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Google is expected to maintain over 72% of all US search ad spending by 2026, increasing from 71.7% in 2025, while Microsoft holds just 7.7%. YouTube’s strong ad performance suggests brands should continue prioritizing video content, while Google’s AI-powered search tools could change how marketers approach paid search and SEO strategies.

Music licensing: A multiyear deal with Universal Music Group announced late last month offers better artist compensation while potentially eliminating a $200 million annual bundle discount on US mechanical royalties. Why it matters: Spotify’s shift toward profitability and monetization is paying off, proving it can sustain growth while improving margins.

Retail’s resilience and its outsized role in digital ad spending will help offset the impact of a broader slowdown in growth in the US digital advertising market.

Programmatic will account for more than 9 in 10 display ad dollars in the US this year. But programmatic advertisers and publishers face new challenges as they adapt to signal loss from data protection legislation and other privacy changes from browsers and operating systems.

Patients like receiving educational health information in medical settings: We explore how advertising at points of care like the doctor’s office can trigger patient behavior while also delivering value to doctors.

Key stat: We forecast that by 2028, AR users in the US will reach 116.0 million, and VR users will reach 91.3 million. Our take: Reality Labs could maintain its lead until cheaper variants of Orion come to market, but competing ecosystems might shift the balance as consumer interest in other offerings gains momentum.

Spotify's US listener growth is projected at 1.9% annually through 2028, with digital audio’s share of total media ad spend dropping from 4.5% in 2024 to 3.5% by 2028. Terrestrial radio, though declining, still outperforms digital audio in ad revenue per user, creating growth headwinds for Spotify.

Click here to view our full forecasts for retail media ad spending and digital ad spending in the US. By 2027, the majority of incremental dollars spent on digital advertising will come from retail media. Retail media’s share of incremental spending in digital advertising will increase to 60% in 2028.

More than half of US consumers notice affiliate content online. Significant numbers of consumers have become good at avoiding (or ignoring) ads. But our proprietary survey of 1,378 US consumers found that a majority of them are aware of affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is viewed as one of the least intrusive forms of advertising.

US insurance digital ad spending growth will slow even further this year, lagging all other financial service sectors. Instead, insurers will focus squarely on maximizing their digital dollars.

Digital ad spending by healthcare and pharmaceutical companies went through its own upheaval during the pandemic. Now the industry is settling into a new normal for growth in some channels as consumer media habits have changed.