Since August 2, 2026, the transparency obligations set out by the European AI Act are concretely applicable to content generated or manipulated by artificial intelligence. The affected systems must allow for machine-readable identification of artificial content, and users must be informed when they interact with an AI, including in cases of deepfakes or emotion recognition. This regulatory shift reshapes the framework within which this year’s digital trends operate.
AI Act and AI Compliance: What the Effective Application of the European Regulation Changes
Most digital trend reports mention the AI Act as a distant horizon. The reality of September 2026 is different: the application phase has started, and AI compliance is becoming a subject of actual oversight for European companies.
The obligations are not limited to providers of large language models. Any organization deploying a system that generates textual, visual, or audio content must ensure that this content is identifiable as artificial by technical means. Deepfakes and emotion recognition systems are subject to specific rules, with mandatory user information.
Some requirements related to high-risk systems have been postponed, creating a zone of uncertainty for companies developing scoring, automated recruitment, or surveillance tools. Field feedback varies: several law firms report a gap between the stated willingness to comply and the actual capacity of organizations to audit their systems.
Among the news from Digitale Naïve, this tension between regulatory ambition and operational maturity is one of the closely monitored topics.
Passwordless Authentication: Passkeys and FIDO2 in Real Deployment
Passwordless authentication is no longer a lab promise. Passkeys and the FIDO2 standard are progressing in public and professional login journeys. Several major web players are now integrating these mechanisms as the default option when creating accounts.
However, the generalization remains incomplete. Organizations must manage the coexistence of passkeys, SMS, voice calls, and traditional passwords. This transition period poses concrete problems:
- IT teams must maintain multiple authentication systems in parallel, which increases the attack surface instead of reducing it in the short term
- Less tech-savvy users continue to favor passwords out of habit, slowing adoption in B2C environments
- FIDO2 standards do not yet cover all use cases (connected objects, industrial systems), limiting their scope in certain sectors
The disappearance of passwords remains a multi-year process, not an immediate switch. Available data does not allow for a precise conclusion on a timeline for total abandonment.
Generative Engine Optimization: SEO in AI Engines
Being cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s AI Overviews is becoming a visibility issue comparable to traditional organic SEO. This phenomenon has a name: GEO, for Generative Engine Optimization.
The signals that matter for appearing in AI-generated responses differ partially from those of traditional SEO. Customer reviews, named experts, verifiable testimonials, and documented partnerships constitute the new trust levers. Structuring FAQ pages, multiplying mentions in credible third-party sources, and producing content that language models can extract cleanly: this is the concrete work that GEO imposes on marketing teams.
However, GEO performance metrics remain unclear. No standardized tool currently allows for precise measurement of visibility in the responses of a generative engine. Brands investing in this direction are doing so partly blindly, relying on indirect indicators like referral traffic or brand mentions.
First-party Data and the End of Third-party Cookies
The gradual disappearance of third-party cookies is pushing companies to build their own user database. First-party data is becoming the central strategic asset of digital marketing strategies. Forms, user accounts, interactive quizzes: data collection mechanisms are diversifying to compensate for the loss of third-party data.
Personalized email marketing scenarios by profile and journey are gradually replacing advertising targeting based on cross-site tracking. This transition favors brands that already have a direct relationship with their customers, to the detriment of those that heavily relied on purchased data.
Digital Identity and Digital Trust Infrastructure
Digital identity is no longer limited to simple email verification. Digital trust infrastructures are gaining strength, driven by both European regulatory requirements and the increase in identity theft fraud.
Identity deception is becoming a documented operational risk in professional environments. Phishing attacks resistant to traditional authentication methods are becoming more sophisticated, accelerating the demand for enhanced authentication solutions.
The market for phishing-resistant authentication is structuring around several technological bricks:
- Physical security keys compliant with FIDO2, used in high-risk environments (finance, health, administration)
- Biometric systems integrated into mobile devices, whose adoption is progressing in public login journeys
- Digital identity wallets supported by European institutions, still in pilot phase but with a clarifying legal framework
Available data on the actual adoption of these solutions shows rapid growth in the segment, but large-scale deployments remain concentrated in a few sectors (financial services, large tech platforms). The rest of the economic fabric is progressing more slowly.
The year 2026 marks a turning point on several simultaneous fronts: effective AI regulation, a redesign of authentication, and a restructuring of SEO around generative engines. These movements are not independent of each other. Compliance with the AI Act conditions how companies can deploy marketing personalization.
The abandonment of third-party cookies accelerates the demand for reliable digital identity. GEO redistributes visibility in favor of players capable of producing structured and verifiable content. These three dynamics converge towards a common requirement: traceability and trust as the foundations of digital.
