Global Ad Revenue Hits $1.14 Trillion as AI Summaries Cut Search Clicks and Email ROI Tops $10 per $1
In 2025, global advertising revenue reached $1.14 trillion, marking an 8.8% rise when excluding political ads from the US. WPP Media anticipates an 8.9% increase for 2026. The US internet advertising sector approached $300 billion, reflecting a 13.9% growth, the highest recorded in the IAB/PwC report's three-decade history. For the first time, commerce advertising exceeded TV ad revenue, totaling $178.2 billion. By 2031, Statista predicts digital advertising will represent 84.1% of total spending. In September 2026, Google commanded 89.9% of the global search market. AI-generated summaries were present in 18% of searches by March 2025. Email marketing yields over $10 for every dollar spent for 70% of marketing leaders, while Instagram is favored by 70% of marketers. Writing an average blog post now takes 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Key facts
- Global advertising revenue reached $1.14 trillion in 2025, up 8.8% excluding US political ads, with WPP Media forecasting 8.9% growth in 2026
- US internet advertising hit a record nearly $300 billion in 2025, up 13.9%, the highest in the IAB/PwC report's 30-year history
- Commerce advertising led by retail media reached $178.2 billion in 2025, passing total TV ad revenue for the first time
- Google held 89.9% of worldwide search in September 2026, but Pew Research found AI summaries cut clicks on traditional results from 15% to 8% of visits
- 70% of marketing leaders get at least $10 back per $1 spent on email, and 35% get $36 or more, according to Litmus
- Instagram is the platform marketers use most at 70%, followed by Facebook at 69.6%, TikTok at 57% and LinkedIn at 42%
- Short-form video delivers the best ROI for 49% of marketers, and TikTok's 3.70% brand engagement rate is more than seven times Instagram's 0.48%
- 80% of marketers use AI for content creation, 94% plan to build it into their process, and Meta's Advantage+ campaigns passed a $75 billion annual run rate in Q2 2026
Entities
Artists
- Rok
Institutions
- WPP Media
- IAB
- PwC
- Statista
- StatCounter
- Litmus
- Mailchimp
- HubSpot
- Socialinsider
- DataReportal
- Orbit Media
- Salesforce
- Pew Research
- Backlinko
- Meta
- TikTok
- Apple
- ULTIDA
- Colorlib
- Alphabet
- Amazon
- Microsoft
- Snap
- LocaliQ
- Netflix
- Disney+
- Prime Video
- Bing
- Copilot
Locations
- United States
- Indonesia
- South Africa
- Serbia