The IAB raises its forecast for ad spend growth; Google continues to develop its open-source MMM tool; and Partiful is still learning how to monetize.
IAB raised 2026 ad spend forecast to 12.3% from 9.5%, led by social and CTV; AI enables discovery-to-purchase in commerce media. 45% of advertisers struggle to measure AI journeys; Google strengthens Meridian while Meta exits Robyn, widening the measurement gap.
Friday, September 11th, 2026 – 12:03 am
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Ad-ding Up
The Earth will keep turning on its axis, The Simpsons will keep putting out new episodes and advertisers will keep on spending. These are all immutable truths.
On Thursday, the IAB released an update to its yearly outlook, forecasting 12.3% growth in ad spend this year. Back in January, it predicted only 9.5% growth.
Ad spend forecasts revised upward as more ad dollars are handled by AI tools
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