Amid 2025's $1.5 trillion M&A surge, poor employee communication sinks 70-90% of deals. Experts like IMAA's David Olsson advocate pre-planned, transparent strategies with leader-led announcements, frequent updates, and feedback loops to retain talent and fuse cultures.

As AI floods workplaces with data, internal comms leaders must master 19 skills from agile storytelling to principled candor, blending tech efficiency with human trust to combat overload and disengagement.

Microsoft leverages Viva Engage to transform internal communications for 200,000+ employees, driving two-way dialogue, trust, and campaigns with 89% positivity via AI analytics and Teams integration.

Forrester data shows larger firms lead in strategic internal comms, driving employee advocacy and brand alignment. 2026 trends like AI personalization and advanced metrics promise to elevate the function further, boosting retention by up to 29% per Gallup.

Internal comms cascades clarify messages but spark fatigue when overused. Experts from Ragan, Forbes, and Gallagher outline triage, segmentation, leader prep, and listening to build resilient relays that engage without overwhelming workers.

Internal marketing tactics like research, branding and channel optimization transform employee comms, boosting alignment, productivity and trust amid 2026 trends in AI and personalization.

Google's Gemini AI exposes its view of local businesses through structured previews of menus, review tips and vibes, offering SEO insiders a diagnostic tool amid visual results and agentic calling rollouts.

Economic uncertainty is driving companies to split customer experience strategies, offering premium services to wealthy clients while deploying AI for mass-market interactions. This bifurcation reflects fundamental changes in how businesses allocate resources amid inflation and technological advancement.

Google's entity definition via business names and primary categories gates local SEO eligibility, as detailed in Search Engine Land. Semantic parsing filters mismatches before reviews factor in, demanding precise alignment for rankings.

Entity linking propelled Brightview Senior Living to 25% more clicks on non-branded queries and 16% YoY growth in local page traffic, defying AI Overview declines. Multi-site brands gain semantic clarity, boosting rankings and AI accuracy.

Blue Interactive Agency's guide reveals Google Maps as AI search's backbone, driving visibility via engagement signals and GBP optimization. With AI Overviews in 40% of local queries, experts detail strategies fusing reviews, citations, and GEO for 2026 dominance.

AI reshapes local SEO in 2026, prioritizing GBP at 32%, UX signals, reviews, listicles, and content depth over keywords. Businesses validating trust via structured data and engagement dominate Google AI Overviews and rivals like ChatGPT.