The reported use of AI in advertising may be understated, as much AI integration happens behind the scenes—in editing, effects, or optimization—without explicit disclosure. Marketers often avoid highlighting AI involvement due to reputational risks outweighing potential branding benefits. As Nada Bradbury, CEO of AD-ID, states, advertisers fear how consumers might perceive AI use, especially amid narratives linking AI to job losses, industry disruption, and increased surveillance. Surveys confirm widespread AI experimentation among brands and agencies, supporting Bradbury’s view that actual AI usage in ad creation is higher than publicly acknowledged, though rarely discussed. This silence is unlikely to change soon. With advertiser adoption exceeding consumer comfort levels, there remains a strong incentive to underplay AI’s role in advertising. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) reveals a significant perception gap: 82% of ad executives believe Gen Z and millennials view AI-generated ads positively, but only 45% of those consumers agree—a divide that has grown from 32 to 37 percentage points between 2024 and 2026. The IAB advocates for clearer guidance on AI disclosure, emphasizing that only ads potentially misleading consumers—such as AI-generated testimonials from nonexistent people—should be clearly labeled. Broad or trivial disclosures risk diluting transparency's value, causing confusion or cynicism, and ultimately undermining brand trust. In terms of ad spending shifts, ad tech firms excel at budget inflection points. Currently, the focus isn’t just on CTV (Connected TV) or retail media but on scaling proven social creative content. Social platforms serve as large-scale testing grounds, identifying messages and formats that drive engagement. Nova’s Chief Commercial Officer Matt Barash explains that culturally relevant moments emerge on social media but see actual spending when extended into open-web video and CTV.

Creator content—once confined to social feeds—is now premium hero creative for video buys beyond walled gardens, commanding higher CPMs due to cultural resonance. Notably, effective AI use here is subtle and operational, enabling rapid identification, adaptation, and distribution of winning creative across channels in real time, reacting swiftly to live events with planned budgets. Barash highlights that creator marketing increasingly relies on paid amplification to scale beyond natural organic reach. Nova acts as infrastructural utility, seamlessly transitioning social-first creator assets into modular, performance-ready content across social, programmatic, and CTV environments. This approach avoids reinventing creative while enhancing monetization opportunities for publishers through native, premium, and measurable formats. With the U. S. creator economy’s ad spend projected to grow from $37 billion in 2025 to mid-$40 billion in 2026, the focus shifts to paid amplification both on- and off-platform as creator content expands into open web and FAST channels. Regarding revenue scaling, agency-driven spend offers predictable growth as agencies evolve into technology-enabled platforms orchestrating media, data, creative, and measurement within unified workflows. This evolution embeds spending into continuous processes rather than episodic campaigns, enabling real-time measurement and ongoing optimization. Nova supports this shift by automating adaptation and performance feedback, freeing agencies to focus on strategy and storytelling. In this model, AI amplifies creative and strategic judgment quietly in the background, enhancing efficiency, scale, and durability, ultimately benefiting all stakeholders through compounded performance and predictable revenue growth. Key data points include: 59% of U. S. teens aged 13–17 have used ChatGPT; TikTok sees 6. 5 million daily posts about film and TV in 2025; ChatGPT’s monthly growth outpaces 10%; and Elon Musk’s X platform recently hit $1 billion in annualized subscription revenue. Recent industry developments include OpenAI disbanding its mission alignment team with members reassigned and the team lead named “Chief Futurist”; the EU warning Meta that WhatsApp’s restrictions on rival AI chatbots risk anti-competitive harm; and major brands like Starbucks and ABC increasingly hiring creators full-time as native content outperforms polished corporate posts. Additional coverage highlights YouTube’s push for TV ad dollars rooted in creator content, S4 Capital’s development of a subscription revenue model for AI-driven innovation, and an explainer on “tokens” in the AI era and their potential impact on the advertising market.