2026年度营销报告人工智能时代的全球营销人员

MARKETERAIADOPTION

ACTIVEUSE90%

NOADOPTION1.6%

33%

AITRUST&HUMANREVIEWTOTALTRUST

55%

TOTALREVIEW

47%

INDIATRUST

50%

INDIAREVIEW

35%

UKTRUST

56%

UKREVIEW

34%

USTRUST

51%

USREVIEW

36%

GERMANYTRUST

53%

GERMANYREVIEW

21%

FRANCETRUST

63%

FRANCEREVIEW

25%

ITALYTRUST

58%

ITALYREVIEW

AIINDUSTRYSPEND

18000$500,000,000

AICREATIVES

US1HSPEND

2.6X

TOPSPENDYOY

2X

EUROPESPENDYOY

16%

USADGROWTH

67.7%

WORKFLOWADOPTIONANALYTICS

63.5%

CREATIVE

62.4%

MEDIAPLANNING

57.3%

FORECASTING

47%

MEASUREMENTPRIORITIES(2026VS2025)ACCURACY26

20%

ACCURACY25

33%

EFFICIENCY26

21%

EFFICIENCY25

31%

TRANSPARENCY26

21%

TRANSPARENCY25

23%

SPEED26

18%

SPEED25

22%

EASE26

19%

EASE25

50%

GEOEFFECTIVENESS(BYCOUNTRY)TOTAL

61%

INDIA

55%

UK

53%

US

50%

GERMANY

42%

ITALY

39%

FRANCE

56%

MEASUREMENTCHALLENGESUSACCURACY

28%

ROICHALLENGE

33%

USROICHALLENGE

15%

RELIABLEROI

7%

NOGEO

GEOBUDGET+

NavigatingtheAIera:

Accuracy,outcomes,&shiftingtrendsFromadoptiontoaccuracy:

CONSUMERAI&TRUSTTIMESPENT

BRANDAI

2026AnnualMarketingReport

GlobalmarketersintheirAIera

FAKETITLES

MEDIAPLANNINGADOPTION(BYCOUNTRY)TOTAL

INDIA

UK

US

ITALY

GERMANY

FRANCE

DATAINFRASTRUCTUREDAILYDATA

SAMPLESIZE

Introduction

Marketinghasnevermovedfaster,andthe

stakesforgettingitrighthaveneverbeenhigher.

AInowmovesitallaheadevenfaster,shapinghowbrandsplan,measure,andshowupfor

consumers.But,speedalonewon’twinshare.

Througheachchapterinthisreport,welook

athowAIhaschangedtheindustry,where

marketersareinvesting,whichchannelsare

movingaudiences

throughthefunnel

,andwhytrust,inboththedataandthemessage,mattersmorethanever.

Fromcreatorsandsocialto

linearTVandsports

,explorewhat’sdrivinggrowthandwhatittakestokeeppace.

Tableof

Contents

04

06

08

10

AIinadvertisingisthenorm

TrustinAIisconditionalon

themeasurementbehindit

AI-poweredmediaintelligence

Navigatingthenew

consumergatekeeper

1

1

6

7

Yournextmove

HowNielsenhelps

2026AnnualMarketingReportGlobalmarketersintheirAIera

AIinadvertisingisthenorm

Nearlyeverymarketerisactivelyincorporatingartificialintelligence(AI)intotheirworkflows.Nielsen’slatest

surveyof1,200marketersacrosssixcountriesfoundlessthan2%reportnoAIuseatall.1

Whileathirdofmarketersaroundtheworldfullytrust

andactonAI-generatedrecommendations,themajoritykeepa“humanintheloop.”Eitherway,today’sad

creativesaren’tholdingbackoncommunicatingtheirlatestinnovationsintheircampaigns.

Infact,AImentionsinadvertisingarenowthenorm.

Nearly18,000U.S.adcreativesmentionedorfeaturedAIinjustonemonthaccordingtoNielsenAdIntel.2

AndsixleadingAIcompaniesspentnearlyhalfabillion

dollarsacrosschannelsinthemarketduringthefirst

halfof2026alone—a2.6xincreaseyear-over-year.3AI

categoryspendacrossEuropehasskyrocketedsimilarly:a2xincreaseinthefirsthalfof2026alonecomparedtothefullyearofAIcompanyspendin2025.4

1NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

2NielsenAdIntelAI,Feb2025

3NielsenAdIntelAI,1H2026,1H2025

4NielsenAdIntel,2025,1H2026,France,Germany,Italy,U.K.combined

Copyright©2026TheNielsenCompany(US),LLC.|4

2026AnnualMarketingReportGlobalmarketersintheirAIera

NielsenCopyright©2026TheNielsenCompany(US),LLC.|5

AI:Thenewnormalinadvertising

NEARLY

18K

creativesmentioningAIinjustonemonth

2.6X

increaseintopAIcompanyadspendyearoveryear

2X

growthinAIcompanyadspendacrossEuropevsallof2025,reachedinjustthefirsthalfof2026

Source:NielsenAdIntelAI,1H2025,1H2026,U.S.;2025vs1H2026,France,Germany,Italy,U.K.

