What Nobody’s Telling You About 2026 (But Should Be)

I was sitting in a coffee shop in New Jersey last week, watching a woman argue with her phone. Not on her phone, but with it. She was trying to return something she’d bought online, and the AI chatbot kept giving her the runaround. After five minutes of frustration, she looked up at me and said, “I just want to talk to a real person who actually cares.”

That moment stuck with me. Because here’s what nobody’s saying about 2026: All the fancy technology, all the AI breakthroughs, all the automation? None of it matters if people don’t trust it.

I started Ergode by selling a single used book online. No venture capital. No fancy tech stack. Just me, a laptop, and the belief that if you deliver what you promise, people will come back. Fast forward to today, and we’re moving millions of products across 150+ countries. But you know what hasn’t changed? That same fundamental truth. Trust is everything.

And in 2026, trust is going to be the difference between businesses that thrive and businesses that disappear.

The Invisible Crisis Nobody Wants to Talk About

Here’s a number that should scare you: 72% of consumers say they trust AI less now than they did a year ago. Think about that. We’re building faster, smarter, more powerful technology, and people are backing away from it.​

Why? Because we’ve gotten really good at building things that work, but terrible at building things people actually believe in.

I see this in e-commerce every single day. Customers don’t just want a product delivered on time anymore. They want to know where it came from, who made it, whether the reviews are real, and if the company will actually stand behind what they sell. That’s exhausting for them, and it should be alarming for us.​

Because when trust breaks down, everything else falls apart. It doesn’t matter how slick your website is or how smart your algorithms are. If people don’t believe you, they won’t buy from you. Period.

Proof Is the New Currency

One of my sons came home from school the other day and told me his teacher uses AI to check if students are using AI to write their essays. I laughed, but then I realized how absurd that is. We’ve created a world where nobody believes anything at face value anymore.

And honestly? I don’t blame them.

The internet is full of fake reviews, manipulated images, and products that look nothing like what shows up at your door. So people have learned to be skeptical. They reverse-image-search products. They check if influencers actually use what they’re promoting. They demand receipts for every claim.​

In 2026, businesses that can’t prove what they promise will lose. Not to competitors, but to doubt.

AI Governance Isn’t Boring. It’s Survival.

I know “governance” sounds like a snooze-fest. But here’s the reality: Companies that don’t take AI ethics seriously in 2026 are going to get crushed, not by regulators, but by their own customers.​

People want to know how decisions are being made. If an algorithm decides their loan application, their job interview outcome, or what they see in their social feed, they deserve to understand why. Transparency isn’t optional anymore. It’s the cost of doing business.​

At Ergode, we’re betting big on AI. But we’re also betting on doing it right. Because the brands that win in 2026 won’t be the ones with the fanciest tech. They’ll be the ones people actually trust to use that tech responsibly.

What This Means for You

Whether you’re running a business, building a product, or just trying to make sense of where the world is heading, the lesson is the same: Trust, proof, and governance aren’t nice-to-haves. They’re the foundation of everything.​

So here’s my question for you: Can people trust you? And more importantly, can you prove it?

Because in 2026, that’s the only thing that’s going to matter.

Regards,
Rupesh