AI media is next: why 2026 will reset your ad plan
Artificial intelligence platforms are growing faster than social networks ever did. Debra Aho Williamson, Chief Analyst at Sonata Insights and one of the first analysts to forecast social ad spend back in 2007, expects AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity to become major advertising destinations in 2026.
Her call isn't hype. ChatGPT is on track for 1 billion weekly users by year-end 2025, just three years after launch. Facebook took more than eight years to reach 1 billion monthly users.
Why this matters for marketers
- Ad budgets get a new channel: AI media joins search, social, and retail as a primary destination.
- Faster adoption curve: Williamson estimates 45% of U.S. internet users will visit AI platforms monthly in 2026 (social hit 42% monthly usage in 2007 at a similar stage).
- Discovery is shifting: AI answers reduce clicks and compress the funnel into a conversation.
Ad products to expect in 2026
ChatGPT is expected to introduce ads in 2026 after pausing rollout to focus on core functionality. Behind the scenes, OpenAI has been hiring for ad tech roles and named a global media AOR. The pipes are being laid.
Google is expanding AI Overviews/AI Mode, Microsoft has Copilot integrations for merchants, and Amazon's Rufus and Model Context Protocol connect agents to its ad stack. Perplexity already runs sponsored follow-up questions with CPMs above $50.
AI adoption is outpacing social
OpenAI reported 800 million weekly ChatGPT users in October 2025 and may already be past 1 billion weekly users. Global social media identities reached 5.66 billion (68.7% of the population) after years of steady growth. AI platforms are compressing that journey into months, not years.
Five-front plan for AI search visibility
AI search pulls from multiple sources at once, and clicks are becoming optional. Optimize across these fronts so your brand earns a place in the answer:
- Content marketing: Publish clear, evidence-backed content that can be cited.
- Website: Fast, structured, consistent with your content and product truth.
- Listing platforms: Keep product feeds, directories, and marketplaces complete and current.
- Social channels: Signal authority with topical depth and consistent posting.
- Community/reviews: Encourage credible reviews and respond to user feedback.
Zero-click behavior keeps rising as AI answers more queries directly. Similarweb reported Google zero-click searches moving from 56% to nearly 69% after AI Overviews launched. Source patterns are changing-optimize for visibility and authority, not just clicks. See the analysis.
Measurement: what to track when clicks fade
- Share of answer: Frequency and prominence of your brand within AI responses.
- Citation rate: How often your assets get cited or linked by AI platforms.
- Conversation-qualified leads (CQL): Leads originating from AI chat workflows.
- Assisted conversions: Multi-touch paths influenced by AI interactions.
- Brand lift within chats: Awareness and consideration shifts tied to AI surfaces.
Expect new verification standards and definitions. The industry is already working on best practices-check the IAB Australia guide for practical prompting approaches marketers can use now. Read the guide.
Tool accuracy: pick the right AI for the job
A WordStream study (July 2025) found a 20% error rate across PPC answers from five AI tools. Google AI Overviews had the highest inaccuracy (26%), while Gemini performed best (6%). Some tools failed advanced tasks like writing Google Ads scripts.
Takeaway: match the AI to the platform. Use specialized tools or verified workflows for Google Ads, Meta Ads, and retail ads rather than a single generalist model. Validate with small tests before scaling.
Privacy and data are the new battleground
AI platforms will lean on deep behavioral and conversational data to personalize experiences and ads. Perplexity's browser strategy and public comments point to "hyper personalized" advertising profiles. Expect tougher questions on consent, provenance, and agent access.
Legal friction is growing. Amazon sued Perplexity (Nov 2025) over agent access to its marketplace, signaling how aggressive AI integrations may collide with platform policies.
Why these predictions carry weight
Williamson helped legitimize social media advertising in 2006-2007 when it was still a question mark. Today, Facebook and Instagram together drew $192 billion in 2025 ad spend, with TikTok at $34 billion. History suggests early movers benefit most when a new channel professionalizes-this time on a shorter clock.
Competitive context: the race to own AI media
- Amazon: Rufus at 250M users, MCP Server linking agents to ads, $15.7B Q2 2025 ad revenue (+22% YoY).
- Google: AI Overviews and AI Mode testing at scale; deeper conversational search experiences.
- Microsoft: Copilot Merchant Program opens catalog integrations and commerce paths.
- Startups: Kontext raised $10M to build contextual ads for GenAI, with strong ARPU lifts for partners.
Key dates to track
- Nov 2022 - ChatGPT launches
- Nov 2024 - Perplexity ads launch
- Sep 24, 2025 - OpenAI ad tech hiring ramps
- Nov 13-19, 2025 - Amazon MCP Server beta; IAB Australia LLM prompting guide
- Dec 2, 2025 - OpenAI delays ad rollout to improve core product
- Dec 12, 2025 - AI media predictions released for 2026
Budget planning for 2026: a practical playbook
- Carve a 5-10% pilot budget for AI media tests across Chat-style ads, Perplexity, and AI-enhanced search units.
- Stand up an AI search squad (SEO, content, product, PR) to own "share of answer" targets and reporting.
- Refresh cornerstone content quarterly with sources, stats, and schema to earn citations.
- Harden your listings (feeds, marketplaces, directories) for accuracy, availability, and price consistency.
- Activate review ops (requests, moderation, replies) to boost trust signals AI systems read.
- Define new KPIs for conversational funnels and tie them to MQL/SQO standards.
- Run creative experiments for conversational formats: answer snippets, guided prompts, and shoppable replies.
- Level up the team with focused AI training and platform-specific playbooks.
Marketer readiness: mind the gap
In a November 2025 survey of 3,169 marketers, 72% plan to expand AI use, but only 45% feel confident applying it. Top blockers: lack of training (38%), data-sharing limits (42%), and weak measurement (44%).
If you need a structured path to upskill your team, explore the AI Certification for Marketing Specialists or browse courses by job to close execution gaps.
Bottom line
AI platforms are set to become media giants in 2026. Treat them as a new channel with distinct rules: conversation-first formats, authority-based visibility, and measurement beyond clicks.
The marketers who adapt fastest-content, listings, reviews, data, and measurement-will earn the early advantage while CPMs are high and competition is still catching up.
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