1in3

marketersfullytrustAI-generatedrecommendations

intheirmediaplanning,measurement,orcreativedecisions

Trustishighbutconditional:

Marketerswantahumanintheloop

Trustbutrequirehumanreview

Fullytrustandactonthemindependently

India

Germany

Total

U.S.

France

U.K.Italy

50%

47%

56%

35%

53%

36%

51%

34%

55%

33%63%

58%25%

21%

Source:NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

2026AnnualMarketingReportGlobalmarketersintheirAIera

Copyright©2026TheNielsenCompany(US),LLC.|6

TrustinAIisconditionalonthemeasurementbehindit

Forglobalmarketers,

AIworkflowsofferhighimpactsolutions

.But,asAIautomatesmoredecisions,marketerswantproofthatthesystemsbehindthosedecisionsareaccurate.

AIisalreadypartofnearlyeverymarketer’sday.Measurementandanalyticsleadtheway,withalmost68%ofmarketersusingAIthere.

Morethanthreeinfiveuseitforcreativeproduction,mediaplanning,andoptimization.And57%leverageAIforpredictiveforecasting.Only1.6%ofmarketersaren’tusingAIintoday’sworkflow.5

AdoptionrunshighintheU.S.,wheremorethan7outof10marketers

areleveragingAIformeasurementandanalyticsinparticular,outpacingtheaverageacrosssixglobalmarkets.AI’sswiftandnearuniversal

implementationissolvingformultiplepainpointsliketheneedforefficiency,easeofuse,andspeedinmeasurementtools.6

Now,thefocusonaccuracyisnon-negotiable.

5NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

6NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

WORKFLOWADOPTION

ANALYTICS63.5%

CREATIVE63.5%

MEDIAPLANNING62.4%

FORECASTING57.3%

PRIORITYSHIFTS2026

ACCURACY47%

COSTEFFICIENCY33%

TRANSPARENCY31%

SPEEDTOINSIGHTS23%

EASEOFUSE18%

PRIORITYSHIFTS2025

COSTEFFICIENCY22%

TRANSPARENCY21%

ACCURACY21%

EASEOFUSE20%

SPEEDTOINSIGHTS19%

WORKFLOWADOPTION

ANALYTICS67.7%

CREATIVE63.5%

MEDIAPLANNING62.4%

FORECASTING57.3%

PRIORITYSHIFTS2026

ACCURACY47%

COSTEFFICIENCY33%

TRANSPARENCY31%

SPEEDTOINSIGHTS23%

EASEOFUSE18%

PRIORITYSHIFTS2025

COSTEFFICIENCY22%

TRANSPARENCY21%

ACCURACY21%

EASEOFUSE20%

SPEEDTOINSIGHTS19%

WORKFLOWADOPTION

ANALYTICS67.7%

2026AnnualMarketingReportGlobalmarketersintheirAIera

NielsenCopyright©2026TheNielsenCompany(US),LLC.|7

AIadoptionacrossmarketingworkflows

u

s

a

v

i

t

a

e

a

i

d

t

c

i

d

Cr

Me

Pre

Me

m

e

r

r

P

e

n

a

l

P

F

e

v

i

/

t

n

e

c

u

d

o

g

n

i

n

c

e

r

o

a

n

A

n

o

ti

p

O

/

i

t

s

a

64%

68%

57%

62%

t

y

l

m

i

t

g

n

s

c

i

n

o

i

t

a

z

i

Source:NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

Shiftsinprioritiesyearoveryear

2026

2025

47%

33%

31%

23%

22%

21%

21%

20%

19%

18%

SPEEDTOINSIGHTS

COSTEFFICIENCY

TRANSPARENCY

ACCURACY

EASEOFUSE

SPEEDTOINSIGHTS

EASEOFUSE

Acrosssixglobalmarkets,accuracyisnowrankedthe#1priorityinmeasurementtools

ACCURACY

COSTEFFICIENCY

TRANSPARENCY

Source:NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

Copyright©2026TheNielsenCompany(US),LLC.|8

2026AnnualMarketingReport

AI-powered

mediaintelligence

Globalma「kete「sinthei「AIe「a

At56%,U.S.marketersleadinprioritizingaccuracyinmeasurementtechnologies.7WithU.S.adspendinthefirsthalfof2026alreadyoutpacingtheyearpriorby16%,muchisatstake.8

Forinternationalmarketers,thatsamedemand

foraccuracyinAI-poweredmeasurementtools

isextendingintocompetitiveintelligence.Ratherthanrelyingonvolumetricsalone,Nielsen’snew

EMEAoffering,MessagingShareofVoice(mSOV),pairsAI-drivencreativecategorizationwithad

spenddatatorevealwhichcreativethemesare

dominatingbyregion,mediatype,andcompetitor.

7NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

8NielsenAdIntelAI,1H2025,1H2026

2026AnnualMarketingReportGlobalmarketersintheirAIera

CaseStudy

ThepowerofmediaintelligenceandAItosolve

competitiveblindspots|NielsenMessagingShareofVoice(mSOV)

70%offinancialservicesmarketersleverageAIsolutionsinmeasurementandanalytics,

slightlyoutpacingmarketersoverall.9

9NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

THECHALLENGE

55%

THEASK

$50M

incategoryadspendunderreviewacross

6mediachannels10

Uncovermediaspend

pressure,channelsplits

acrosscompetitors,decodecampaigntargetaudiences,andidentifymessaging

themesandmarketshifts.

offinancialservicesmarketersarefocusedonsalesliftand

ROIintheyearahead11

Gainapreciseunderstandingofhowcompetitorscommunicatethevaluepropositiontokey

audiencesofover2K+creativesfromtraditionalanddigital

bankingproviders.CanNielsendeliverdata-backedstrategic

positioningrecommendationsfortheClient’sBrand?

11NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

THESOLUTION

+12%

increaseYoYinadspendfocusedonClientBrand’sleadingcompetitivetheme

ThroughAI-drivencategorization,mSOVtransformedqualitative

messagingintoanalyticaldata

detailingrisingB2Cinvestments,

promopricingfocusandincreasingcompetitivethematicpressurevstheprioryear.

Source:NielsenAdIntel,January-July2025,January-July2024;NielsenMessagingShareofVoice,EMEA

10NielsenAdIntel,France,Germany,Italy,UK

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2026AnnualMarketingReportGlobalmarketersintheirAIera

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Navigatingthenew

consumergatekeeper

CONSUMERAIADOPTION

USBRANDRECOMMENDATION50%

GEOEFFECTIVENESSBYCOUNTRY

TOTAL50%

INDIA61%

UK55%

US53%

GERMANY50%

ITALY42%

FRANCE39%

CONSUMERAIADOPTION

USBRANDRECOMMENDATION50%

GEOEFFECTIVENESSBYCOUNTRY

TOTAL50%

INDIA61%

UK55%

US53%

GERMANY50%

ITALY42%

FRANCE39%

CONSUMERAIADOPTION

USBRANDRECOMMENDATION50%

GEOEFFECTIVENESSBYCOUNTRY

TOTAL50%

INDIA61%

UK55%

US53%

GERMANY50%

ITALY42%

FRANCE39%

AIisn’tjustdisruptingmarketers’approachtowork.LargeLanguageModels(LLMs)havebecomecommonplaceamongconsumersas

theydiscover,trust,andpurchasebrands.NielsenMediaImpacttrendsshowa47%increaseintimespentwithsomeofthetopconsumer-facingAImodelsduringthefirsthalfof2026.12

Inadditiontonewadformatsandagentictoolsemergingonmanyoftheseplatforms,theresponsesthemselvesholdvalueformarketers.Whichproductgetsrecommendedduringconsumers’interactions

andtheinformationthatinfluencesitsanswersmakesAIapowerfulgatekeeperforbrandbuildingandpurchaseintent.

TheseconsumertrendshavequicklymademarketerexpertiseonAnswerEngineOptimization(AEO),GenerativeEngineOptimization(GEO),andotherAIdisciplinesessential.Infact,53%ofU.S.

marketerssurveyedviewedGEO,orbrandsbuyingintobe

discoveredbyLLMsandAIagents,asaneffectivemarketing

channel.13HalfofconsumersreportturningtoAIforbrandorproductrecommendationsregularly.14

12NielsenMediaImpact,January2026,June2026

13NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

14NielsenMediaAttitudesStudy,2026

2026AnnualMarketingReportGlobalmarketersintheirAIera

NielsenCopyright©2026TheNielsenCompany(US),LLC.|11

50%

ofU.S.consumersturntoAIforbrandorproductrecommendationsatleastonceamonth.

Source:NielsenMediaAttitudesStudy,2026

GenerativeEngineOptimization(GEO)perceivedeffectiveness

India

61%

U.K.

U.S.

