If you’ve been feeling that the digital marketing world is moving faster than ever, you’re not imagining it… Instagram has been leaning further into AI tools and discoverability for Reels, meanwhile, Google is gently but firmly shifting users toward Gemini over traditional search, and Meta is embedding AI deeper into Ads Manager.

This month is about one big shift: discoverability is becoming AI-led. And for service-based businesses, that changes how visibility, authority and trust are built. Let’s take a look at February’s 2026 Digital Updates, focusing on what matters and where your strategy needs to evolve to maintain relevancy in 2026.

📍What’s new with Meta?

🔥 Meta Launches Manus AI Integration in Ads Manager

Meta has officially integrated Manus AI into Ads Manager, embedding deeper AI assistance into campaign creation and optimisation. This is not about replacing marketers. It is about accelerating decision-making. AI will now assist more heavily with creative variations, predictive performance modelling and campaign optimisation.

For professional service-based businesses, the real implication is this: strategy is becoming all the more valuable, not less. AI can test variations, redistribute budget, and even optimise based on signals. But it cannot clarify your positioning, sharpen your offer and it certainly cannot articulate your unique expertise compared to how you can.

If your messaging is unclear, AI will amplify that confusion at scale. However, if your messaging is precise, emotionally resonant and strategically positioned, AI can become a powerful amplifier.

What this means for service businesses:

• If you choose to integrate AI assistance into your campaign creation, start with clarity. AI can test, optimise and accelerate, but it cannot define your value. The sharper your positioning, the more powerfully AI will amplify what makes you different. Without that clarity, it risks accelerating noise instead of results.

As a team, we are genuinely interested to see how this digital update integrates into Meta in practice and, more importantly, to test how effectively it may support our campaigns rather than simply automating activity.

📔 Other noteworthy updates from Meta in February 2026:

• Meta updated its Marketing API to align with recent ad shifts. Agencies and advanced advertisers should review integrations and tracking.
• Meta is shutting down its standalone Messenger website, consolidating usage within Facebook’s core experience.
• Facebook introduced AI-generated profile videos, allowing users to animate profile images. For personal brands, this could increase engagement, but only if aligned with professional positioning.
• Meta is exploring expanded facial ID verification updates, prompting ongoing privacy discussions.

Want to build a smarter ads funnel? Our team is helping service‑based clients refine their conversion tracking and creative for Meta’s Ads AI new model, while maintaining real human input and oversight. Book a call to make the most of Paid Ads.

📍What’s new with Instagram?

🔥 Instants Have Arrived in IG DM’s

Instagram has quietly introduced a new feature called Instants, a lightning-fast, unedited photo (or short video) share that goes directly to followers you also follow back and disappears after it’s viewed. It lives inside the Messages (DM) tab as a pull-up camera shortcut, and it’s meant to capture in-the-moment candid content without filters, edits or polished production. This feature evolved out of Instagram’s earlier prototype called Shots and signals a broader push toward spontaneity and instant engagement on the platform.

Key features:

• Instant capture and share: Photos or short videos are taken and sent in real time through the Instants camera with no option for filters or editing — it’s raw and in the moment.
• Single view: Followers who receive an Instant can only view it once; after viewing it disappears for them while your copy remains archived.
• Follower-to-follower only: Only people you follow who also follow you back, or those on your Close Friends list, will get your Instants, prioritising closer connection circles.
• Fast engagement signals: Because the Insta algorithm rewards immediate reactions, Instants may play into Instagram’s broader engagement metrics.

Instants feels like a friend-first feature rather than a brand broadcast tool, and that’s precisely where its strategic value lies. Keep in mind, Instants is still early days, and its role within Instagram’s ecosystem is evolving. It may not replace Stories or Reels, but it offers a different kind of intimacy — one that makes established followers feel like insiders.

📔 Other noteworthy updates from Instagram in February 2026:

• Instagram has announced expanded AI-powered creator tools.
• Reels are now more visually emphasised through a design update within the app.

Want to start stopping the scroll, and engaging meaningfully with your audience? Our team is here to help you create and share content, respecting both your time and your audience. Let’s talk.

📍What’s new with Google?

🔥 Google Introduces Gemini in Side Panels

Google is integrating powerful new AI features directly into Chrome through a side panel experience designed to support multitasking across the web. Gemini now assists users while they browse, summarising information, supporting complex multi-step workflows through Auto Browse, and integrating more deeply across key Google Apps such as Docs and Sheets.

Gemini in Chrome is being positioned as a built-in digital assistant, helping users find information and complete tasks more efficiently than traditional search alone.

What this means for service businesses:

• Higher expectations for clarity: When users can instantly summarise multiple sources, vague positioning becomes obvious. Clear differentiation becomes critical.
• Contextual assistance through Personal Intelligence: As Google rolls this out, users may receive recommendations based on prior browsing and work habits. If your brand consistently appears in trusted contexts, you increase your likelihood of being surfaced.

For professional service businesses, this means authority is no longer optional. You are not just competing for ranking. You are competing to be cited, summarised and trusted by AI systems.

