According to WPP forecasts, global ad revenues will grow 8.8% in 2026. The North American market will reach $487 billion with 7.6% growth.
AI and Video — Main Drivers
Experts agree: AI and video will be the two biggest stories in advertising in 2026. AI is reshaping advertiser workflows, while rising video consumption boosts CTV and YouTube positions.
At CES 2026, Reddit unveiled Max Campaign — an AI tool combining automatic bidding, targeting, and campaign setup into a single workflow.
Programmatic Growing 30%
- Programmatic DOOH and digital audio will grow 30%
- Open CTV inventory will increase 26%
- Programmatic purchases will account for 74% of all revenues on the open web
TV Losing Market Share
TV advertising share continues to decline: from 15.8% in 2024 to 14.6% in 2025 and 13.9% in 2026. Budgets are migrating to performance-oriented digital channels.
AI Agent Threat
By the end of 2026, up to 25% of traditional search traffic will shift to AI chatbots and virtual agents. This creates serious challenges for commerce media.
What's Important for Media Buyers?
- Mastering AI tools for campaign optimization
- First-party data skills (2.9x better retention)
- Understanding cookieless tracking
- Experience with programmatic and CTV