70% of companies lag in AI adoption for media campaigns

A comprehensive industry report released just last month reveals that despite growing recognition of artificial intelligence's importance, 70% of agencies, brands, and publishers have yet to fully integrate AI across their media campaign processes. The findings come at a critical time as organizations race to adopt advanced AI capabilities in an increasingly competitive landscape.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), in partnership with BWG Global and Transparent Partners, surveyed over 500 subject matter experts in March 2025 to assess the current state of AI adoption across the media campaign lifecycle. Their "State of Data 2025" report offers an unvarnished look at where the industry stands in adapting to what researchers describe as a transformative evolution in marketing technology.

The study found significant variance in adoption rates among industry segments. Publishers (37%) and agencies (34%) lead in full-scale AI deployment, while brands notably lag behind at just 19%. This disparity highlights how service providers prioritize efficiency-driving technologies compared to their clients.

"We have been slow to fully implement AI into our day-to-day processes. We are wary to go 'all in' until it's become a bit more of a societal norm with a long-standing track record of scalable success," according to one brand SVP quoted in the report.

Rapid acceleration expected

Despite current limitations, the report indicates AI adoption isn't a question of if but when. More than 80% of organizations that haven't yet scaled their AI operations have established timelines for implementation, with half expecting full integration within the next two years.

This accelerated timeline reflects mounting competitive pressures and early successes from pilot programs. Agencies and brands appear most eager to scale quickly, with 53% and 58% respectively anticipating full-scale deployment by 2026. Publishers forecast a slightly longer timeline, with 39% projecting 2027 or beyond for complete integration.

"The ways we are leveraging AI for our company and clients is increasing month by month. We anticipate full-scale AI development for media campaigns by 2026, driven by improved AI capabilities, competition and proven ROI," explained a director at an agency participating in the research.

Technical implementation challenges

The report identifies several substantial barriers to widespread AI adoption in media campaigns. Among the most significant concerns:

• 62% cite complexity of setup and maintenance
• 62% worry about data security risks
• 61% acknowledge a lack of AI knowledge and expertise
• 60% express concerns about AI accuracy and transparency
• 58% highlight legal, governance, and compliance issues
• 58% struggle with data quality or accessibility problems

Contrary to common assumptions, job displacement ranks as the least significant concern at just 37%, suggesting organizations recognize that technological adoption requires human expertise to realize its full potential.

The report also reveals distinct challenges for different industry segments. Publishers face the most significant technical hurdles, with 67% struggling with setup complexity and 61% dealing with fragmented technology ecosystems. Meanwhile, 57% of agencies report resistance to change from teammates and clients, reflecting the interpersonal challenges of digital transformation.

Specific AI applications

Organizations across the industry are finding particular success with AI in audience segmentation and data aggregation, while struggling with applications that traditionally require more human judgment, such as RFP management, brand safety monitoring, and contract handling.

Looking forward, the report indicates that companies are piloting AI for different functions based on their specific needs:

• Agencies are exploring real-time budget allocation and predictive bidding
• Brands are focusing on audience segmentation and anomaly detection
• Publishers are working on behavioral targeting and audience analysis

Standards and governance lacking

Perhaps most concerning, the research found that despite facing significant adoption challenges, only about half of organizations are implementing solutions to address them. At most, just 49% report using or planning any given key solution such as strategic roadmaps (49%), approved use cases (49%), or AI-specific KPIs (40%).

Even fewer have established governance frameworks, with only 21% implementing AI oversight boards and just 18% incorporating AI-related clauses in contracts and agreements. This governance gap leaves organizations vulnerable to data quality issues, security breaches, and potential regulatory concerns.

Nevertheless, the industry demonstrates clear recognition of the need for standards, with more than half citing data privacy protocols (56%) and accuracy standards (56%) as critical priorities for responsible AI implementation.

Why this matters for marketers

For marketing professionals, the findings highlight several crucial implications:

First, AI adoption is rapidly becoming a competitive differentiator. Organizations that cannot effectively integrate AI across their media processes risk falling behind more agile competitors. With half of companies expecting full-scale adoption by 2026, the window for maintaining parity is closing quickly.

Second, technology alone won't drive success. The report emphasizes that full-scale deployment requires fundamentally rethinking how agencies, brands, and publishers execute media campaigns. This includes establishing clear roadmaps, ensuring data quality, implementing training, and addressing fragmentation across tools.

Third, the transparency challenge is becoming increasingly prominent. The study found that 51% of brands express concern about visibility into how their agency and publisher partners use AI on their behalf, while 52% of agencies worry about brands bringing AI capabilities in-house. This tension points to an emerging trust gap that industry participants must address.

Finally, the report suggests the initial focus on efficiency gains may be expanding toward more strategic applications. While early adoption has centered on automating manual tasks, organizations are increasingly exploring how AI can enhance campaign effectiveness through improved targeting, measurement, and optimization.

The IAB recommends organizations take specific actions to accelerate responsible AI adoption, including building phased roadmaps, ensuring data quality and security, implementing organization-wide training, strengthening industry collaboration, and prioritizing use cases that align with business objectives.

Timeline of AI evolution in media campaigns

• Pre-2020: Early AI adoption focused primarily on programmatic optimization and basic audience targeting
• 2020-2022: Signal deprecation drives increased interest in AI for addressing data limitations
• 2023-2024: Emergence of generative AI creates new opportunities for content and campaign creation
• March 2025: IAB State of Data report finds 70% of organizations have not yet fully scaled AI
• By 2026: Half of surveyed organizations expect to achieve full-scale AI integration
• 2027+: Remaining 30% of organizations project complete AI deployment

As one agency director summarized the challenge: "The biggest challenges we face in fully adopting AI for the media campaign lifecycle are data privacy and compliance, data quality and integration, bias and fairness, and the resource requirements to make it all work.