Data collection is everywhere in 2026 with examples from Windows telemetry and the GDID attached to your Microsoft account to mobile apps/games, desktop software, and even websites in Chrome. Some of it is data to improve user interfaces, find most used features, or improve future product design while others try to use the same data for marketing. That can lead to some data points going from raw to rough instead of providing the clear picture we think we’re getting.
Awstats, Webalizer, and other basic early options relied on data from webserver logs. These passive tracking statistics gave broad data such as where users were from or what search engine sent them. Unfortunately, the quest for more granular data gave us an addiction to bad data. The click through rates, time on site, and more sometimes missed market changes like the rise of mobile devices or tablets replacing desktop browsing. In the age of AI agents, what else are we missing in bad data sets?
Better data through customer contact
Rough data and passive tracking statistics such as webserver logs can provide part of the picture. With that said, there is no replacement for direct customer feedback. A feedback form, hello @ yourdomain.com, and similar outreach can let you know where rough spots are before they become a problem. Too many are rushing to put AI between them and their customers providing another route for bad data to show up instead of direct customer feedback. While some might consider it helpful, many have different opinions of AI in the role of customer service. They may have a good point with studies showing it fails as many as 1 in 5 customers.
Instead of using AI to directly respond to customers, using AI agents such as Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work can help sort through communications leaving you with time to respond instead of digging through a mountain of customer communication. AI never comes between you and your customers. It just stays in the background helping you do more of what you do best. This direct customer contact and feedback is proving effective even in 2026
Bringing it together with AI
With data from Cloudflare, direct customer feedback, and ad campaigns, you can process these into trends using your favorite AI tools. Have you seen an increase in sales from a region focused on one or two products? These new AI tools can help you research what popular ideas might be trending on social media so you can focus marketing where it is most effective. This is just the start.
From new product categories to new potential customers, data analytics has come a long way. Just a few years ago, you might need a professional marketing team and consultants to complete the same report you can create yourself using data already freely available to you. Stay tuned next time as we go over more with marketing and WordPress!
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