When AI handles more execution in political consulting it frees up consultants for the work that moves campaigns: judgment, strategy and relationships. Maya Hutchinson (Founder & CEO, Battleground AI) and Trent Wisecup (Partner, FP1 Strategies) talk through what the profession looks like as AI takes the busywork and consultants double down on what only humans can do, ultimately positioning for growth in an AI-enabled future.

In this forward-looking conversation, Julie Sweet, Director of Advocacy & Industry Relations at AAPC interviews Kevin Indig, a well-known growth advisor and SEO strategist to explore how AI is rapidly transforming campaign strategy, voter persuasion, and candidate perception.

Together they discuss how AI systems form “verdicts” about candidates based on the totality of available information, why consistency across media appearances, advertising, research, and messaging matters and how campaigns can begin shaping AI-driven narratives long before Election Day.

You’ll also hear about the growing role of AI-generated voter personas, personalized persuasion strategies, trust and authenticity in the AI era and why responding to misinformation requires a fundamentally different approach when machines are interpreting the conversation.

This episode provides a roadmap for understanding the opportunities, risks, and realities of campaigning in an AI-shaped environment.

This episode explores the emerging world of GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and what it means for 2026 midterm strategy. Julie Sweet, AAPC’s Director of Advocacy & Industry Relations and Mary Coller Albert, Principal at Dewey Square Group’s digital practice will examine how AI models are trained, why platform authority matters, the role of Wikipedia and Reddit in shaping AI-generated answers, and how paywalled or inaccessible political content may disappear from AI visibility altogether.

The discussion also addresses the “crawler gap,” transparency concerns surrounding AI training data, ideological imbalances in indexed content, and the growing importance of multi-platform authority beyond traditional SEO — offering practical insight into how campaigns, consultants, advocacy organizations, and public affairs firms can adapt their communications strategies for an AI-driven information environment.

In this episode, Raghu Devaguptapu, AAPC Board Member and Partner at TKO Political, sits down with Jordan Lieberman, CEO of Powers Interactive to unpack what the data reveals about the state—and future—of the political consulting industry. Drawing on years of original research, Lieberman examines how the number and structure of firms have evolved, whether careers are becoming more sustainable or more cyclical, and what forces are truly driving growth—from technology and media fragmentation to compliance and market concentration. The conversation explores specialization versus generalization, partisan balance across firms, barriers to entry, and the implications of increasing consolidation for consultants at every stage of their careers. A data-driven look at where the industry has been, what’s changing now, and the questions that still remain unanswered.

In this episode of The Future of Political Consulting, Brent Buchanan, CEO of Cygnal, sits down with Rebecca Pearcey, partner at Bryson Gillette and AAPC Board member, to discuss his groundbreaking book, America's Emotional Divide: Navigating the Powerful Decision-Making Forces Impacting Politics, Policies & Personal Choices. They explore how emotions shape voting decisions, and what political consultants can do to tap into these dynamics for the 2026 cycle and beyond.

Not every campaign can book the biggest podcasts — but every campaign is operating in a world shaped by them.

In this episode, Roger Salazar, AAPC Board Member and President of ALZA Strategies sits down with Dr. Megan Duncan of Virginia Tech to explore how podcasts fit into today’s political information ecosystem, what they tell us about trust and storytelling, and why traditional media assumptions no longer fully explain how voters learn about politics.

A must-listen for political professionals thinking beyond legacy media strategies.

Trust is changing, and so is the way influence works.

In a time when voters are questioning institutions, media, and even one another, political consulting is entering a new era. What does persuasion look like when trust is the most valuable currency in public life?

In this episode of The Future of Political Consulting, Matt Klink, Owner and President of Klink Campaigns sits down with Aaron Guiterman, Chairman, US Public Affairs at Edelman to explore the trust trends reshaping public engagement - from polarization and grievance to misinformation and AI - and what they mean for campaigns, institutions, and consultants moving forward.

Drawing on insights from the Edelman Trust Barometer, this conversation looks ahead to a future where rebuilding trust isn’t just a communications challenge, it’s the strategy itself.

According to recent Gallup data, a record-high 45 percent of U.S. adults now identify as political independents, outpacing both major parties. That means nearly half the electorate isn’t firmly tethered to traditional partisan labels — a trend that could reshape campaigns in 2026 and beyond.

In this episode, Mike Shields, Board Member of the American Association of Political Consultants and founder of Convergence Media is joined by Brett Loyd of Bulfinch Group and the Independent Center to dig into what this massive independent electorate looks like, how they behave, and, most importantly, what it means for campaign strategy — from segmentation and messaging to turnout and analytics.