Ad Spend Is Back, AI Is In Charge And No One's Quite Sure Who's Driving

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After a cautious 2025, U.S. ad spend is getting its swagger back in 2026, helped along by elections, the Olympics, the World Cup and the comforting belief that this year’s tech hype cycle will definitely be different.

Total U.S. ad spend is projected to grow 9.5% in 2026, up from 5.7% growth in 2025, as marketers lean into a calendar packed with tentpole events and a media ecosystem increasingly powered by artificial intelligence, according to the IAB’s 2026 Outlook Study.

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