AI in digital advertising
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming every facet of the digital advertising industry. It produces creative at scale, optimises media in real time, predicts consumer behaviour with growing precision and with agentic tools plans, decides and acts on a user's behalf. At the same time, it is also transforming how consumers discover products, with AI assistants and answer engines mediating the path to purchase, changing how advertisers resonate with people in a world where AI is fast becoming the ultimate content curator. At the IAB, we have three core priorities when it comes to AI:
• To enhance our shared understanding of how the technology is being used effectively today
• To spotlight future opportunities so that our members are not only prepared for what’s next, but primed to succeed
• And, finally, to foster collaboration among our membership to share and strengthen best practice as AI evolves
26.4m people used AI tools in April 2026
+2.4 million more AI users in the last three months
Claude.ai saw the greatest monthly audience growth from January (+232%)
Source: UKOM Ipsos Iris Online Audience Measurement Service, January 2026, all aged 15+ using PC/Laptop, smartphone or tablet devices click here for more information
AI in Advertising: The Big Picture
Get oriented with the landscape, the language and the data behind AI's impact on digital.
State of AI in Advertising: Charting the Shift from Automation to Autonomy
As agentic AI begin reshaping the advertising industry, this report explores the opportunities, challenges and commercial implications of AI’s next chapter.
AI in Ad Tech
A guide that showcases the AI powered products and capabilities of IAB UK member companies. Explore how leading ad tech platforms are applying artificial intelligence across contextual targeting, campaign optimisation and infrastructure.
Powering Growth: The UK's Hidden AI Engine
Discover how digital advertising is driving growth, innovation and measurable economic impact at scale as UK’s most advanced AI sectors.
IAB Compass: Navigating AI
Explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping digital advertising from creative workflows to governance with practical insights on data, Gen AI, and search disruption.
Watch on demand: What AI really means for digital advertising today
This webinar brought together Futurescape and Compass insights to cut through the hype on AI, examined the reality in our industry and gave members practical takeaways for their strategies.
The Impact of AI on Digital Advertising Report
IAB Europe’s first AI Impact survey reveals widespread adoption, growing investment, and uneven governance, highlighting opportunities, challenges, and market expectations shaping AI’s role across the ecosystem.
Jargon Buster
Use our Jargon Buster to quickly navigate AI terms, understand their relevance, and feel confident when discussing new technologies.
IAB State of Data 2026: The AI-Powered Measurement Transformation: Implications for Attribution, Incrementality, and MMM
As data strategies evolve in the AI era, this report explores how advertisers are adapting to shifts in privacy, measurement, identity and consumer expectations.
State of Data 2025: Report and Companion Guide
Explore key findings from the 2025 State of Data Report, uncovering how brands, agencies and publishers are navigating the evolving data landscape in the age of AI.
When AI Guides the Shopping Journey: Opportunities for Marketers in the Age of AI Driven Commerce
As AI becomes increasingly embedded in discovery and decision-making, this report explores how consumer shopping journeys are changing — and what it means for advertisers and retailers.
AI in Practice: Playbooks and Guides
Practical playbooks, prompting guides, real campaigns and productivity wins from across the global IAB network.
Generative AI Playbook for Advertising
A practical guide to how generative AI is transforming advertising workflows, with real-world use cases, opportunities, risks and best practice guidance.
AI in Advertising Use Case Map
A structured overview of how AI can be applied across the advertising ecosystem, mapping key use cases across planning, activation, creative and measurement.
AI Personalisation Playbook
A deep dive into how AI is reshaping personalisation in advertising, helping brands deliver more relevant, timely and effective consumer experiences.
AI in Retail and Commerce Media Guide
Explores how AI is transforming retail and commerce media, with insights into emerging opportunities and evolving industry models.
AI Unlocked: A Resources & Learning Guide For the Ad Industry
A foundational learning resource designed to help the industry build understanding of AI concepts, tools and applications in advertising.
A Guide to Prompting with LLMs: 2026 Edition
A practical guide to writing effective prompts for large language models, with techniques to improve outputs and drive better AI performance in advertising workflows.