53%

55%

Total50%

Germany

50%

Italy

42%

France39%

Source:NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

2026AnnualMarketingReportGlobalmarketersintheirAIera

GEOBUDGETSHIFT-TOTAL50%+INCREASE

0-49%INCREASE

NOCHANGE

0-49%DECREASE

ThepressuremaybeonforAIadoptioninmarketing

strategies,butdeterminingitsROIisstillunder

developmentforsome.28%ofmarketerscited

inabilitytomeasurenewerchannelsasoneoftheirtopchallengesinmeasuringthereturnoninvestmentof

digitaladspend.U.S.marketersledthissentimentat

nearlyoneinthree.15Specifically,industryresearchputsthenumberofmarketerswithareliablewaytomeasurerevenuetiedtoAI-drivendiscoveryatjust15%.16

While6%ofmarketerssurveyedweren’tyetusingGEO,morethanhalfareanticipatingbudgetincreasesinthenextyear.17Aclearer,holisticpictureofperformancewilllikelyincreaseinimportanceasmoremarketersfund

theirpaidAIstrategies.

15NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026,Top3Box

16eMarketer&Partnerize,FromClickstoInfluence:

TheNewEconomicModelofAI-DrivenCommerce,2026

17NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

50%+DECREASE

NOTAPPLICABLE

12.30%

5.60%

1.50%

8.50%

39.00%

38.00%

9.00%

4.00%

GEOBUDGETSHIFT-FRANCE50%+INCREASE

0-49%INCREASE

NOCHANGE

0-49%DECREASE

50%+DECREASE

NOTAPPLICABLE

1.00%

6.00%

41.50%

34.50%

8.50%

8.50%

GEOBUDGETSHIFT-GERMANY50%+INCREASE

0-49%INCREASE

NOCHANGE

0-49%DECREASE

50%+DECREASE

NOTAPPLICABLE

0%

4.00%

18.00%

54.50%

20.00%

3.50%

GEOBUDGETSHIFT-INDIA50%+INCREASE

0-49%INCREASE

NOCHANGE

0-49%DECREASE

50%+DECREASE

NOTAPPLICABLE

Copyright©2026TheNielsenCompany(US),LLC.|12

0.50%

4.50%

GEOBUDGETSHIFT-ITALY50%+INCREASE

0-49%INCREASE

2026AnnualMarketingReportGlobalmarketersintheirAIera

NielsenCopyright©2026TheNielsenCompany(US),LLC.|13

AnticipatedGenerativeEngineOptimization(GEO)budgetshiftsoverthenextyear

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

U.S.

U.K.

Italy

India

Germany

France

Total

NotApplicable

50%+

Decrease

0-49%

Decrease

NoChange

0-49%

50%+

Increase

Increase

Source:NielsenAnnualMarketingSurvey,2026

2026AnnualMarketingReportGlobalmarketersintheirAIera

CONSUMERAIADOPTION

USCONTENTDISCOVERY52%

MEDIAPLANNINGAIADOPTION

TOTAL62%

INDIA76%

UK67%

US67%

ITALY58%

GERMANY55%

FRANCE53%

CONSUMERAIADOPTION

USCONTENTDISCOVERY52%

MEDIAPLANNINGAIADOPTION

TOTAL62%

INDIA76%

UK67%

US67%

ITALY58%

GERMANY55%

FRANCE53%

CONSUMERAIADOPTION

USCONTENTDISCOVERY52%

MEDIAPLANNINGAIADOPTION

TOTAL62%

INDIA76%

UK67%

US67%

ITALY58%

GERMANY55%

FRANCE53%

AItoolsarebeingusedforconsumers’branddiscoveryandrecommendations,andarealsoincreasinglykey

toaudiences’

contentdiscovery

aswell.52%ofU.S.

consumersreportedusingAIforfindingcontentat

leastonceamonthormore,outpacingbranddiscoveryandrecommendationactivity.18

ResearchsuggeststhatwhileAIusagemaybeup,

consumertrustisstillhardtoearn.75%ofpeople

reportedverifyingtheresultsthatAIprovides

becausetheydon’ttrustthem.19

Gracenote’scontent

intelligence

,rangingfromdescriptivemetadatato

contextualthemestoscheduledata,providesthe

foundationonwhichAIaccuracyandperformance

relies.TheiranalysisofrecommendationsanddetailsfromaleadingLLMwithoutthiskindoffoundation

revealedthattheAItoolhallucinated100%oftheinformationforover500programtitles.20

Onaverage,62%ofmarketersareleveragingAI

formediaplanningandoptimization.21Lookingfor

contextualtargetingopportunitieswithouttherightfoundationbehindrecommendationscanunderminebudgetinvestments.

18NielsenMediaAttitudesStudy,2026

192026GracenotegenerativeAIusagesurvey

20PlotholesinAI:WhyungroundedLLMscan’tfixcontentdiscovery,Gracenote,2026

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21NielsenAnnua