By Kimeko McCoy • June 22, 2026 •
AI search may be the industry’s latest shiny object, but most marketers aren’t spending heavily on AI search ads yet. Instead, those dollars are being routed to creators, content, agency services and tools to influence how their brands are cited in LLMs.
WPP forecasts AI search advertising will become the industry’s fastest growing channel. Many brands, however, seem more focused on earning visibility inside AI-generated answers instead of shelling out for paid placements — at least that’s the case for now as marketers still have questions about return on investment.
The writing is on the wall, just ask any publisher.
‘Organic to organic’ shift
