The Edelman Trust Barometer: From Innovation Anxiety via Grievance to Insularity

The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer is out. What do its results mean from a #CX angle?

Based on the trajectory from Innovation Anxiety (2024) to Grievance (2025) and finally Insularity (2026), we can see five critical impacts on Customer Experience (CX). The data suggests that CX strategies must pivot from purely functional service delivery to acting as engines of trust, fairness, and local connection, i.e., become more strategic (pun intended).

The Shift to "Polynational" CX: Localizing the Experience

The 2026 report identifies a sharp rise in "Geopolitical Insularity," where consumers (i.e., people) significantly distrust foreign companies compared to domestic ones.

Source: Edelman Trust Barometer 2026, p6

• Impact: Global brands cannot rely on a one-size-fits-all customer journey anymore. They must adopt a "polynational" model where the brand feels deeply local.

• Actionable CX Strategy: To overcome the distrust of foreign entities, companies must demonstrate long-term commitment to local communities. This includes hiring customer support staff from the local community (38% say this earns trust) and investing in long-term local projects (27%) rather than just transactional interactions.

MyPoV: Zoho does something very right with its strategy of transnational localism. Many companies, including enterprise software vendors should have a hard look at this book.

AI Implementation Must Be "Vetted" and "Inclusive"

The reports reveal a deep divide in how customers perceive technology. In 2024, acceptance of innovation hinged on it being "vetted by scientists" and understood by the public. By 2026, a new fear emerged: 54% of low-income respondents believe they will be "left behind" by generative AI rather than realize its benefits.

Source: Edelman Trust Barometer 2026, p1

• Impact: Implementing AI in customer service (e.g., chatbots, automated resolution) carries a high risk of alienating low-income and skeptical customers if not managed cautiously and with extreme transparency.

• Actionable CX Strategy: Prove safety and benefit. CX messaging must explicitly demonstrate how innovations lead to a better future for the customer, not just efficiency for the business. Apply a scientist-led communication. Because scientists remain among the most trusted figures (76% trust, p45) while CEOs and government leaders are less trusted, technical experts should explain product innovations and safety features to customers, rather than corporate executives. Financial and food/lifestyle influencers might be a good help in achieving this, too (see below).

MyPoV: This is highly depending on being trusted. Businesses must show their credibility by communicating values and demonstrating that they live them. That is a core source of trust. So, businesses must communicate the benefits for customers while actively showcase them.

The Definition of Value Has Shifted from "Affordability" to "Local Security"

The consumer view of "fair pricing" has evolved from a demand for economic justice to a protectionist value proposition. While 2025 marked a demand for lower prices to offset systemic inequality, 2026 reveals that over a third of consumers are now willing to pay higher prices if it guarantees the reduction of foreign influence and protects national autonomy. Value is no longer audited solely against inflation, but against the safety of local jobs and protection from external threats like AI and trade conflicts. But bear in mind that the sentiment of the system being rigged, which drove the 2025 view on pricing, remains the foundation of the 2026 mindset.

Source: Edelman Trust Barometer 2026, p1

• Impact: Customers are at the moment applying a "Geopolitical Filter" to their experiences. They are auditing brands not just for price and convenience, but for their physical contribution to their local economic safety.

• Actionable CX Strategy: To overcome the barriers of insularity and the distrust of foreign entities, global brands must abandon "one-size-fits-all" efficiencies and adopt a "Trust Broker" CX strategy (see also next point). This approach focuses on proving local allegiance and facilitating connection rather than just delivering a product. with de-escalation techniques that validate the customer's economic reality.

MyPoV: This ties directly back into transnational localism. While being global matters (after all, customers continue to look at prices with a grievance lens), local commitments are important.

The Demand for "Trust Brokering" in Customer Relations

With 70% of the global population holding an "insular trust mindset" in 2026 (unwilling to trust those different from them), there is a breakdown in shared reality. However, customers are demanding that institutions bridge these divides.

Source: Edelman Trust Barometer 2026, p28

• Impact: Brands are expected to be "Trust Brokers." The act of listening is no longer passive; it is a primary trust-building activity.

• Actionable CX Strategy: Listen! Across all three years, "hearing our concerns" and "letting us ask questions" consistently ranked as top requirements for building trust. Be a neutral ground. When responding to divisive social issues, 35% of consumers say a business earns trust by "encouraging people to cooperate on finding solutions without taking a side," which is more effective than supporting a specific position (28%), p26.

MyPoV: It is not only about listening and addressing the customers' concerns. It is also about having values and acting according to them. Some of the current skepticism toward tech companies comes from them being perceived as treating their values as somewhat arbitrary.

Leveraging "My Circle" for Validation

There is a massive decline in people seeking information from opposing viewpoints (-6 points globally in 2026). Trust has migrated to "someone like me," "my neighbors," and "my coworkers".

Source: Edelman Trust Barometer, p14

• Impact: Traditional top-down corporate messaging is losing efficacy. Customers trust peers and specific influencers over corporate spokespeople.
• Actionable CX Strategy: Influencer Partnerships. 57% of people say that if a trusted financial influencer endorsed a distrusted company, they would reconsider trusting that company. Even more would do so, if a trusted food and lifecycle influencer did so (p 34). CX strategies should integrate trusted niche experts to validate products. Employee Advocacy: Since "My Employer" is the most trusted institution (78% in 2026, p28), companies should empower their own employees to be brand ambassadors. Employees are seen as credible voices and can bridge the gap between the corporation and the customer.

MyPoV: "People like me" and "companies like me" are trusted for a long time. While "influencers" are often trusted by people, businesses need to make sure that they themselves team up with the right influencers, i.e., influencers that share beliefs that correlate to the business's values.

What do you think? How should businesses address these developments?