"The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has signalled a confident outlook for the year ahead. Its 2026 Outlook Study, drawing on insights from more than 200 brands and agency buyers, projects a 9.5% year-on-year rise in US advertising expenditure. Growth is expected to be supported by major cyclical events and a continued pivot towards performance-led strategies, alongside the growing influence of agentic AI on how campaigns are planned, executed and optimised."
"AI now sits at the centre of marketers' priorities, shifting from an experimental capability to core infrastructure. The IAB report finds that five of the six leading areas of increased advertiser focus are directly linked to AI, particularly autonomous and agentic solutions. As these systems take on a greater role in media planning and activation, scrutiny around effectiveness is intensifying: cross-platform measurement has climbed to 72%, up from 64% a year ago."
The IAB projects a 9.5% year-on-year increase in US advertising expenditure in 2026 based on input from more than 200 brands and agency buyers. Growth will be supported by major cyclical events and a shift toward performance-led strategies, with agentic AI increasingly central to campaign planning, execution and optimisation. Five of the six leading areas of advertiser focus are linked to AI, especially autonomous and agentic solutions, and cross-platform measurement rose to 72% from 64%. Digital formats are expected to outperform linear TV, led by social media (+14.6%), connected TV (+13.8%) and commerce media (+12.1%). OpenAI is exploring a funding round that could involve nearly USD40bn from Nvidia, Amazon and Microsoft to support expansion and data centre demands.
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