A simple scroll on Instagram and you can already catch a glimpse of the 2026 buyer mindset and psychology…

Just think about it.

The way you scroll, consume, digest, and engage with content…

How quickly you choose to swipe past certain things and people. It’s almost subconscious. And it’s vastly different from even just two years ago.

Right now our minds – as consumers – are engrained to seek out fast paced edits, high level video footage, and genuine entertainment. And when someone or something doesn’t “capture attention” quickly (I’m talking in less than two seconds….)

If you’ve been in the online space for some time – you’ve watched the buyer evolution and psychology shift in real time. Just in the last two years – buyer psychology has adjusted at the speed of light. (Cue AI coming on the scene and going mainstream in all online businesses everywhere)…

In this blog I’m unpacking what I’ve seen, read, and experienced myself in my online 8 figure business inside of the 2500+ online businesses as their growth strategist (online coaches and creatives wanting to scale beyond 1:1 capacity). You can learn more about working with me, here.

Now, let’s start with the old buyer mindset….

The Pre 2025 Buyer Psychology 

[1] They experienced pain point driven impulse buys 2018 – 2020

Think bold statements like: “You want out of the ‘pay-check to paycheck’ lifestyle? Enroll in my course.”

And once inside? Next to no support and absolutely no refunds (atleast, it was very common).

We heard the phrases “make passive income” or “building an evergreen funnel” every other post it seemed back then.

A lot of online businesses rising and growing in this era built offers to help beginners lay the framework for the desired next step/goal. 

It was the era of the DIY (Do it Yourself) course ~ you purchased once, had lifetime access, typically no accountability, and the purchase sat in your folder on your desktop labeled “courses.” It’s likely collecting virtual dust as you read this. 

But, without the level of support, community, and accountability… most never saw the preached “results” that they saw on the sales pages.

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[2] They had more trust in offers, providers, and purchases (information was wanted, and AI…wasn’t an option)

Sure, we’ve always had YouTube and it’s been Mecca for learning how to do anything on one’s own time. But, that required finding a video meeting the exact need you were facing, hours of consumption, and then implementing what you gathered from the video deep dive on YouTube University.

Buyers were ready and willing to opt out of spending years of research, self study, implementation, and testing for a route to *exactly* where they wanted to be.

During this era – when you put out content sharing you knew how to ‘solve X problem’ and had the map and all the tutorials needed to see that result in one place – it was almost a no-brainer for buyers pre-AI.

Let me take you for a little side tangent related to this!

Think of any social media app and its’ growth, arc, and plateau of use:

• Facebook was cool at first. A semi-exclusive place to connect with friends – with an age requirement. It was a place to network. Then, ads came in. When that happened…people moved to Instagram. 
• Instagram became the “it” platform for authentic expression. It was all about sharing photography and ‘in the moment’ captures. It was new and refreshing. Then (same structure) ads came in to monetize the platform and popularity.
• Then TikTok came on the scene and became the ruling platform…leaning towards authentic video expression, VERY quick edits, dancing, and massive entertainment style pieces and trends. Then (you’ll never guess what came next)… ads.

The change in the way we interact, consume, and engage online is so innately tied to our buyer psychology evolution.

When platforms were still finding their footing we saw a level of community and trust that was innate in the online space. The more and more commercialized each online space became, the more we lost that trust (for fear of being “sold to”).

And that level of trust plummeted as AI went platinum in the online space.

Because then everyone could mass produce content, ideas, and copy. Who knew what was real anymore, what was written by a human, or what was fully produced by a robot.

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[3] If it was entertaining and struck a chord, they were open minded to your expertise. 

Swiping the reels tab in 2021 was an era of trending audios, audio stems, and “Canva Hacks” you just “needed to know.”

People were spending more time online post pandemic – people were returning to work in office, or thinking of starting their own business to avoid returning to work in office, scrolling to kill time, scrolling to learn how to get out of the “system.”

And if you presented a way out, with a method to do so, in a way that seemed infallible (you saw results and clients did too)… they typically were open to joining if the offer solved a painful problem for them.

In this era – pricing was one of the only main deterrents from buyers joining your offer.

Let’s touch on….

The 2026 Buyer Psychology 

Buyer psychology COMPLETELY changed with the mass implementation of AI.

