According to the IAB, UK AI driven advertising spend in the UK is forecast to hit an estimated £18 billion by 2030.
The body released a new report titled The State of AI in Advertising: Charting the Shift from Automation to Autonomy which looks at how generative and agentic AI are reshaping the sector.
It found that 58 per cent of its members are experimenting with AI within their organisations and a further 16 per cent reported that they are “scaling agentic systems” or using “agent-first” marketing procedures.
The study highlighted that 63 per cent of IAB members are expecting AI to have a “transformative impact” on creative growth over the next 12 months.
Todd Parsons, chief product officer at Criteo said: “”There’s still a whole lot of room for advertisers to help consumers through AI… whether that’s to find products more effectively or discover new brands that might not have been found otherwise with search.
“There are opportunities to influence the way that models interact with us as consumers and guide us through discovery”
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Around third thirds of advertisers have implemented changes to their metadata, content strategies and content strategies due to the rise of generative engine optimisation.
According to the IAB’s research, 74 per cent of respondents believed AI summaries are reducing traffic to brand websites.
However, only 4 per cent of members believed that they were “agent-first”, with many citing concerns around governance, data security, accountability and transparency.
Trust is a major issue with 47 per cent of advertising reporting they do trust AI agents in advertising due to a lack of transparency. This figure rises to 67 per cent among IAB members.
James Chandler, CSO, IAB UK, said: “The industry is entering a new phase of AI adoption where the conversation is no longer simply about efficiency gains or workflow automation.
“We are now seeing the emergence of agentic systems that can actively participate in media planning, optimisation, creative adaptation and commerce. The opportunity is significant, but the industry also needs to solve for transparency, accountability and interoperability if AI is to scale sustainably.”
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