What’s happening in franchise markets in 2026
Obviously with AI, much is changing when it comes to marketing, but whether everything is in place now, is debatable. In the meantime, what trends are we likely to see over this year? Adam Lovelock explains.
When it comes to franchise recruitment, it’s tough for most brands. In January, we saw a slight spike in interest for franchising, something we often expect at the start of year, as people reflect on their year ahead. Previously, we’d see two definitive peaks with searches for franchise opportunities: at the beginning of the year, and in the autumn. But, this year, the spike was relatively low in comparison to what we were expecting.
A reason why, is because confidence levels haven’t picked up since pre-COVID/Brexit. Uncertainty in the UK is not good for franchise search traffic; whenever there’s uncertainty, we see dips in online traffic. The reality is for the UK, the only thing which is consistent is the uncertainty, so people are cautious about making a perceived-risk business decision. So, what can we do?
Technology implementation
Within franchise recruitment, the key is actually to be a bit anti-technology. Brands have become over-reliant on automation to follow-up on leads. However, people buy into a franchise based on the relationship they build with the franchisor; it’s a very personal thing.
As people are so risk adverse, the way to overcome this in 2026, will be by reducing your reliance on technology, and investing in relationships with your prospects to build their trust, through phone and zoom calls and, preferably in-person, Discovery Days. Although there’s nothing wrong with using technology as a supplement to your recruitment process, it’s important to have someone build those personal relationships; people won’t buy a franchise if they’re only engaging with Ai. Those brands which will do well, are those who personalise the process.
Consistent messaging
The reality is, most leads take around a year to decide if they’re going to invest in your franchise. During this time, they’ll consume tons of content: yours or otherwise!
This is possibly the biggest purchasing decision they’ll ever make, and they’ll become a lead when they’re ready to become a lead. But until then, they’re researching your franchise heavily; Googling and using AI to find out everything they can. Not just the good stuff but all the bad stuff, too. So, as a brand, you want to try and control the narrative as much as possible, by putting out content yourself which people can look at.
Podcasts
As part of this, because people tend to listen to podcasts in places like their car, or at the gym, you could consider having, for example, 12 episodes. This could be as simple as an introduction to your franchise, a conversation with a bank about funding the franchise, franchisees talking about their typical day, and even the challenges they’ve worked through at different stages of their journey. Prospects can find out more about your franchise from what they’re listening to; they can also share it with their partner, who is usually a quiet decision-maker in the process.
Implementing AI for your network
Some new technology may have to be introduced a franchise network, making it slower to implement across multiple locations. AI is obviously going to change everything. So, it’s worth brands looking at elements to see how it can work in their businesses, testing it to understand where it can work and where it’s going.
Brands also should be curious about how their industry could change with Ai. How your customers find you, how you market your business, and where to spend marketing budgets won’t change too much this year. However, over the next ten years, it will be completely different. We don’t exactly know how, but it’s important to think about it now: who are my customers? What are they likely to be doing over the next few years? With AI search and LLMs, how will they find me?
Some brands may already be experiencing a difference in being found on ChatGPT, especially if your franchisees use it to ask questions but don’t see themselves in the result.
There are several components around how this will work, such as making sure your website has the right kind of content where information can be picked up by the LLMs to answer people. Another big aspect is your online brand reputation. From a local franchise perspective, how will LLMs ensure their results are the best possible answer for the consumer? The only way they do this is through sentiment tracking free reviews and user-generated content, like your Google Business page. So, in 2026, it’s even more essential to have a reputation management system to both drive the reviews, and to manage your brand reputation. If there are bad reviews, dealing with them efficiently and quickly is essential, as they’re such a big driver for AI search.
Paid advertising in LLMs
The final thing we may start to see, if not this year, certainly over the next few years, will be paid advertising in LLMs. Sam Altman has already started talking about it for ChatGPT, which they plan to launch into the free version. He’s saying the ads won’t be part of, or influence, someone’s result, but they could see ChatGPT giving additional, paid-for responses to check out.
As with other platforms in the past, when ads are launched for the first time, they tend to be inexpensive and a good way to drive traffic. For franchising, it’s an opportunity. When search engines first launched, businesses who were ahead of the curve benefited the most by being at the top of search results. Additionally, franchisors potentially have the best opportunity, as a multi-locational brand with a large website, content and listings in all areas of the internet, meaning LLMs will have more trust around the franchise compared to another local business.