Website content must now be:

• Clearly structured with defined outcomes
• Specific in its language and positioning
• Focused more on providing educational-value

For example, if your website currently relies on broader statements like “We help businesses grow”, AI will struggle to categorise you. Whereas, if your messaging clearly states “We help Brisbane-based financial advisers increase qualified leads through authority-driven content and strategic Meta campaigns”, you become far easier to surface.

Search is no longer just about being found. It is about being chosen as the answer.

📔 Other noteworthy updates from Google in February 2026:

• Call-only ads have been deprecated. Call ads have now been replaced by call assets attached to responsive search ads. Read more in last month’s blog here!
  

Want to upgrade your Google campaigns? We can design and test demand‑gen assets that resonate with your ideal clients. Get in touch for a bespoke strategy.

📍What’s new with TikTok?

🔎 TikTok Leads in Engagement According to 2026 Benchmarks

While we didn’t see many platform-level feature updates from TikTok this month that directly impact professional service businesses. However, a broader industry report offers useful strategic context that should influence how you think about the platform going forward.

The latest social media performance benchmarks, based on millions of posts across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X, show once again that TikTok continues to lead in engagement for 2026.

According to the Socialinsider-sourced report, TikTok’s average engagement rate is significantly higher than other major networks, suggesting that short-form video formats and discovery-driven behaviours remain especially strong on this platform. At the same time, commentary and direct interaction metrics have softened, pointing to a shift toward more passive engagement like views and likes rather than long conversations.

Key Takeaways from the Report:

1. TikTok’s engagement rate sits around 3.7 per cent, up nearly 50 per cent year-over-year, making it the highest among major platforms.
2. Comments per post are declining on both TikTok and Instagram, suggesting audiences are engaging more passively (watches, likes, shares) rather than commenting.
3. Brands average about five posts per week on Instagram and TikTok, which gives a useful benchmark for posting consistency.

To summarise, TikTok remains a strong attention engine for 2026. Higher engagement rates suggest audiences are still receptive, particularly to content that resonates quickly and adds value. That said, the nature of engagement is shifting. Passive consumption is rising, and comments are fewer. This means your narrative and educational clarity must be even sharper so that your content is not only watched but understood, remembered and trusted.

👀 Tests Spotted on TikTok in February 2026:

• The Discussion tab remains in limited testing and has not yet been confirmed for full rollout.

📍What’s new with LinkedIn?

🔥 LinkedIn Launches Premium Subscription for Small Businesses

LinkedIn has introduced a new Premium subscription tier specifically designed for small and medium-sized businesses. This signals something important. LinkedIn is recognising that service-based founders, consultants and professional firms are increasingly using the platform not just for networking, but for lead generation, authority building and business growth.

The new SMB-focused Premium offering includes expanded access to profile insights, enhanced messaging tools and additional visibility features intended to support outreach and conversion. In simple terms, LinkedIn is packaging more of its advanced functionality for business owners who want to use the platform more intentionally.

Key features:

• Enhanced profile analytics: To better understand who is viewing your content and profile
• Expanded messaging capabilities: Including broader InMail access
• Additional visibility features: Designed to increase discoverability
• Lead-focused functionality: Aimed at supporting prospect outreach

For service businesses, Where this subscription could be powerful is in refining outreach and strengthening relationship-building with warm prospects. If you are already using LinkedIn strategically, Premium may enhance visibility and tracking in meaningful ways.

However, before investing, ask yourself:

• Is your positioning clear and niche-specific?
• Does your profile articulate outcomes, not just services?
• Are you consistently publishing insight-driven content?

📔 Other noteworthy updates from LinkedIn in February 2026:

• LinkedIn shares guidance on optimising content for AI chatbots and modern search behaviour
• LinkedIn articles gaining AI citations: New data shows LinkedIn, especially Pulse articles, is becoming a major citation source for AI tools. Publishing high-quality, expert content here is increasingly a way to influence how AI answers industry questions in your niche.

👀 Tests Spotted on LinkedIn in February 2026:

• Flexible Ad Creation is coming in early 2026, but it is positioned as a planned rollout rather than a limited test.
• LinkedIn continues to refine its algorithm to prioritise educational, conversational content

📔 Other noteworthy updates or tests:

• Threads introduced “Dear Algo”, allowing users to guide what they want to see in their feed.
• ChatGPT has updated their Deep Research Mode and is retiring GPT-4o and other ChatGPT models.
• YouTube has now enabled Auto Captions when videos are muted, as a new AI feature.
• YouTube has expanded editing tools for Shorts and Livestream donation features.

February’s updates send a clear message: AI-driven discoverability is no longer sitting on the sidelines of your marketing. It is being woven into how Instagram distributes content, how Google delivers answers, and how Meta optimises campaigns. Opportunity lies in not chasing every feature.

Opportunity comes from understanding which of these February 2026 digital marketing updates strengthen your visibility, which ones elevate your authority, and which can sit on your “not right now” list.

Want to keep in the loop with us? Feel free to sign up for weekly updates (plus so much more hot marketing goss!) here, follow us on IG @ohmydigital to keep up with our gals, AND don’t forget, if you do miss out, you can always go back to our previous blog posts here.

We’ll see you for March’s Digital Updates!

XOXO

Oh My Digital Team