The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into marketing is reshaping the advertising landscape as brands navigate an ecosystem increasingly dominated by automated solutions. By 2026, AI will be essential in creating, deploying, and measuring campaigns, with the technology poised to facilitate personalization at scale and closed-loop measurement, particularly as new performance-driven channels emerge, including connected TV and retail media.
Despite these advancements, significant challenges remain. Stakeholders across the industry are striving for dominance, often promising comprehensive solutions backed by AI. Marketers must discern between genuine innovation and exaggerated claims, particularly in emerging fields like agentic AI, which refers to fully autonomous systems capable of operating without human intervention.
Jacob Davis, executive director and global head of performance at Crossmedia, acknowledged the potential of AI but noted the frequent inconsistencies in its application. “You look at some of these structures, and you start to say, when everything works, it truly is like magic,” he said, adding that it seldom operates flawlessly.
In recent years, major agencies, advertising platforms, and ad-tech companies have introduced AI-driven solutions aimed at automating extensive portions of the advertising process. Advertisers can now select from offerings like Meta’s Advantage+ suite, Google’s Performance Max, and Amazon’s full-funnel campaign tools, as well as solutions from WPP, Publicis, and Omnicom. These systems promise to lower costs and enhance performance, albeit often at the expense of transparency.
Mathieu Roche, co-founder and CEO at ID5, described these platforms as “the algorithm on steroids.” He added, “It’s still very much a black box, which works if you’re just interested in outcomes, however they define outcomes.” While smaller advertisers may benefit from these solutions, Roche cautioned that they may not serve the needs of larger brands effectively.
The integration of AI into various marketing functions—creative, planning, targeting, and optimization—presents unique challenges and varying levels of comfort among marketers regarding outsourcing. For instance, brands are likely to retain control over their creative elements but may be more inclined to delegate audience planning to AI, according to Roche. The advent of plain-language chatbots for media planning could significantly alter how media planners and buyers operate.
However, AI-powered platforms are often broad, mass-market solutions rather than tailored offerings, leading to questions about their effectiveness in addressing specific brand needs. Unni Kurup, director of client consulting and strategy at Theorem, expressed skepticism, stating, “Do they work the way they are supposed to work? Because these platforms are so big, they’re not really changing things based on what a brand wants.”
As brands adapt to this new AI-driven landscape, the role of agencies is also evolving. Agencies are becoming pivotal as intermediaries that help brands navigate platforms like Meta and Amazon, which are consolidating control over data, experience, and measurement. Nicole Greene, vice president and analyst at Gartner, explained, “You’re playing by their rules.” For brands lacking the resources to operate independently, agencies can offer essential visibility across these environments.
Questions surrounding identity in the digital space persist, particularly as Google has decided not to eliminate third-party cookies. Marketers must weigh their spending on media against investments in identity resolution, with many currently opting for the former, potentially to their detriment. Davis suggested that investing in data collaboration platforms like LiveRamp might yield better returns than direct media spending with platforms like Meta.
As marketers grapple with proving the effectiveness of AI-powered platforms to other executives, they face the challenge of high costs associated with programmatic advertising and the presence of multiple entities in the media supply chain. Davis underscored the complexity of determining which media drives conversions, questioning whether the effectiveness was due to specific platform configurations or creative strategies.
Emergence of Agentic AI
As the industry begins to stabilize around AI, the next phase of automation is gaining traction with the rise of agentic AI. This technology, which enables systems to coordinate autonomously, could streamline processes like programmatic advertising. In early 2026, WPP and Omnicom unveiled their new agentic AI offerings, while PubMatic introduced an agentic operating system designed to address ongoing challenges in programmatic advertising.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is also working on frameworks and roadmaps for the future of agentic AI, aiming to prevent previous mistakes in tech development and promote standardization. “Although AI solutions will increasingly take shape, the industry should expect several false starts in deploying agentic solutions,” said Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab. “The promise of agentic AI is real and meaningful, yet its practical application will require years of market experimentation.”
Marketers adopting agentic AI could see significant benefits, as these systems can manage thousands of optimization decisions in real time, allowing teams to focus on overarching strategies rather than tedious operational tasks. Chris Kelly, CEO of Upwave, noted, “Agentic AI will change marketing by shifting the burden of execution.”
However, success with agentic AI is not guaranteed. Marketers must ensure they have quality APIs and data frameworks prepared to fully leverage these new technologies. Greene cautioned that claims of seamless connectivity between platforms may be overly optimistic, urging readiness for a complex transition ahead.
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