Now, you can find nearly everyone in the online space is talking about Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and ways to use AI automations to help inside your business – from copywriting, to administrative tasks, and newly editing with Claude (thoughts? – I am all ears). 

It’s interesting – because what used to set us apart in the online space was bandwidth. The ability for a larger scale company to have a bigger team, to do more marketing, to create more, get in front of more eyes, and to in turn – sell more (ideally).

But, now…with AI…that power is in everyone’s hands. Entrepreneurs and muggles alike.

What I’ve seen from this is a lot of high level 7 and 8 figure entrepreneurs are now asking:

“Why am I not getting a lot of leads?”

or 

“I just don’t understand why my conversion rate seems to be lower than previous years?”

Especially with the implementation of AI. So what changed?

In short – the buyer psychology has completely transformed.

Short form reigned ‘King’ 2020 – 2024. 

AI usurped in 2024-2026. 

With an AI seismic boom in 2025/2026. 

And while short form content still is most high performing. It dramatically shifted our attention span capacity. And when we slathered on the AI icing to the top of our already shortened attention spans, we saw:

[1] The modern buyer in 2026 knows if they resonate with your energy and offer in about 2.7 seconds. Often less. If they aren’t hooked – they swipe away. 

Why is this…

• Our attention spans have collapsed.
• Generic content dies in 0.1 seconds. 
• Only personalized & actionable value survives

What to do about it…

• You need positioning so laser focused and clear that it magnetizes your ICAs and calls them into you. You want them weirdly thinking “how did she know?” and “wow, the algorithm really said ‘for you’”
• You want to foster community + engagement (think Taylor Swift and her friendship bracelets. Let your audience in on the bit). Invite them into your world and they’ll be hooked.
• Build trust with your audience before you sell them. I’m talking about being open about your journey, talking about client stories, then also taking time to show BTS. When you show up in a way that invites your audience in – the walls come down, they feel like they know you, and even more so… they start to trust you.

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[2] Buyers expect you to understand, communicate, and address their needs (in a personalized way) if they are paying you. If not, they could just ask Claudia (lol). 

“76% of customers now expect companies and businesses to understand their needs and preferences.” – Salesforce 

Why is this…

Your leads want to feel seen, heard, and understood before they buy from you. It’s not only important, it’s imperative right now.

They have been burned before. 

Think about it. 

It’s natural to start out trusting, open, receptive, and willing to pay to solve “X problem” in an online capacity. 

But, when you’ve purchased one too many online offers that under-delivered on their promise and left you with a monthly payment and you *still* didn’t see the results you want? That means in future you won’t be as trusting.

What to do about it…

• Speak clearly to the container and curriculum. Lay out what’s inside, what you teach, what they’ll walk away with, what they’ll need to implement to see results, and how you support along the way
• You also want to address the elephant in the room – they have had a course before that didn’t meet their needs. Explain why you/your offer is different.
• You want to speak to their right now experience in their terms (not yours). You want to meet them where they are and walk them into your offer one post, email, or DM at a time.

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[3] Authority is the new currency. 

If you look up any niche on Instagram…thousands upon thousands will come up. You need to stand out among the noise. 

Did you know that 47% of buyers will consume at least 3 to 5 pieces of content before making a decision to move forward or not with you?

That means your first impression (no matter which post they land on) can be won or lost in just 3-5 pieces. That’s where brand consistency, voice, and authority come into play.

Why is this…

Today’s buyer already knows the basics. They’ve read the tips, binged the Threads, downloaded the freebies, and asked ChatGPT for a plan. They’re not just making investments based on the messaging telling them what to do anymore, they’re choosing whose way to trust.

In the last few years, the online space exploded. 

Everyone who ever had an idea, a skill, or a story suddenly had a platform, and then a program, and with that increased quantity of experts it increased the similarity of frameworks, phrases, and content, too.

And I know for a lot of us, that’s created this quiet pressure – like,

“Am I even saying anything original anymore?”

“When I try to write from my expertise, I feel like it goes over my audience’s heads and they get confused.”

That’s a byproduct of echo chambers.

You’re surrounded by people who know the same strategies, speak the same jargon, and market to the same audience.

