Are Forums Making a Comeback in 2026? Real Communities in the Age of AI

[JamesBrown]

If your community is just about facts and facts alone, then you lose to AI. But if your forum is about people and their experiences then you win. AI cannot answer questions like these.... and if it tries the answers will be crap.

My Forum
What would you never buy again
What broke for you after 6 months
Check out my new, whatever
Biscay, How rough was it really, and what month did you go?
Has anyone had this exact gearbox fault on a 2017 Ducato and what fixed it in the end?
Which lithium setup looked great on paper but turned into a nightmare?
Has Company X’s build quality dipped in the last 12 months?
Where did you feel least welcome, and where did you feel genuinely welcome
An AV Forum
Headphones for jazz vocals: what actually sounds natural?
Is £X a good price for this TV right now in the UK?
Dead pixels: what’s acceptable and what do retailers actually do when you tell em?
A Hamster Forum
Is this enclosure actually big enough for a Syrian, or will they go full prison-break?
Male or female? The… equipment is confusing.

Answers to these questions are the gold that users want. Not some Ai Slop guess, or Just the facts maam

 

[80sDude]

Bottom line is forums aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Sure they're not as popular as they used to be but half the time that could be because of us the owners not being creative and persistent in keeping our forums attractive for visitors to want to participate. The other main and biggest reason because of social media, Quora and Reedit. AI has nothing to do with it in my opinion.