As we wrap up an action-packed week in Las Vegas, it’s clear that growth this year will be defined by AI-powered monetization, authentic connections, creative innovation and performance-driven buying across emerging device ecosystems.
Here are the key themes and insights that stood out for us this year.
1. From Channel-First to Performance-Driven
In 2026 we’re going to see silos starting to break down. Budgets are moving away from traditional channel-first planning (CTV vs. mobile vs. web) toward performance-driven buying that prioritizes three things: attention, impact, and commerce lift. In addition, creative, context and outcomes need to work across every channel to ensure performance that goes beyond the baseline.
Advertisers are focusing on fewer, more strategic partners and demanding unified measurement to drive meaningful results. Agencies are demanding greater transparency and control within the CTV landscape, specifically seeking cleaner supply paths, reduced reliance on proprietary systems and the integration of intelligence earlier in the purchasing process. Publishers will win by packaging premium content, first-party data, and precise measurement into deals that generate measurable outcomes.
2. AI as The New Live Infrastructure
AI is no longer just a tool in the shed. It is the live infrastructure powering the entire ecosystem, impacting everything from creative iteration to real-time yield management.
In 2026 we’ll see advertisers leverage AI for hyper-personalization and smarter targeting. The goal is to move beyond “cheap reach” and toward authentic creator partnerships that maximize Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). Publishers will use AI to dynamically price inventory, develop content, and automate back-end operations to drive revenue growth without increasing overhead.
While AI has become an integral part of the infrastructure, quality inventory, data asset integration and trusted partners remain the true differentiators.
3. The Rise of Agentic AI
The buzzword of the week was undoubtedly Agentic AI. While it is still early days, the potential certainly is massive. What became clear at CES26 is that AI agents will impact almost all aspects of the digital advertising ecosystem. However, AI and agentic workflows are exciting, but only when they enhance decisioning without sacrificing transparency.
Here’s how we see it impacting publishers and advertisers:
- Advertisers: While AI agents will present great opportunities for advertisers, in order to take full advantage, we would need more industry collaboration to build the protocols (like the IAB Tech Lab’s new roadmap).
- Publishers: AI agents offer a path to easier yield optimization, content classification, and automated deal performance. If your data isn’t structured for an agent to read, your inventory may soon become invisible.
4. Creative as the Final Frontier
Despite all the talk of data, custom and high-impact creative remains the most impactful yet under-optimized component of digital advertising.
Advancements in creative technology are finally allowing brands to leverage the same core assets across multiple channels with built-in infrastructure for testing. By combining advanced creative capabilities with data curation, brands can finally unlock new levels of performance that go beyond the standard click.
5. Curation and Traffic Diversification
For publishers, the focus in 2026 is on revenue growth and traffic diversification. This is driving a massive demand for curation tools that help achieve smarter monetization. These tools enable publishers to:
- Seamlessly activate 1P data.
- Achieve scaled reach for advertisers.
- Drive incremental revenue streams beyond traditional display.
The takeaway from CES 2026 is that the next generation of digital advertising is already here. Whether it’s NBCUniversal testing AI agents for media buying or Disney unveiling a tool that generates CTV-ready commercials from brand assets, the winners of 2026 will be those who prioritize transparency and outcome-based results over fragmented presence.
What was your biggest takeaway from the show? Let’s keep the conversation going.