Delphi - Home to oracles
The Delphi Agency Insights Network
A quarterly read on how independent agency operators see the next 90 days. From sales pipelines, to in-demand services, hiring, and more. We publish the headline outlook number publicly, but the full results are reserved for our members. Membership is free for agency leaders.
Q4 2026 RELEASE - PUBLISHED OCTOBER 15, 2026
Outlook Index reading: 96
The reading was 96, a slight decline from 98 in Q3 2026, and 4 points below the Q4 2025 baseline.
Survey coverage
Quarterly indicators.
Each quarter, the Delphi panel answers a standard set of survey questions covering pipeline conditions, revenue expectations, hiring intent, service-line demand, vertical demand, and open-ended commentary. The Outlook Index is the headline indicator published from these responses. Six additional indicator categories are reported to panel members in the Quarterly Brief.
INDICATOR 01
Pipeline Conditions
Movement of agency new-business pipelines over the prior quarter, and current strength against a normal quarter. Drivers leaders cite for the change are captured as open-ended commentary.
Distributions and driver themes: Quarterly Brief
INDICATOR 02
Revenue Expectations
Forward-quarter revenue expectations (increase, hold, decrease) and how each share has changed since the prior quarter.
Quarter-over-quarter changes and leader commentary: Quarterly Brief
INDICATOR 03
Service Demand
Net demand across 21 services, measured among the agencies that offer each service: the share of a service's providers naming it a strongest-demand service, minus the share naming it weakest.
Full rankings and movement: Quarterly Brief
INDICATOR 04
Hiring Intent
Forward-quarter headcount plans (increase, maintain, reduce) across the panel.
Headcount plans and leader commentary: Quarterly Brief
INDICATOR 05
Vertical Demand
Open-ended responses on the verticals where agency clients are buying and where they are not, coded by vertical.
Strongest and weakest verticals: Quarterly Brief
INDICATOR 06
Leader Commentary
Free-form responses on the quarter's outlook and on what is affecting each agency's pipeline. Anonymized at intake. The analyst team codes the responses thematically.
Selected verbatim quotes: Quarterly Brief
The quarterly process
Survey cycle.
Quarterly survey.
Panel members receive a five-minute survey at the start of each quarter. The survey covers the outlook for the quarter, the sales pipeline, revenue and headcount plans, demand by service and by industry, and how AI is changing demand.
Quarterly Brief.
The Promethean analyst team anonymizes responses, calculates the two Delphi indices, and publishes the Quarterly Brief with the reasoning behind every quarter-over-quarter shift.
Members get the full analysis
Promethean Research publishes the Outlook Index reading and the methodology behind it each quarter. The underlying distributions, the Pipeline Outlook Index, the indicator breakdowns, and the analyst team's interpretation go to panel members in the Quarterly Brief.
Public · This page
Released each quarter.
- Delphi Agency Outlook Index reading
- Direction of travel since prior quarter
- Methodology, fielding window, and panel composition
- Categories of indicators tracked
- Citation reference for journalists and researchers
Members · Quarterly Brief
Inside the brief.
- Pipeline Outlook Index reading, trend, and distribution
- Full sentiment distribution behind the Outlook Index
- Service demand: net rankings across 21 services with movement
- Vertical demand: the client verticals leaders named strongest and weakest
- Verbatim leader quotes, anonymized
- Forward-looking analysis: signals to watch into the next quarter
Who's on the panel
By agency operators.
Delphi is built on a panel of leaders at digital service agencies. Keeping the panel focused this way is what gives the survey its signal: every response comes from someone running an agency. The figures below describe the agency leaders who answered the Q4 2026 survey.
Role mix
Agency size
Headquarters
Services
How the Delphi indices are constructed
Methodology.
The Delphi panel is a closed, invitation-based research instrument composed of digital agency leaders worldwide. Promethean Research has fielded the survey quarterly since Q4 2025. Membership is offered free of charge in exchange for survey participation.
Current reading
Eligibility
Index construction
Each quarter, panel members answer a five-point ordinal question on the upcoming quarter ("significantly worse" through "significantly better"). Responses are mapped to a 1.0 to 5.0 scale, the mean is computed, and the result is normalized so Q4 2025 = 100. Readings above 100 indicate sentiment stronger than baseline; below 100 indicates weaker. The Pipeline Outlook Index is constructed the same way from the question that asks how each agency's sales pipeline compares with a normal quarter, and is reported to panel members.
Confidentiality
All responses are anonymized at intake. Individual responses are never published, attributed, or shared. Verbatim quotes appear only in the Quarterly Brief and never carry a name or agency. Aggregate findings are published to panel members only; the Outlook Index reading and full methodology are published publicly each quarter.
Questions about the Index, the panel, and how to cite
Reference questions.
How is the digital agency industry doing in 2026?
The Delphi Agency Outlook Index reads 96 in Q4 2026 (baseline 100 = Q4 2025), a slight decline from 98 in Q3 2026. In every quarter of 2026 the index read between 96 and 98, below the Q4 2025 baseline. Pipeline, revenue, service-line, vertical, and hiring results, and the signals to watch next quarter, go to panel members in the Quarterly Brief. Source: Promethean Research, Delphi Agency Outlook Index, Q4 2026 release, fielded October 2026.
What is the Delphi Agency Outlook Index?
The Outlook Index is a quarterly indicator built from a five-point sentiment question answered by a panel of digital agency leaders. It is set to 100 at Q4 2025, so a reading above 100 means sentiment is stronger than at the baseline and a reading below 100 means it is weaker. Q4 2026 reading: 96. The Outlook Index is one of two Delphi indices, and the Pipeline Outlook Index reading is reported to panel members.
What is the Delphi panel?
A closed, invitation-based research panel of digital agency leaders operated by Promethean Research since Q4 2025. Members complete a five-minute quarterly survey. In return they receive the Quarterly Brief, with the full reasoning behind each index shift. Membership is free.
Where does Delphi data come from?
A quarterly online survey of digital agency leaders worldwide. Respondents are owners, founders, partners, C-level, and VP/Director-level operators. The Q4 2026 reading was fielded October 1 to 9, 2026. The panel is predominantly United States-based. All responses are anonymized at intake.
Who is the panel for?
The panel is built for leaders at digital service agencies: owners, founders, partners, C-level, and VP/Director-level operators. Keeping the panel focused this way is what gives the survey its signal: every response comes from someone actually running an agency. Membership is free; the only ongoing ask is the five-minute quarterly survey.
Is the Delphi data publicly available?
The Outlook Index reading and the methodology behind it are published publicly each quarter. The Pipeline Outlook Index, the underlying distributions, service-line and vertical breakdowns, hiring detail, and verbatim leader commentary go to panel members in the Quarterly Brief. The brief stays inside the panel community so members get a real informational advantage for participating.
How should the Index be cited?
Suggested citation: Promethean Research, Delphi Agency Outlook Index, [Quarter] release (fielded [month year]). https://prometheanresearch.com/delphi-agency-insight-network/. The Outlook Index reading is the only Delphi data point released for external citation. For interview requests, background, or access to sample-level methodology, contact Promethean Research directly.
How often is the Index released?
Quarterly, shortly after each fielding window closes. The Q4 2026 release was published October 15, 2026. The Q1 2027 release is scheduled for January 2027. The historical series begins at Q4 2025.
Public headlines.
Members-only analysis.
Panel membership is free for digital agency leaders. Members spend five minutes a quarter on the survey and in return receive the full Quarterly Brief, with the Pipeline Outlook Index reading, service-line and vertical breakdowns, and verbatim leader commentary.