AI is making media buying faster, smarter and more automated. But smarter optimisation doesn't automatically mean better outcomes. As more media decisions are handed to machines, the quality of the inputs matters more than ever.

AI is making media buying smarter, but not necessarily more connected. As autonomous agents become the industry’s biggest talking point, the real opportunity isn’t simply faster decisions - it’s better, more confident ones. Here’s why connected decision-making, not AI alone, will define the future of media buying.

As agentic advertising tests the limits of the open web, the industry is being forced to confront a bigger question: what sits above the pipes? In 2026, progress will come from simplification, transparency, and curation that surfaces value rather than hiding it.