Yanina RohovskaThe industry spent 2025 proving what works: cleaner supply paths, first-party data strategies, curation, and performance over volume. Now comes execution. And execution at scale requires advances in technology.
You can't manually optimize CTV frequency across 50 campaigns. You can't hand-tune DOOH based on real-time foot traffic. The gap between "we know what works" and "we can do it consistently" is a technology problem, not a strategy problem.
As a platform provider, we don't get to theorize about trends—we build the infrastructure that makes them possible. Our success depends on being right about what SSPs and DSPs will need in the next 18 months.
Here's what we're betting on:
What will define programmatic in 2026
We surveyed opinion leaders across the industry and combined their perspectives with our own observations. Here’s what is going to matter in 2026:
AI replaces manual optimization
Most still treat AI as a reporting tool. In 2026, that's no longer enough.
The real value comes from embedding AI agents and machine learning into daily operations: automated bid adjustments, dynamic layout optimization, real-time anomaly detection, and frequency management across multiple channels. These aren't insights you review in a dashboard — they're proactive actions the system can recommend.
On the creative side, we're seeing AI generate compliant copy variations, produce video cuts that fit specific ad slots, and version assets by geography and context.
There are already DSPs with great AI products that help improve performance and launch effective campaigns automatically. For example, Viant illustrates how this works. And in 2026, this demand will only grow. If it is effective, at least in terms of customization, it may partially replace deals, curation, direct sales, etc. But of course, it will not be able to replace auctions in the near future.
Anastasia-Nikita Bansal, CEO of TeqBlaze.
AI is also reshaping how publishers approach ad monetization. It enables smarter ad placement decisions, continuous automated A/B testing, dynamic layout optimization, predictive performance modeling, and page-speed–aware optimization.
At TeqBlaze, we are developing TeqBlaze to empower AdOps teams to detect anomalies faster and flag issues such as fraud spikes, misconfigured bid shading, and sudden shifts in domain mix. Our main focus for the year ahead is helping clients automate their routine decisions while keeping human-led interpretation at the core of their programmatic strategy.
Privacy pressure reshapes data
70% of open market traffic no longer uses cookies. Safari, Firefox, and increasingly Chrome have moved on. The industry keeps talking about finding "the next cookie"—a single universal identifier that solves targeting at scale. It's not coming.
There are alternatives like Google's Privacy Sandbox and Unified ID 2.0. These have already become the new norm in ad tech. The question isn't which one wins—it's how platforms handle them all simultaneously.
In response, publishers are accelerating their shift toward first-party data strategies. What we see from our daily work with clients is a rise in cross-publisher partnerships, more standardized and transparent consent frameworks, and audience strategies built around first-party CRM data and authenticated user sessions. Companies that are clearly demonstrating how data is collected, processed, and activated earn both trust and budget.
As cookies, MAIDs, and IP signals degrade, the ecosystem is shifting toward probabilistic, contextual, and attention-based signals. And these are becoming standardized inputs into buying and optimization.
Priyesh Patel, Founder of PGAM Media
CTV bridges traditional media and the open web
Programmatic CTV spending jumped 25% in 2025. By 2030, the market is projected to hit $338 billion. But growth isn't the story anymore—accountability is.
Global Ad Spending Projection (2025-2030) CAGR 9.54%—>2030=$338.64B
In 2026, CTV will take an even bigger share of the advertising budget. Broadcasters will continue consolidating their formats to CTV, digitizing streams, and making their inventory automatically available through the CTV environment.
Oleg Tymchyshyn, VP of Sales at TeqBlaze.
Buyers are done treating CTV as "premium TV with targeting." They want the same performance rigor they get from other digital channels: household-level frequency controls, post-exposure measurement, supply path transparency, and fraud detection that actually works.
TV is entering a maturity phase. What I see is a rapid shift from "CTV as premium TV spend" to "measurable, performance-driven digital channel.” Frequency control, incremental reach, and outcome measurement are becoming table stakes.
Priyesh Patel, Founder of PGAM Media
We're helping clients build the infrastructure to deliver on these expectations—measurement frameworks that track outcomes, not just impressions, and frequency management that works across CTV, mobile, and DOOH simultaneously. The platforms that can't prove performance at this level will get squeezed out, regardless of their inventory quality.
DOOH transforms into performance-aware programmatic channel
Speaking of DOOH, it’s been “the next big thing” on prediction lists for a few consecutive years now. This year is when the technical infrastructure will step up to justify the claim.
One of the most significant shifts is the convergence of DOOH with mobile, CTV, and location-based data. Brands are using DOOH as a coordinated touchpoint within omnichannel strategies to measure uplift, incremental reach, and downstream actions such as store visits or app installs.
Measurement is moving away from modeled reach alone toward outcome-oriented metrics, including attention proxies, dwell time, and post-exposure behavior.
But most DOOH inventory still isn't built for this. Fragmented screen networks, non-standard formats, and weak SSP integrations make programmatic buying inconsistent at best. Media owners are starting to fix this—consolidating screens, standardizing formats, building real programmatic infrastructure.
