What Brands Get Wrong About Personalisation in 2026 (And How to Do It Right)
Personalisation used to feel simple. Add a first name here, reference a past purchase there, maybe swap a headline based on gender — and voilà, magic.
Fast forward to 2026, and “personalisation” has gotten… messy.
Most brands think they’re personalising. In reality, they’re often either:
personalising superficially (“Hi Sarah!”) without real relevance
personalising creepily (“We see you looked at X… buy now!”)
ignoring it entirely in paid or email campaigns
The truth? Personalisation is now both more critical and more subtle. Done right, it drives performance without alienating audiences. Done wrong, it kills trust, wastes budget, and makes campaigns feel spammy.
Let’s break down what’s actually working — and how you can apply it.
Why Personalisation Feels Harder Than Ever
There are three big reasons brands struggle in 2026:
1. AI-Driven Delivery Changes the Game
Platforms like Meta, TikTok, and Google Ads are now smart enough to optimise delivery to the right person. That means your old personalisation levers — audience slices, interest targeting — are less important than the creative and signals you provide.
2. Audiences Are More Sophisticated
Users are used to highly personalised experiences from big tech. If your messaging is generic, irrelevant, or creepy, it’s ignored (or worse — it erodes trust).
3. Privacy and First-Party Data
Stricter privacy laws and the decline of third-party tracking make data collection harder. Personalisation now relies on consented, first-party data — which requires strategy, not guesswork.
The Myth of Hyper-Personalisation
Hyper-personalisation — the kind that tracks every scroll, clicks, and browsing history — sounds tempting. But there’s a fine line between helpful and intrusive.
Mistakes brands still make:
Overloading emails with dynamic blocks that don’t add real value
Using paid ads to stalk behaviour too aggressively
Treating personalisation as a gimmick instead of a strategy
The result? Disengagement, unsubscribes, and wasted spend.
Relevance > Raw Personalisation
The most effective personalisation in 2026 isn’t about inserting a first name or dynamically swapping an image. It’s about relevance:
Understanding where your audience is in their journey
Delivering content that aligns with their needs right now
Using the right format, hook, and tone for the platform
This is true for both paid social and email. When relevance drives personalisation, the experience feels seamless — not invasive.
How AI Can Help (Without Losing Trust)
AI can improve personalisation when used thoughtfully:
Content recommendations: Suggesting products, topics, or offers based on previous engagement
Predictive send times: Delivering emails when users are most likely to engage
Creative optimisation: Testing hooks, formats, and angles to maximise resonance
The key: feed the AI first-party, consented data, not third-party behavioural guesses.
Practical Personalisation Strategies
Here’s what’s actually working:
1. Journey-Based Emails
Segment your email lists based on where people are in the customer lifecycle:
New subscribers → welcome series
Engaged non-buyers → nurture content
Past purchasers → retention offers
2. Behaviourally-Informed Paid Social
Instead of obsessing over micro-segmenting audiences, let the AI optimise delivery based on engagement signals — but layer in creative that matches behaviour patterns.
3. Dynamic but Meaningful Content
Use dynamic blocks or product recommendations only when they add value. Example: recommend complementary products post-purchase, not just every product in your catalog.
4. Cross-Channel Relevance
Ensure your messaging is consistent across paid ads, email, SMS, and even website. Users notice when your channels don’t “speak the same language.”
Where Brands Should Focus Effort
Stop trying to do everything. Start doing the right things:
Collect first-party data strategically (consent first!)
Build creative systems that allow for subtle personalisation at scale
Optimise journeys, not just individual touchpoints
Measure relevance-driven metrics: engagement, conversion lift, retention, repeat revenue
The Takeaway
Personalisation in 2026 isn’t a magic switch.
It’s a strategy that combines relevance, thoughtful use of AI, and data you can trust.
When done right:
Paid social delivers ads people actually want to see
Emails feel personal without being invasive
Users stay engaged, trust grows, and revenue compounds
Done wrong:
Performance stagnates
Audiences disengage
Spend is wasted
In short: stop chasing gimmicks.
Start building personalisation systems that actually matter.
