For MENA’s CMOs, brand leaders and agencies, more of the advertising decisions shaping their campaigns could soon be made by AI sitting behind the platforms they already use. As self-serve advertising platforms take a larger share of media budgets, the question for marketers is becoming increasingly important: how much control do brands have when the technology is deciding where ads appear, who sees them and what they cost?
Gartner predicts that more than 70% of global ad spend will flow through self-serve advertising platforms in which AI materially influences media buying, cost and outcomes by 2028. In the U.S., that figure is expected to reach 80%.
The forecast points to the growing role of AI in the infrastructure behind digital advertising. Gartner says AI is already embedded in the algorithms advertising platforms use to determine ad delivery, audience selection and pricing. It distinguishes this “back-office” AI from GenAI used to develop advertising creative.
Advertisers and agencies are also increasingly buying and managing media through platform interfaces and APIs. Gartner expects AI’s influence over these decisions to deepen as platforms become more automated.
“AI is not merely helping marketers execute campaigns faster. Advertising platforms are using it to exert greater influence over how marketers reach their audiences, what they pay, and the outcomes they achieve,” said Eric Schmitt, VP Analyst in Gartner’s Marketing practice, in the company’s announcement earlier this month.
That shift puts greater emphasis on measurement. Gartner argues that improved platform economics do not automatically translate into lower costs for advertisers and recommends that CMOs prioritize platforms that allow transparency and independent evaluation of performance.
The research also recommends concentrating investment and management attention on platforms that are strategically important to the business, while maintaining a broader portfolio of platforms to test new opportunities and reach additional audiences. “The more influence AI has over advertising decisions, the more important independent measurement becomes,” Schmitt said in Gartner’s announcement. “CMOs need confidence that platform performance reflects real business impact, not just platform-reported results.”
For marketers across MENA, where digital platforms are already central to media strategies, the forecast raises a timely question: as AI takes a greater role in deciding how advertising budgets are deployed, are brands equipped to independently prove that those decisions are driving business results?