What to do about it…

That’s where differentiation becomes your most valuable currency.

When your message is aligned with your offer and distinctly different from the noise around you:

→ Your audience understands you instantly.

→ They see your authority clearly.

→ And they trust you enough to buy.

This comes from messaging that’s not just “clear,” but undeniably yours.

So how do you create that?

You can work with me on this free NEXT week on Tuesday, 7/21 @ 10am PT and Wednesday, 7/22 @ 2pm PT! [CLICK HERE] to learn more and RSVP your spot!

When it comes to standing out in the online space you want to think of your messaging like this…

Most people try to write messaging by studying what’s working for everyone else – swiping hooks, borrowing frameworks, mimicking tone. That’s exactly how you end up sounding like the noise you’re trying to cut through.

The real process works in reverse. Instead of looking outward, you look inward – back at your own client conversations, your own stories, the phrases you say without even thinking about it because they’re just how you explain things. That off-hand line you use on every discovery call with a new lead. The metaphor you always reach for. The thing a client repeated back to you that made you think, “wait, that’s actually really good.”

That’s your raw messaging material.

When you mine it properly, two things start to emerge on their own:

→ Your position becomes obvious – because it’s built from what only you say, not what everyone in your niche says. 

→ Your lexicon forms – the specific words and phrases that become instantly recognizable as you, even without your name attached.

And once that foundation exists, everything else – your content, your offer, your brand – starts pulling in the same direction instead of working against each other. That’s what creates an aligned, category-leader level authority.

*Note: This is also why messaging has to come before the tactic. Because if your message underneath it all is borrowed – none of it compounds. Messaging must be right first, and then you can amplify! 

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[4] People Prioritize Experience

Why do we love working in a coffee shop over at home in your office or in a cubicle at WeWork? 

The experience, the energy, the accountability, the sounds, the smell of coffee. Our senses love the change of space and pace (and so do our brains, creativity, and productivity levels).

Clients want a container that not only gives them education, but implements support, and walks them into the end results. 

Why is this…

AI gives us information at our finger tips and for free. If they can get the “how” for free – why should they pay you? When you ask yourself that… what stands out is:

• The way you show up for your clients
• The container they are in
• The experience and results they’ll see that are unique to this container only

When buyers buy in 2026 it’s because they’ve done the research, they want the results, they trust your expertise to assist them, and your container to help them see the results.  

What to do about it…

Craft your offers around experience and implementation.

Give them structure, a room to walk into, momentum to carry them to the end result.

When your offer is designed around the experience – you stop competing with free information.

So, Where Does That Leave You?

Let’s zoom out for a second.

The old buyer bought on impulse, trusted offers at face value, got pulled in by entertainment and trending tactics, mostly just wanted the information, and were willing and more trusting. Support wasn’t even expected. Price was often the only real objection standing between them and “buy now.”

That buyer doesn’t exist anymore.

Today’s buyer decides quickly, in seconds. To even get a shot – they need to 1) have their attention caught and 2) feel personally understood before they’ll ever hand you their money. 

They’re not choosing based on who has the information anymore – they now know AI is in the ring and if they needed solely information – they could just Google or ask ChatGPT. 

When buyers choose a container or offer in today’s market – they’re choosing based on whose authority they trust. 

They’re looking for an experience and a container that actually gets them to the result.

So here’s what that means for you, right now:

Messaging has to work harder than tactics. You can’t out-post, out-funnel, or out-hustle your way to standing out anymore – the market’s too loud and buyers are too discerning for that.

What you need instead:

• Positioning specific enough to make someone stop mid-scroll. 
• Communication that meets your buyer exactly where they are. 
• A voice that’s unmistakably yours, not borrowed from everyone else in your niche. 
• An offer built around guided experience and implementation

The buyer’s market has evolved. Now it’s your turn to evolve with it.

And if you’re ready to build the messaging, offer, and positioning that actually meets the 2026 buyer where they are – that’s exactly what we’re doing together next week, live, for free. 

We’ll be nailing down what may have thrown a wrench in your sales in 2026 so far – messaging, offer, or buyer evolution – and you’ll walk away with your actionable steps to see results in ONE WEEK (aka more leads and conversions). You’ll want to be there! [Click here] to grab your spot.