DV Research: 97% of Marketers Plan to Use AI, but Adoption Across Advertising Workflows Remains Uneven

New Global Insights Report finds accuracy and effectiveness among marketers' top priorities when evaluating AI solutions

NEW YORK – October 29, 2026 – DoubleVerify (“DV”) (NYSE: DV), the leading software platform to verify media quality, optimize ad performance and prove campaign outcomes, today released new findings from its 2026 Global Insights Report, Beyond the Hype: The Real State of AI in Digital Advertising, revealing that 97% of marketers plan to use AI across some aspects of media planning, buying and optimization in 2026. However, the findings reveal that broad plans to use AI have yet to translate into equally widespread adoption across individual advertising workflows. Drawing on a global survey of 2,020 marketers and additional DV data, the report examines where AI is gaining traction, as well as the priorities and concerns shaping marketers' evaluation of AI solutions.

“AI is becoming a part of how nearly every marketer plans and buys media, but when you look at adoption across individual workflows, the picture is more nuanced,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO, DV. “Marketers are increasingly embracing AI, but there's still considerable opportunity to integrate it more deeply into each step of how campaigns are planned, bought and optimized.”

Key report findings include:

• More marketers are using AI to develop media briefs: AI adoption for summarizing media briefs increased from 28% in 2024 to 37% in 2025, with usage expected to reach 40% in 2026.
• AI is gaining ground in campaign activation and bidding: In 2025, 35% of marketers used AI to activate campaigns, up from 31% in 2024, while 29% used it to optimize bidding, up from 24%. Usage is expected to reach 40% and 34%, respectively, in 2026.
• AI adoption for mid-flight optimization is accelerating: The percentage of marketers using AI to optimize campaigns mid-flight (adjusting campaigns while live) increased by 10 percentage points, from 21% in 2024 to 31% in 2025, with usage expected to reach 36% in 2026.

Despite uneven adoption across individual workflows, AI-powered bidding is delivering promising results: 98% of marketers using these solutions reported performance improvements, according to DV's research.

Accuracy and Effectiveness Lead Marketers' AI Priorities

As AI takes on a greater role in advertising operations, marketers are placing significant emphasis on the quality, reliability and value of the solutions they adopt. When evaluating AI optimization offerings, marketers prioritize:

• Accuracy and effectiveness of AI recommendations and optimization (35%), the most frequently cited consideration.
• Data privacy and security compliance (29%), reflecting the importance of protecting sensitive information as AI becomes more integrated into advertising operations.
• Cost and return on investment (29%), highlighting the need to demonstrate tangible business value from AI investments.

“Today's AI optimization solutions are already helping marketers make smarter decisions and improve campaign performance,” added Zagorski. “As these capabilities advance, we expect AI agents to take on a greater role in managing campaign optimization on behalf of advertisers. That creates significant opportunity, but it also raises the stakes for accuracy, transparency and measurable performance. Marketers need to trust not only the recommendations AI makes, but also the actions it takes.”

DV helps advertisers automate and optimize campaign performance through DV Scibids AI™, which uses first-party data and trusted third-party measurement inputs to generate custom bidding algorithms aligned with campaign KPIs. The technology helps improve campaign outcomes while reducing the need for manual optimization. DV Scibids AI is part of DV’s Media AdVantage Platform (DV MAP™), which brings together media verification, AI-powered optimization and outcomes measurement to help advertisers improve media effectiveness and return on ad spend.

The full 2026 Global Insights Report: Beyond the Hype: The Real State of AI in Digital Advertising is available for download here.

About DV

DoubleVerify (“DV”) (NYSE: DV) is the industry’s leading media effectiveness platform that leverages AI to drive superior outcomes for global brands. By creating more effective, transparent ad transactions, DV strengthens the digital advertising ecosystem, ensuring a fair value exchange between buyers and sellers of digital media. For more information about DV, visit http://www.doubleverify.com.