David Cohen, Chief executive of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), has climbed onto the dangerous prediction limb, with his 2026 Predictions, oppulently titled Search Takes a Backseat as Brands Battle Inside AI's Black Box. AI seems to be top-of-mind, as four of the predictions (including the top three) focus on artificial intelligence. We will spill those top three below, but leaving out the editorial content which accompanies each of his forecasts:
Cedara, the AI engine for sustainable media, announced that it has been recognised as a major contender in Everest Group's Carbon Accounting Platform PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2025. The PEAK Matrix® Assessment by Everest Group provides a comparative evaluation of leading carbon accounting platforms globally. The assessment measures platforms on vision, functionality, market impact, and cost to help enterprises identify the right solutions for their sustainability initiatives.
"Creative people, by their very nature, are worriers, and when you're tasked with your core competency being to defend ideas in every situation possible, change is always frightening. But I do fundamentally believe that what's at risk with AI is not creativity. What's at risk is the size of the margins of the businesses that built things out to wrap around creativity. So I'm excited about what's coming."
Sir Martin Sorrell criticized WPP's consolidation efforts as a "disgrace" and expressed doubts about the company's future under current leadership. He suggested that WPP might be beyond saving.
Employees in advertising are reliant on AI tools for research and idea generation, with concerns about misuse and lack of verification, raising questions around productivity and information security.
Only 40% of respondents feel advertising is a trustworthy industry, with only 44% believing it has a positive societal impact, despite 78% enjoying their work.
I literally laughed out loud. We shouldn't be surprised. We've tried to plan for this. We changed a lot. For five years, there was a lot of urgency.
Although we are having client conversations about the potential impact for a future state, there is no current impact on our budgets," said Vickie Segar, founder of influencer marketing shop Village Marketing, now owned by WPP. "It's a watch and wait moment... we have a president who is not consistent in strategy or thought.
