If 2026 proved anything, it’s that the top of the funnel has fundamentally moved. The battle for candidate attention was fought on new ground this year – in AI answer engines rather than search results, in short-form video rather than careers pages, and in the comment sections of employee posts rather than corporate channels. Meanwhile, employer branding teams wrestled with a familiar tension at new intensity: how to scale content creation with AI without losing the authenticity that makes candidates trust you. Some brands cracked it. Many didn’t. As the year draws to a close, it’s time to review what actually moved the needle in talent attraction and employer branding. In this special year-in-review edition of Brainfood Live, we’ll look back at the campaigns, channels, controversies and comebacks that defined the top of the funnel in 2026.