The media owners investing in proprietary platform infrastructure now will own this category. The ones waiting for "standards to emerge" will be stuck selling remnant inventory through resellers.
Attention metrics to drive buying decisions
Attention is turning into something advertisers actively buy against, not just measure after the fact. Viewability helped set a basic standard, but it doesn’t show real impact. What we often advise our clients is to embed attention metrics into automated decision-making. Time in view, screen share, and interaction predict performance better — especially in CTV, premium video, and long-form native formats. They give advertisers and publishers deeper insight into user engagement.
Measurement that reflects real business value will matter more than traditional viewability and VCR. Attention, incrementality, brand lift, call propensity, and cost-per-outcome metrics can be used to identify higher-quality impressions. Buyers will push harder on CTV pricing, efficiency, and performance, and low-quality supply will be squeezed out.
Priyesh Patel, Founder of PGAM Media
What this means for AdTech players
As AI-driven optimization, cleaner data models, and simplified supply chains are becoming standard, the expectations placed on both publishers and advertisers are rising. Each side faces different pressures, but both must adapt their technology and operating models.
Sellers
In 2025 sellers were given more control over the auction. 2026 is their chance to make the most of it. For publishers the operational focus must move to embedded automation — implementing optimization, including AdCP and AI agents.
Since manual optimization and legacy workflows are becoming unsustainable, AI is no longer a buzzword. Those who don't have smart assistants in their stack lose to other ad tech players. Programmatic success now depends on how effectively publishers and advertisers adapt their technology stacks to a performance-oriented ecosystem.
Olga Zharuk, Chief Product Officer at TeqBlaze.
Protocols like AdCP reflect how AI-driven decisioning is reshaping the economics of the supply chain. The goal is not incremental transparency at the log level but structural simplification: reducing manual coordination, automating operational workflows, and removing unnecessary intermediaries without compromising performance.
Supply-path integrity and transparency will also become table stakes. Those who fail to demonstrate clear control over traffic sources, consent management, and data usage risk losing both performance and trust.
Finally, ownership of first-party data will remain a significant competitive advantage. Standardized measurement frameworks and real-time performance dashboards will be critical for demonstrating value to buyers and justifying premium pricing.
Buyers
Manual reconciliation of campaign performance, fragmented reporting, and opaque supply chains will no longer be sustainable for agencies and brand advertisers. Their operational priorities should include simplifying supply paths and embedding attention and outcome-based metrics into automated decision-making. This is driving a push to remove resellers from their supply chain, pay less, and be more efficient.
A major recalibration of the supply chain is already happening. Next, we can expect continued consolidation but also specialization. Buyers will reduce the number of intermediaries, reward transparent supply paths, and lean into fewer but more strategic inventory relationships.
Priyesh Patel, Founder of PGAM Media
Attention signals are becoming the new currency for predicting outcomes, but most buyers aren't yet operationalizing them as buying inputs rather than post-campaign diagnostics. By 2026, to succeed, advertisers need to prioritize accountable partners and align buying strategies around signals that reflect real outcomes rather than surface-level performance. The focus will shift from scale optimization to decision quality across every channel.
Across both sides of the market, the key differentiator will be how effectively technology drives execution. Optimization needs to become a predictable, repeatable capability, driving sustainable results even as channels fragment and signals degrade.
Whenever OpenAI finds a way to effectively attract brands, and brands see that campaigns perform without losing their existing KPIs — it could change the market globally. In 2026, the SSPs’ and DSPs’ place and role will be determined by how OpenAI launches its browser and a sufficient monetization model. But I think they will need more than a year to gain this expertise. But the moves in this direction have already begun.
Anastasia-Nikita Bansal, CEO of TeqBlaze.
Preparing for a transparent and automated reality
By 2026, ad tech will be less about spotting new opportunities and more about consistently and at scale executing on already established best practices. The industry already knows its biggest challenges — opaque supply paths, and inefficient workflows. What has dramatically changed is that they can no longer be addressed through manual oversight. The shift is now operational.
CTV and DOOH must be treated as performance media, with the same rigor applied to validation, frequency management, and outcome measurement as in other digital channels. CTV fraud, spoofing, and opaque reselling still exist at scale. Leaders need more rigorous supply-path integrity and post-bid validation.
Performance now depends on technology, automation, and control — not manual effort or fragmented workflows. AI’s real value lies in automated campaign setup, pacing, troubleshooting, and bid adjustments. Strategy, creative direction, and the interpretation of performance signals will remain human-led.
The next stage of programmatic will be shaped by how decision rules are implemented, how cross-channel signals are normalized, and how automated actions are monitored and audited. Buyers and publishers who invest in an owned technology stack will turn optimization into an operational standard. And with the right platforms and workflows in place, optimization will stop being a constant reaction and become part of how the business should run despite growing signal noise and regulatory pressure.
