Integral Ad Science (IAS) has released the 21st edition of its Media Quality Report (MQR), offering new insights into how advertisers can improve campaign performance through AI-powered media quality optimization. Drawing on more than 300 billion daily digital interactions, the report examines trends across the open internet, Connected TV (CTV), social media, and mobile advertising, emphasizing the growing importance of attention metrics, brand safety, and inventory quality in digital marketing.

As digital advertising becomes increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence, marketers are facing a new challenge: maximizing campaign performance while navigating a rapidly expanding ecosystem of AI-generated content, fragmented media environments, and evolving consumer behavior.

Integral Ad Science (IAS) believes media quality is becoming one of the most important competitive differentiators in this landscape. The company's 21st Media Quality Report (MQR) argues that advertisers can no longer rely solely on campaign scale to achieve results. Instead, proactive optimization, AI-powered verification, and attention-based measurement are emerging as critical drivers of advertising effectiveness.

The annual report analyzes more than 300 billion daily digital interactions, providing benchmarks for media quality across display, video, Connected TV (CTV), and social media advertising. The findings suggest that while the open internet remains essential for audience reach, advertisers need more sophisticated approaches to filter low-quality inventory and improve return on investment (ROI).

One of the report's most significant findings is the widening performance gap between video and display advertising. According to IAS, global video viewability reached 79.7%, compared with 67.9% for display advertising, creating an 11.8 percentage point advantage for video formats.

The data also indicates that attention-focused optimization can significantly improve campaign performance. IAS reports that campaigns designed around verified attention achieved 56% higher attention scores, 76% lower cost-per-click (CPC), and household-level sales lift as much as 313% higher for high-attention video advertisements.

These results reinforce broader industry trends as marketers continue shifting budgets toward premium video environments, including Connected TV and social media platforms.

Earlier findings from the company's 2026 Industry Pulse Report revealed that 88% of marketing professionals consider digital video a top investment priority, while 84% identified social media as a strategic focus area. However, growing volumes of AI-generated content and increasing concerns about transparency are prompting advertisers to place greater emphasis on media verification and quality assurance.

The report also identifies mobile web display advertising as a growing source of inefficiency. Although this environment accounted for 45.1% of global ad impressions, it represented a disproportionately large share of advertising waste, including 54.9% of brand suitability violations, 71.5% of ad clutter, and 71.9% of Made-for-Advertising (MFA) impressions.

Made-for-Advertising websites are generally designed to maximize advertising revenue rather than provide meaningful user experiences, often relying on excessive ad density and low-value content. According to IAS, MFA impression rates on mobile web display are now four times higher than on desktop environments.

For marketers, these findings highlight the value of page-level optimization and AI-powered media verification. Rather than avoiding the open web entirely, advertisers can improve campaign performance by selectively filtering low-quality inventory while maintaining broad audience reach.

The report also explores an emerging relationship between sustainability and advertising performance. IAS found that campaigns measured using carbon reduction tools developed in partnership with Good-Loop consistently demonstrated stronger media quality outcomes.

Across the EMEA region, green-certified campaigns achieved a 3.9 percentage point improvement in quality impression rates, while campaigns within the Travel & Entertainment sector experienced an 8.7 percentage point increase. These findings suggest that environmentally conscious media buying strategies may also contribute to higher-quality advertising environments.

The broader significance of the report extends beyond campaign optimization. As AI-generated content continues expanding across digital platforms, marketers are increasingly seeking technologies capable of verifying media quality, detecting fraud, measuring attention, and ensuring brand suitability across increasingly complex advertising ecosystems.

Major digital advertising platforms—including Google, Meta, Amazon Ads, and Microsoft Advertising—continue integrating AI into campaign management, audience targeting, and creative optimization. At the same time, independent verification providers such as IAS play a growing role in validating campaign quality across multiple platforms.

Industry research supports this direction. According to Gartner, AI-powered marketing technologies are becoming central to campaign optimization and customer engagement, while Forrester has emphasized that attention metrics and media quality are becoming increasingly valuable indicators of advertising effectiveness as third-party cookies continue to decline.

For enterprise marketing teams, IAS's latest report reinforces that media quality is evolving from a defensive brand safety measure into a strategic performance metric. Verified attention, inventory transparency, contextual quality, and AI-driven optimization are increasingly influencing campaign efficiency, customer engagement, and measurable business outcomes.

As advertisers continue balancing scale with accountability, the ability to identify high-quality inventory and eliminate media waste is expected to become an increasingly important advantage in AI-powered digital advertising.

Market Landscape

Digital advertising is shifting toward AI-driven optimization, where campaign success depends on media quality, attention measurement, and verified inventory rather than impression volume alone. Video advertising, Connected TV, and premium social environments continue attracting larger shares of enterprise marketing budgets, while advertisers seek greater transparency across increasingly automated media buying ecosystems.

According to Gartner, AI is becoming a core component of marketing technology strategies, enabling more intelligent optimization and campaign measurement. Forrester also identifies attention metrics, contextual targeting, and media quality verification as emerging priorities as brands adapt to privacy-focused advertising and AI-powered media environments.

Top Insights

• IAS analyzed over 300 billion daily digital interactions, providing updated benchmarks for media quality across display, video, Connected TV, and social advertising.
• Video advertising achieved 79.7% viewability, outperforming display by 11.8 percentage points, reinforcing marketers' growing investment in premium video channels.
• Mobile web display generated a disproportionate share of brand suitability violations, ad clutter, and Made-for-Advertising (MFA) impressions, highlighting opportunities for inventory optimization.
• Attention-based advertising strategies produced stronger campaign performance, including higher attention scores, lower cost-per-click, and greater household sales lift.
• IAS also identified a positive relationship between sustainable media buying and media quality, suggesting environmental optimization may support stronger advertising outcomes.

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