U.S. Digital Video Ad Spend to Surpass $80B in 2026; Growing 20% Faster Than the Total Ad Market, According to IAB

AI, Including Agentic and Generative AI for Digital Video, Are Rapidly Accelerating From Experimental to Operational

Social Video Notably Outpaces CTV for the First Time

NEW YORK, May 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. digital video ad spending is projected to surpass $80B in 2026, growing 11% year-over-year - nearly 20% faster than the total ad market - according to IAB, the leading trade organization for the digital advertising ecosystem. Digital video comprises CTV (connected TV), online video, and social video, which includes YouTube.

The new data was revealed in the "2026 IAB Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report: Part One" and found that social video, powered by continued innovation in AI personalization and growing investment in the creator economy and coupled with CTV's improved track record in delivering outcomes, will drive digital video ad spending to new heights.

The report, developed in partnership with Advertiser Perceptions and Guideline, provides a comprehensive snapshot of the U.S. digital video marketplace across CTV, social video, and online video, surfacing how and where ad dollars are flowing and why.

"As we continue down a path where all video will be digital and streamed, marketers are demanding performance like never before. They expect the creator and Hollywood economies to work together to deliver business results" said David Cohen, CEO, IAB. "This is even more urgent given overall signal loss and the rapid rise of non-human traffic."

Digital Video Continues to Expand Share of TV/Video Market
This year's findings highlight digital video's continued momentum, with the channel expected to exceed 60% of total TV/video ad spend for the first time in 2026.

While digital video ad spend is growing fast, the pace is roughly half its recent 2022 peak, as post-COVID acceleration gives way to a maturing market.

Social Video Notably Outpaces CTV for the First Time
While both social video (13%) and CTV (11%) have strong growth stories, innovations in AI-powered personalization and increased spend in the creator economy are leading social video to notably outpace CTV for the first time.

CTV's continued growth shows strong tailwinds, thanks in part to the structural shift of sports rights to streaming: for example, the NBA on Amazon, NFL on Peacock and Netflix, and MLB across platforms.

"We see strong buyer interest in the creator dynamics and AI-powered tools that social video offers," said Jamie Finstein, VP, Media Center, at IAB. " CTV continues to evolve, and innovation across both environments ultimately strengthens the overall video ecosystem."

Targeting Surpasses Content Quality as the Top Criteria for TV/Video Investment

Targeting (+10 pts YoY) overtook content quality as the top criterion for TV/video buys. Targeting's rise reflects growing urgency as IP degradation and AI-driven traffic erode fidelity. Small and mid-size spenders are driving the shift (+23 points YoY) while remaining most exposed to open-market identity challenges.

Nearly All Digital Video Buyers Are Already Leveraging Agentic AI For Digital Video Or Have A Near-Term Activation Path

Agentic AI for digital video is quickly moving from experimental to operational. Two in three buyers are live (21%), testing (20%), or planning to use (25%) agentic AI for digital video campaigns in 2026. With another 28% actively investigating, nearly all digital video buyers are in-market or on a near-term activation path.

Adoption patterns vary by advertiser's size as small and mid-size spenders are taking a different innovation approach to AI than larger spenders. For example, smaller spenders are leaning into AI for creative testing, pre-planning, and performance analysis. Larger spenders, running large campaigns with many deal types and partners, are more focused on inventory discovery and evaluation.

"Because spenders are starting from different places, they'll discover different needs along the way — and that reflects the breadth of opportunity the technology provides," said Chris Bruderle, VP, Industry Insights & Content Strategy, IAB. "Overall, the industry will learn much more about what works across the entire value chain much faster."

"AI is increasingly becoming part of every stage of the video value chain where it meaningfully improves how planning, buying, and measurement work," Finstein concluded. "By 2026, that influence is already widespread, and its role will only continue to deepen as the industry evolves."

Part two of the 2026 IAB Video Ad Spend Report, focusing on the strategies behind these growth rates, will be released on July 14th during the 2026 IAB Video Leadership Summit.

About IAB
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. Its membership comprises more than 700 leading media companies, brands, agencies, and the technology firms responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital ad marketing campaigns. The trade group fields critical research on interactive advertising, while also educating brands, agencies, and the wider business community on the importance of digital marketing. In affiliation with the IAB Tech Lab, IAB develops technical standards and solutions. IAB is committed to professional development and elevating the knowledge, skills, expertise, and collaboration of the workforce across the industry. Through the work of its public policy office in Washington, D.C., the trade association advocates for its members and promotes the value of the interactive advertising industry to legislators and policymakers. Founded in 1996, IAB is headquartered in New York City.

About Advertiser Perceptions
Advertiser Perceptions is the global leader in research-based business intelligence for the advertising, marketing and ad technology industries. Our experienced staff delivers an unbiased, research-based view of the market, competing brands, and their customers with analysis and solutions tailored to each client's specific KPIs and business objectives – providing them with the confidence to make the very best sales and marketing decisions, driving greater revenue and increased client satisfaction.

About Guideline
Our mission is to redefine the future of the world buys and sells media. We combined the leading media planning and data companies to create the world's most trusted set of solutions to help shape mission-critical advertising decisions. Though we already provide guidance to the world's leading brands, agencies, and media owners; we are just getting started. We are busy innovating, expanding existing capabilities, and leveraging AI to offer automated, intelligent solutions to age-old industry processes. As the industry leader, 25 out of the world's 30 largest brands and 9 of the top 10 most valuable global media owners rely on our solutions. Guideline provides critical data to the largest media measurement companies, demand-side platforms, and institutional investors. We partner with all six of the biggest agency holding companies, as well as several of the largest independents, analyzing over $150 billion in annual media spend globally.

SOURCE Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)