Mumbai: DoubleVerify, the software platform to verify media quality, optimize ad performance, and prove campaign outcomes, today released its 2025 Global Insights: AI, Automation and the Future of Digital Advertising report. The study examines how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the digital advertising landscape, drawing on DV’s platform intelligence, campaign-level analytics, and a global survey of 1,970 marketing and advertising decision-makers.
Marketers as “Campaign Facilitators”
A key theme emerging from the report is the growing operational strain on marketers, particularly in programmatic media buying. DV’s research shows that campaign managers are dedicating 26% of their time — over 10 hours per week — to manual optimizations such as tweaking bid modifiers, reallocating budgets, and adjusting performance thresholds.
For North American agencies, this translates to over $17,000 annually per team member spent on repetitive tasks — time that could instead be invested in strategic planning and innovation.
“Campaign managers are often trapped in reactive workflows, acting more like hands-on campaign facilitators than strategists,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify. “DV’s solutions, powered by AI, present an opportunity to flip that dynamic, allowing teams to automate routine decisions and focus instead on higher-order thinking and performance optimization.”
AI Adoption Rising Across Workflows
The report highlights a marked increase in AI adoption across various campaign functions:
- Campaign activation surged by 32% year-over-year — the largest growth across all workflows.
- Bidding and mid-flight optimization rose 12% YoY, reflecting the complexity of media performance levers that AI can handle more efficiently.
- Summarizing media briefs saw an 11% uptick, while dynamic creative optimization grew by 8%.
Importantly, 91% of marketers report they are using or planning to use third-party AI or automated bidding tools beyond their DSPs to boost performance and streamline operations.
“As the media landscape becomes more fragmented and fast-moving, marketers are embracing AI to reclaim control and drive more intelligent, outcome-based campaigns,” added Zagorski. “This shift isn’t just about automation, it’s about enabling smarter strategies that yield tangible returns on investment. Our recently launched AI-driven solution, DV Authentic AdVantage™, specifically designed to address the challenges of advertising in walled gardens, empowers advertisers to enhance media performance and drive cost efficiency.”
