial services become woven directly into AI experiences. Payments, advice, risk assessments, and reconciliation won’t live in a separate interface but happen in real time, embedded within the flow of conversation.

And on a more global scale, stablecoins are poised to reshape how money moves across borders. Faster settlement, reduced fees, and transparency around ownership will make it dramatically easier for businesses to operate internationally. In essence, global commerce becomes as fast as a chat message.

AI is a Useful Tool but it’s Still Not as Smart as a Developer  -  Yoav Abrahami, CTO at Wix Enterprise and Head of Code Products

For years, people have imagined a world where anyone could build an app on the fly through natural language alone. The reality is more nuanced. AI is exceptional at generating simple apps or components quickly, but it still struggles with complex, interconnected systems. This means developer roles are shifting -  not disappearing.

Developers will increasingly move from writing every line of code to guiding and managing intelligent agents. Their work will involve defining clear specifications, overseeing architecture, enforcing quality, reviewing design, test and production code created by AI, and understanding how the system behaves at scale. Ironically, as AI takes over low-level tasks, the fundamentals of engineering become even more important. What this means is that for the experienced developer they can use AI to become way more efficient and scale their impact. AI can help teach and educate the less experienced developer about programming however, it’s not quite there yet to review work when the developer needs deeper understanding.

LLM Chat Becomes the Primary Interface for Business Operations - Tuvit Rubin Kaplan, Head of Developer Relations and COO at Wix’s Developer Platform Cluster

Perhaps the most dramatic shift is with MCPs and the role of LLM chat, becoming an additional operating layer for running an online business.  We expect MCP to evolve into a more automatic and proactive experience. Instead of asking the system to do something, it will increasingly surface suggestions, anticipate needs, and guide users through end-to-end flows. At the same time, customers will not always need to visit websites to complete actions. Purchases, bookings, and support interactions will in many cases happen directly within chat systems like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, with AI securely accessing a business’s Wix data to take action on their behalf. Dashboards and menu navigation won’t fully disappear, but more actions will start and end directly inside conversations.

Partnerships will deepen as well, with MCP becoming more seamlessly embedded in third-party chat tools. This means users will be able to create Wix assets, execute commerce, or manage their business from whatever chat environment they already use. The boundary between platforms will blur, creating a more fluid, interconnected experience.

From AI Hype to Operational Reality - Asaf Yonay, Head of FED & AI Workflows at Wix

AI leaders won’t be the companies showing off flashy demos. They’ll be the ones designing smart, reliable AI systems that operate inside everyday processes - systems where velocity, coverage, adoption, and quality can be measured, improved, and held to real operational standards.

One major shift will be in professional roles. As AI handles more of the repetitive or syntactical work, teams will hire operators who define intent and desired outcomes while AI completes medium-scope execution. Another big evolution will happen on the web itself. The future isn’t exclusively chat-based; instead, websites will gain on-site AI agents and AI browsers that add a conversational layer on top of familiar interfaces. Businesses will have to decide what the agent should know, what it can see, and how it should behave. Thus essentially designing an entirely new layer of user experience.

At the industry level, competition among AI vendors will intensify, with each provider encouraging developers to stay within its ecosystem. This raises the stakes for companies that rely on flexibility. Platforms like Wix, which remain model-agnostic, will be able to route the best model to each task, avoiding lock-in and adapting quickly as new breakthroughs emerge.

Finally, while AI will increase velocity and compress production timelines, there’s a growing concern around junior talent. Without proper guardrails, they may become overly dependent on AI, making training in judgment, verification, and accountability more important than ever.

The Real AI Shift in Agencies: Efficiency, Creativity, and Human Expertise - Michal Bignitz, VP Partners at Wix

Agencies and freelancers aren’t intimidated by AI, they’re using it to their advantage. What I’m seeing is that many of them have already woven AI tools into their day-to-day work to streamline tasks, speed up production, and free more time for what truly sets them apart: creative thinking, design, content, and applied business expertise. AI is not replacing their edge; it’s giving them more space to amplify it.

As efficiency levels rise, agencies will naturally rethink how their teams operate. Tasks that don’t require human judgment will be automated, and smaller teams will be able to take on more work without compromising quality. But this doesn’t reduce the need for agencies. Many clients want a human they can trust, someone who handles everything end-to-end, understands their business, and provides the guidance and strategic thinking that AI can’t.

Community dynamics will also shift. Today, communities focus heavily on knowledge sharing and helping each other learn the tools. As AI increasingly closes knowledge gaps within platforms, the community’s emphasis will move toward creativity - sharing assets, inspiration, reusable components, and the kinds of ideas that spark new possibilities.

The Changing eCommerce Playbook: AI tools, Search Visibility & Agentic Shopping - Oren Inditzky, VP and GM of Online Stores at Wix

AI tools are taking democratization of eCommerce to the next level providing possibilities   that were once limited to big, enterprise-level budgets, to small businesses. They’re leveling the playing field and becoming a core part of competitive strategy, especially for small businesses to set up top-notch, yet cost-effective, professional stores faster than ever before while also turning tedious, time-consuming tasks into operational efficiencies. From autonomous chat agents that handle complex buyer inquiries to AI-driven site optimization, these capabilities empower small businesses to operate with the sophistication once reserved for major eCommerce players. As a result, 2026 is likely to be defined by nimble, AI-enhanced hyper personalized storefronts that adjust shelf-space, and customer engagement in real time.

At the same time, the channels that shoppers use to discover products will continue shifting. Search visibility won’t hinge solely on Google rankings; AI agents like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude are rapidly emerging as new discovery engines that guide recommendations and influence purchasing decisions. 

Agentic shopping will continue to expand as buyers will increasingly rely on AI to help them navigate product discovery, compare products, and even complete purchases. 

For merchants, this means success will depend on a multi-front strategy: optimizing for AI-based search, utilizing AI to build and manage adaptive storefronts, and embracing new digital touch points that meet shoppers where they already are.

Looking Ahead

Across every conversation, a single message emerges: AI is accelerating work, not erasing it. Payments become instant and conversational. Developers become orchestrators rather than line-by-line coders. Businesses manage operations through chat. Websites gain intelligent layers. Agencies reinvent how they deliver value. Merchants navigate a new playbook.

The small businesses and creators who will thrive in 2026 are those who embrace these shifts with openness and adaptability. They’ll design for agentic experiences, stay flexible in a model-agnostic world, lean into deep expertise, and double down on trust and human relationships. With these foundations, the next generation of digital experiences will be more connected, intuitive, and powerful than ever, and Wix will be right there helping to build it.