Tech expert Juliet Moran has predicted that businesses will need to be familiar with terms like generative AI, preemptive cybersecurity, multi-factor authentication, and AI agents in 2026. These advancements in technology are expected to have a significant impact on small businesses, and those who fail to keep up could fall behind.
According to recent statistics from the Office for National Statistics, nearly a quarter of businesses are already using some form of artificial intelligence, a significant increase from just two years ago. Furthermore, four percent of these businesses have seen a decrease in headcount as a result of adopting AI, as it has helped streamline processes and systems.
Moran, who works for TelephoneSystems.Cloud, stresses the importance of staying up-to-date with technological advancements in order to remain competitive. She explains, “Tech advancements are moving at pace and for businesses to compete, they need to keep up. That could be about utilising AI to improve and streamline processes, it could be focusing on improving cyber security.”
Moran goes on to highlight some of the specific tech terms and advancements that small businesses should be aware of in 2026. These include generative AI, which creates new content by learning patterns from existing data, and AI agents, which can perform complex tasks with minimal human input. Additionally, businesses should be familiar with preemptive cybersecurity, which aims to identify and neutralise cyber threats before they occur.
Other terms to be aware of include multi-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of security beyond just a password, and API (Application Programming Interface), which allows software applications to communicate with each other. Moran also mentions RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), which enhances large language models, and zero-trust security, which verifies all access requests to a network.
Finally, Moran emphasizes the importance of a unified customer data layer, which collects and organises customer information in one place. This allows businesses to see a full customer story, including recent website activity and shopping history, in order to improve customer experience.
As we approach 2026, it is clear that businesses must stay up-to-date with the latest technological advancements in order to remain competitive and protect themselves against cyber threats. Failure to do so could have serious consequences for small businesses.
