Ad Measurement Trends H2 2026

How Marketers Are Combining Methodologies, Measuring Business Outcomes, and Navigating AI

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Marketers are connecting measurement more closely to business decisions as incrementality gains ground, AI use accelerates, and less observable customer journeys challenge traditional attribution.
Table of Contents

Marketing measurement is evolving as incrementality testing, AI, and unified measurement reshape how marketers evaluate performance. New approaches are changing how marketers connect media investment to business outcomes and navigate attribution gaps.

Key Question: How can marketers improve measurement strategies as approaches become more complex, pressure for business outcomes grows, and AI changes both how measurement works and what can be measured?

Key Stat: 28% of regular US buy-side users expect to run 11 or more incrementality tests annually within one to two years as AI improves testing, up from just 8% today, per IAB and BWG Strategy.

authors

Jacob Bourne

Contributors

Ross Benes
Senior Analyst
Rahul Chadha
Director, Report Editing
Kyndall Krist
Senior Copy Editor
Emma Noyes
Senior Graphic Designer, Data Visualization
Tracy Tang
Senior Researcher
Matt Torpey
Senior Data Visualization Editor
Johann Valderrama
Data Visualization Editor
Yoram Wurmser
Principal Analyst
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