Do you still need a social media manager in 2026?

When it comes to social media management, many are considering a shift to artificial intelligence (AI). But can AI truly replace the need for a social media manager?

Social media is a lot.

Thus far, 2025 has given us bans, boycotts, algorithm changes, a new Instagram app, Italian Brain Rot, 100 men vs. 1 gorilla, and Le Poisson Steve.

The social media landscape is ever-changing, bringing a mix of challenges and opportunities for businesses. Whether it’s technical advancements, audience drivers, or new trends, there’s a constant pressure to build a brand that is both relevant and valuable in digital spaces.

98% of social media professionals believe that content needs to keep up with online trends and culture, according to Sprout research.

The pressure is only amplified by the sheer number of applications popping up all the time. Each has its own audience, algorithms, content formats, and best practices. So which should you be engaging with? What new and niche platforms will connect you with your target audience?

The need: A social media manager is critical for developing platform-specific strategies that are aligned with your company’s business goals — while navigating this complex, meme-scattered social landscape.

A social media manager is the bridge between your company’s business goals and what happens across social platforms. They work across teams to develop platform-specific strategies to ensure your social content strategy supports organizational priorities — adapting to shifts in the market, your organization, and within platforms.

When squares become rectangles, new functionality becomes available, or Google changes its entire analytics platform — that’s something you want to know. And the impact is not siloed to one business area.

65% of social marketers say other teams inform their social efforts — and 76% of social marketers say their team’s insights inform other departments, according to Sprout research.

The need: It’s vital to have a social media manager who is up to date and skilled at both creating and adjusting strategy, whether it’s in response to algorithm and functionality changes, trends, or that aggressive earworm chasing you (and your customers) around the internet.

I have one daughter … (IYKYK).

There are hundreds of tools designed to help create and curate social media, particularly for newcomers to content management and design. That said, content still requires oversight.

While AI can inspire ideas and create impressive visuals, keeping people at the helm ensures that your messaging remains unique to your brand narrative and connects deeply with your target audiences.

The need: The role of a social media manager is to understand what resonates with different audiences (or not) and curate content accordingly. They guide and evaluate brand tone and style — and identify critical, nuanced, and industry-specific language that could make or break a post.

When it comes to building a strong digital community, what’s the secret sauce everyone’s after? Ding, ding, ding! It’s “authenticity.”

Almost half of social media users want brands to prioritize authenticity, according to Sprout Social research. And audience interaction is what they want most from brands.

Personal interactions that cut through content noise are one of the strongest growth strategies available to brands — and those that excel at personalization are 48% more likely to exceed revenue goals because their customers buy more, more often, and remain loyal over time, according to Deloitte research.

Brands across industries are embracing AI applications wholeheartedly to create hyper-personalized content, drive chatbots, and implement predictive analytics. But people don’t respond well to generic messaging, and why should they?

That’s where your social media manager comes in.

Great engagement hinges on more than technology. AI-powered tools and applications need to be paired with collaborative teams and platforms — all focused on understanding and serving up valuable and authentic (there’s that word again) experiences.

The need: A strong social media manager is focused on meeting people when and where it matters, creating experiences that foster human, empathetic connections.

Social media is a primary touchpoint for just about every business today, providing a veritable treasure trove of unfiltered “hot-takes” on a brand’s reputation. Every interaction (active or passive) influences whether a user scrolls by or eventually makes a purchase.

As a result, every comment, like, and share is a valuable piece of data that can be used to inform business decisions and measure progress toward your goals.

The 2023 State of Social Report found that nearly all business leaders believe “social media data and insights have a profound positive impact on top business priorities—including building brand reputation and loyalty, improving competitive positioning and gaining more customer knowledge.”

Over half of brands (60%) quantify the value of engagement on social media in terms of revenue impact, according to the report. 57% use it to track conversions and sales directly resulting from social efforts and 51% use it to optimize their product development or marketing strategy.

AI tools excel technically at handling large datasets, but people provide the crucial context and problem-solving needed to turn data into meaningful action.

The need: With an ever-increasing wealth of data available, social media managers are essential to:

For businesses, especially small- to medium-sized ones, managing social media is effectively a full-time job. Going into 2026, hiring a dedicated social media manager (or outsourcing to an agency) provides dedicated expertise, strategic planning, adaptability, increased audience engagement, and valuable performance insights.