Our first Cannes roundtable of 2026 left us feeling genuinely optimistic. Hosted by our CEO Matt Longley and chaired by Jonathan Mew, CEO at IAB UK, the session brought together leaders from brands, agencies, media owners and tech to explore how data is moving beyond reporting to actively shaping business decisions and future growth.

The conversation felt grounded and forward-looking. Not because anyone was ignoring the challenges around AI, but because the discussion has clearly moved on. We’re no longer just talking about speed and efficiency. We’re talking about quality, trust, judgement and better outcomes.

Our top roundtable highlights...

🧠 Data and AI are shifting from volume and speed to intelligence and quality.

Most businesses already have more data than they know what to do with, and AI can help process it faster. The real opportunity is turning that data into meaningful insight that drives better decisions, sharper thinking and stronger business outcomes, not just more dashboards or quicker outputs.

👀 Human judgement is becoming more valuable, not less.

AI is brilliant at finding patterns, speeding up tasks and processing information. But in many cases - for now, at least - deciding what matters, asking the right questions and making confident decisions still sits firmly with people.

Charley Day, Head of Insight at The Kite Factory who joined the panel reflected:

"AI is moving us from humans making decisions to humans defining the system of decisions and that makes judgement, taste and trust ever more important. When AI becomes the best predictor in the room, what remains uniquely human? Judgement. Taste. Ethics. Knowing when the model is wrong."

📍 Marketing data is becoming business data.

The conversation is moving well beyond media planning. Data is helping businesses understand where demand exists, how customers behave, where to invest and where future growth may come from. 

🔍 Trust needs to be built in.

As AI becomes more embedded in business processes, transparency, explainability, data ethics and governance are central to how organisations use it well.

🌱 Responsible innovation still matters.

AI dominated much of the conversation, but sustainability also came through strongly. Understanding the environmental impact of emerging technologies has to remain part of the discussion.

One thought from Matt Longley summed it up well:

"Five years ago we'd have spent this conversation talking about CPMs and reach. Today we're talking about business strategy, human behaviour and growth. It's remarkable how quickly our industry has adapted."

A huge thank you to Jonathan Mew for expertly chairing the discussion, and to everyone who joined us with such openness, curiosity and generosity. We came away with plenty to think about, and even more to build on.