Mumbai: Integral Ad Science (IAS), a global platform focused on AI-powered media quality and measurement, has released the 21st edition of its Media Quality Report (MQR), highlighting how proactive media optimisation is becoming a critical driver of advertising performance in an increasingly AI-powered digital ecosystem.
Drawing insights from more than 300 billion daily digital interactions, the report offers benchmarks across the open internet alongside channel-specific insights spanning Connected TV (CTV) and social media, helping marketers improve return on investment (ROI) across digital campaigns.
According to the report, while the open internet continues to offer scale, unmanaged mobile web display environments have emerged as significant sources of ad clutter and Made-for-Advertising (MFA) impressions. In contrast, premium video environments continue to deliver stronger viewability, attention and business outcomes.
The findings build on IAS’s 2026 Industry Pulse Report, which found that 88% of industry experts rank digital video among their top investment priorities, while 84% prioritise social media. However, concerns around AI-generated content, creator ecosystems and transparency are prompting marketers to adopt more quality-focused media strategies.
Commenting on the report, Lidiane Jones, CEO of Integral Ad Science, said, “In an era of AI-accelerated content, buying massive scale is no longer enough; winning brands are optimizing for verified attention that drives business outcomes. Our latest Media Quality Report shows that navigating this new landscape requires more than just defensive guardrails. Marketers need proactive, AI-driven intelligence to cut through the synthetic noise, eliminate invisible waste, and transform media quality into a true performance engine.”
Among the report’s key findings, global video viewability reached 79.7%, outperforming display advertising, which recorded 67.9% viewability, creating a gap of 11.8 percentage points. The report attributes this trend to continued consumer preference for immersive, video-first environments across Connected TV and social platforms.
Campaigns using attention-based strategies in premium video environments also reported notable performance improvements, including a 56% increase in attention scores, a 76% reduction in cost-per-click, and household-level sales lift of up to 313% for high-attention video advertisements.
The report also identifies mobile web display as the largest contributor to media inefficiencies. Although it accounted for 45.1% of all impressions globally, the format generated 54.9% of brand suitability violations, 71.5% of global ad clutter and 71.9% of all Made-for-Advertising (MFA) impressions. IAS noted that MFA rates on mobile web display are now four times higher than on desktop, underscoring the need for page-level optimisation to improve campaign efficiency.
The study further found a positive relationship between sustainability initiatives and media quality. Advertisers that measured and reduced carbon emissions through IAS and Good-Loop’s green-certified campaigns consistently delivered stronger quality impression rates. In the EMEA region, such campaigns recorded a 3.9 percentage point improvement in quality impression rates overall, while campaigns in the Travel & Entertainment category saw gains of 8.7 percentage points.
With AI-generated content reshaping digital advertising, the report concludes that marketers who combine scale with proactive optimisation, verified attention and sustainable media practices will be better positioned to drive measurable business outcomes in the evolving media landscape.
