Editorial Team Everyone’s worried about AI’s effect on search ads, but the global digital ad market is still projected to hit a massive $930 billion by 2026. That’s a huge expansion. This kind of growth shows the ad world is adapting faster than most people think, especially with how media buying is changing. So, how are brands going to get their piece of this growing pie?
Key Takeaways
- You have to activate your first-party data to fight the signal loss coming from new privacy rules and AI search. That means getting your customer relationship management (CRM) systems connected and working.
- Put money into channels other than search. Focus on retail media networks and connected TV (CTV) because they’re the ones growing the fastest right now.
- Build out your AI-driven creative optimization. You need it to personalize ads for thousands of people at once and get better performance out of your campaigns on different platforms.
- Spend the time and money to figure out and use privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs). It’s what you need to do to stay compliant and get customers to trust you with their data.
The $930 Billion Digital Ad Market: A New Baseline
That $930 billion digital ad market projected for 2026 isn’t just a headline number. It shows a real change in where businesses are putting their marketing dollars. Recent IAB reports confirm this, showing a solid belief that digital is the main way to get customers and build a brand. I’ve had clients who were hesitant to go big on digital, but they changed their tune fast once they saw the kind of targeting and measurable ROI you can get, even with all the new attribution headaches.
This growth tells me the digital marketing transformation is actually speeding up. Businesses are aggressively expanding their digital spend, a clear pivot from traditional ads. This recalibration is based on hard numbers and performance. Brands are finally internalizing that their customers are online all the time, and their ads need to be there too. Now the job is to fine-tune media buying strategies to get the most out of every dollar spent.
Beyond the Walled Gardens: Retail Media’s Ascent to 20% of Digital Spend
A huge part of this forecast is the explosion in retail media networks, which are on track to grab almost 20% of all digital ad spending by 2026. That’s a massive jump from just a couple of years ago. Research from eMarketer shows this growth is happening because retail media gives advertisers a direct line to purchase-intent data right next to the point of sale. Placing an ad where someone is actively shopping for a product completely changes the conversion math.
For media buyers, this means you have to get good at a whole new set of platforms, from Amazon Advertising and Walmart Connect to Kroger Precision Marketing. Every one of them has its own quirks for targeting, ad formats, and measurement. A winning strategy now requires integrating retail media into the full marketing mix. Using first-party data inside these networks gives you a huge leg up, letting you run hyper-targeted campaigns that hit people who are ready to pull out their wallets. What about brands that don’t sell on these platforms? They have to get creative or they’ll lose out on a massive chunk of the conversation happening right at the moment of purchase.
The Privacy Paradox: First-Party Data as the New Gold Standard
With third-party cookies on their way out and tough new privacy laws, a first-party data strategy is now foundational. Reports from places like HubSpot Research show that companies with solid first-party data plans get a much higher ROI from their ad spend. We’re seeing a big rush to invest in CRM systems, consent management platforms, and data clean rooms to collect and use customer data responsibly. This is especially true as AI search keeps changing, because personalizing experiences without those old third-party signals is the whole game now.
Media buyers need to get skilled at finding, segmenting, and using these proprietary datasets, which means going way beyond simple demographics and into behavioral targeting based on real customer actions. Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) are essential for this, helping you stay compliant while getting useful insights. For example, you can use federated learning to get insights from aggregated data without seeing individual user info. This is a big investment in tech and people, but the payoff is more effective, compliant advertising that customers actually appreciate. Without a good first-party data setup, brands won’t be able to target with any precision, no matter how much money they’re spending.
AI’s Dual Role: Enhancing Efficiency and Fueling Creative Automation
While people are right to be concerned about AI and search, its effect on the rest of the ad industry is almost entirely positive, especially for efficiency and creative automation. AI is being baked into the whole media buying process, from predictive budgeting and real-time bidding to generating creative on the fly. Platforms like Google Ads (support.google.com/google-ads) and Meta’s Business Help Center are constantly adding AI features that let advertisers run campaigns at a scale and with a level of detail we’ve never seen before. AI is augmenting what human media buyers can do, taking over the repetitive work so they can focus on strategy and what the data actually means. Check out how you can get more ROI with AI here.
AI tools can now chew through massive datasets to find the best audiences, predict how a campaign will do, and even write personalized ad copy and create images. This makes individual messaging possible at a huge scale. Think about an AI that tests hundreds of ad variations at once, finds the winners, and then tweaks the content automatically based on how users are reacting. This kind of creative automation is changing how we build and run campaigns, pushing up engagement and conversion rates. The new skill for media buyers is learning how to prompt and steer these AI systems, using their power without giving up all creative direction.
The Rebound of Connected TV (CTV) and Audio: A Diversification Imperative
The 2026 forecast isn’t just about search. It also shows a major expansion in other digital channels, especially Connected TV (CTV) and digital audio advertising. Nielsen data shows more and more people are watching on CTV platforms as they cut the cord and sign up for streaming services. The real value is engaging audiences in a premium, immersive environment. Advertisers are finally realizing that CTV combines the impact of a TV ad with the targeting of a digital one, and they’re moving budgets accordingly.
Digital audio (podcasts, streaming music, internet radio) is also on a tear. A recent Statista report shows it’s set for continued double-digit growth as people spend more time listening to things. For media buyers, this means you have to get good at programmatic buying for CTV and audio, figure out how audiences behave on these channels, and weave them into your overall campaign strategy. It’s about building a media plan that reaches people everywhere they are, instead of just on a couple of big platforms. The way these channels work with search (even the new AI-powered search) makes your whole advertising effort stronger.
The 2026 ad forecast shows a market defined by dynamic growth and new tech, not one shrinking because of AI search. To win, you’ll need to master first-party data, jump into new channels like retail media and CTV, and get aggressive with AI-driven creative.
What is the primary driver of digital ad growth beyond AI search in 2026?
The significant expansion of retail media networks and connected TV (CTV) advertising. These offer new, highly targeted ways to engage people and provide direct access to purchase-intent data.
How are advertisers adapting to the deprecation of third-party cookies?
They’re investing heavily in building out their own first-party data strategies. This involves integrating CRM systems and using data clean rooms to collect and activate their customer data for better targeting.
What role does AI play in the ad forecast for 2026, beyond search?
AI is being used to make the entire media buying process more efficient through predictive analytics and real-time bidding, but its most important function is in dynamic creative generation and personalization at scale.
Why are retail media networks becoming so important for media buying?
They give advertisers direct access to valuable purchase-intent data and the ability to place ads right inside the shopping journey, which is much closer to the final conversion.
What channels should media buyers prioritize for diversification in 2026?
Media buyers should be diversifying into Connected TV (CTV) and digital audio advertising. These channels have growing audiences and offer engaging ad environments that work well with other digital strategies.
