Report highlights industry demand for greater transparency and AI-driven verification across all digital environments

SYDNEY, December 9, 2025 — Integral Ad Science, a leading global media measurement and optimisation platform, today unveiled its Australia Industry Pulse Report 2026, which reveals a decisive shift in how Australian marketers are planning for the year ahead. The rapid migration of consumers across CTV, social media, and retail media networks is prompting advertisers to prioritise measurement and transparency when running programmatic campaigns to protect their brand reputation and optimise performance. 

“2026 will be a defining year for Australia’s digital ecosystem,” said Jessica Miles, Country Manager ANZ at IAS. “As AI accelerates the creation of content at unprecedented speed, brands are demanding sharper attention insights, stronger transparency, measurement and optimisation that can keep pace with the complexity of emerging media. The next year will reward marketers who embrace innovation, and who invest not just in reach, but in the quality and integrity of every impression.”

Key highlights from the report:

Connected TV (CTV) becomes the premium battleground for attention

With more streaming platforms scaling, CTV has solidified its position as a priority environment for both performance and brand-building. CTV is accelerating, and it demands the same, if not higher, accountability standards as linear TV and digital video.

• 82% say measuring attention on CTV will be vital for evaluating outcomes in 2026;
• 81% consider third-party verification essential to ensure ad quality, suitability, and accurate delivery;
• Advertisers also emphasise the importance of frequency controls and cross-platform consistency as fragmentation continues to increase.

Retail Media Networks evolve into full-funnel, quality-first ecosystems

What began as a commerce channel is now becoming a premium attention platform. Retail Media Networks sit firmly at the intersection of commerce, influence, and high-quality media and require transparent metrics to fulfil that promise.

• 82% cite viewability as a core RMN KPI;
• 79% say attention measurement will play a crucial role in performance evaluation;
• 83% cite contextual relevance and brand suitability as top strategies for improving outcomes.

Social media surges, but transparency gaps and the rapid rise of AI-generated content threaten advertiser confidence

Social platforms continue to dominate digital consumption:

• 83% of media experts cite Attention and Viewability as critical metrics for evaluating campaign performance;
• 80% of experts stress that third-party verification is essential for identifying and classifying AI-generated content, including deepfakes, across platforms;
• 72% warn that insufficient transparency from platforms around media quality threatens advertiser spend, especially as concerns mount over the unchecked growth of AI-generated content on social media;
• Social remains indispensable, but requires transparency, verification, and deeper intelligence to remain a trusted environment.

Across advertisers, agencies, and media experts surveyed, digital video, mobile, and social top the investment agenda. Meanwhile, concerns about AI-generated content, unsafe adjacencies, MFA inventory, and inadequate platform transparency are shaping media strategies with unprecedented urgency. Notably, 75% of respondents identify content adjacency, including AI-generated and creator content, as their number one digital media challenge entering 2026. 

About the IAS Industry Pulse Report 2026

Integral Ad Science (IAS) partnered with YouGov to survey AU digital media experts from both the buy- and sell-sides to understand their perspectives on media challenges lying ahead and opportunities they will seek to harness in 2026. In this annual report, we deep dive into the trends, technologies, and solutions that will shape digital media and advertising in 2026, directly from top industry professionals.

Download the full report here

About Integral Ad Science 

Integral Ad Science (IAS) is a leading global media measurement and optimization platform that delivers the industry’s most actionable data to drive superior results for the world’s largest advertisers, publishers, and media platforms. IAS’s software provides comprehensive and enriched data that ensures ads are seen by real people in safe and suitable environments, while improving return on ad spend for advertisers and yield for publishers. Our mission is to be the global benchmark for trust and transparency in digital media quality. For more information, visit integralads.com.