Authentication Trends in 2026: Passkeys, AI Agents, and Edge - Part 4
Blog post from Clerk
In the final part of a four-part series on authentication trends in 2026, the focus is on implementing modern authentication solutions using Clerk, which integrates key 2026 authentication features into a TypeScript-first stack. Clerk supports passkeys, machine-to-machine (M2M) tokens, and offers a TypeScript-first approach across web, mobile, and backend platforms. The text highlights Clerk's capabilities, including its support for JWT and opaque M2M tokens, its TypeScript-first design, and its focus on agent identity with machine-to-machine tokens. It also discusses the challenges and benefits of adopting modern authentication solutions, emphasizing the importance of selecting providers that align with future trends, such as passkey-primary consumer flows and edge-compatible token verification. Additionally, it compares Clerk with other authentication providers, detailing their capabilities in terms of passkeys, M2M tokens, and B2B authentication, and looks ahead to emerging trends for 2027 and 2028, such as the increasing prevalence of passkeys and advanced agent-based authentication methods.
| Trend | Post Mentions | Total Month Mentions | Posts | Companies | MoM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCP | 35 | 6,822 | 766 | 196 | -4% |
| AI Agents | 16 | 5,583 | 1,249 | 249 | +13% |
| Platform Engineering | 12 | 1,480 | 236 | 85 | +15% |
| Edge Computing | 5 | 52 | 24 | 16 | +13% |
| AI Coding Assistant | 3 | 1,724 | 481 | 156 | -4% |
| Secrets Management | 2 | 2,433 | 368 | 125 | +13% |
| Developer Experience | 1 | 427 | 254 | 98 | -10% |
| LLM | 1 | 6,064 | 1,137 | 232 | -33% |
Use this post, company, and trend context to find content marketing opportunities, perform competitive analysis, or address product feature gaps via the Plushcap MCP server or the Plushcap API.