In Practice: Case Studies and Productivity
Practical examples of how AI is improving productivity, enhancing campaigns and inspiring smarter ways of working across digital advertising.
Watch on demand: AI in action: real stories, real impact
This webinar highlighted compelling use cases that revealed how businesses are harnessing AI to enhance campaign performance, streamline internal processes, and drive productivity.
Podcast: How to win back your week with AI
James Chandler hosts Natalie Monk (Dentsu), Indy Lehal (Google) & James Murray (Microsoft) on AI boosting productivity, neurodiversity and smarter work.
As AI innovation moves at pace, the ad industry’s skills must keep up
With AI reshaping how campaigns are built, optimised and delivered, this article looks at the widening skills gap in advertising — and why building confidence and capability across teams is now critical to keeping up with change.
AI insights from IAB members
Discover how our members are driving AI innovation in digital advertising with insights, podcasts, case studies and events in the IAB Member Vault.
O2 x VCCP's AI scam buster
O2’s AI character Daisy, built by VCCP’s AI agency Faith, stalls fraudsters for up to an hour with rambling tales of knitting, grandchildren and scone recipes.
Microsoft x St Johns ambulance creative transformation
St John Ambulance used generative AI to transform their creative production—boosting performance, reducing costs, and reaching more people with lifesaving messages.
RIU x Making Science post pandemic profitability
RIU Hotels & Resorts revitalised post-pandemic profitability by implementing AI-driven ad personalisation, delivering greater relevance, real-time optimisation, and a significant uplift in high value conversions across their global portfolio.
Dentsu x Microsoft transforms media planning
Dentsu embedded an AI copilot into their workflow, reducing time-to-insight by 90% and unlocking faster, smarter, and more creative campaign decisions.
Standards and Responsible use of AI
Emerging standards and the trust frameworks shaping how AI shows up in advertising.
Best Practice Guide for the Responsible Use of Generative AI in Advertising
A Best Practice Guide for the Responsible Use of Generative AI in Advertising is now available, developed under the auspices of the Government and Industry-led Online Advertising Taskforce.
IAB Tech Lab on LLM ingestion & content monetisation
Explore how IAB Tech Lab is developing protocols to govern large language model ingestion, establishing standards that safeguard publisher content and enable sustainable monetisation in the AI era.
AI Governance and Risk Management Playbook
As AI becomes embedded across the advertising lifecycle, this playbook outlines how to manage risk, ensure compliance and adopt AI responsibly in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.
Tech Lab Agentic Standards AAMP
Explores the latest evolution of agentic advertising standards, as IAB Tech Lab advances interoperable frameworks to support automated, transaction-ready media buying and selling.
Tech Lab Standards
Discover the technical standards powering the digital advertising ecosystem, enabling secure, interoperable and scalable innovation across programmatic, privacy and emerging AI systems.
AI Adoption is Surging in Advertising, but is the Industry Prepared for Responsible AI?
As AI adoption accelerates across the industry, this insight piece examines whether governance, capability and oversight are keeping pace with innovation.
How can publishers thrive in the AI ecosystem?
Cath Waller (Immediate Media) & George McMahon (UM) explore AI tools, journalism, IP protection & consumer trust.
Looking ahead
Innovation in AI is reshaping how the industry plans, creates and delivers advertising.
Fast forward to 2030 with Futurescape
Explore the latest thinking on the attitudes, innovations and media shifts set to reshape advertising by the end of the decade.
Futurescape: AI revolutionises brand discovery
Check out IAB Futurescape’s AI chapter to explore how it will reshape ad spend, search, and content discovery by 2030 – opening up new opportunities for brands and redefining consumer journeys.
Futurescape Podcast: AI & wearables revolutionise discovery
James Chandler with Phil Rowley (OMG) & Shruti Dube (Meta) on augmentation, data trust, wearables & freeing marketers for creativity.
IAB UK AI Community
Our AI community brings together experts from across the digital advertising industry to explore how AI is shaping the way we buy, sell and deliver advertising. Members share insights, review emerging initiatives and help develop practical guidance for responsible and effective use of AI. The AI Community is led by Alex Kozloff. Get in touch at [email protected]