WPP Media has raised its 2025 global ad revenue forecast to 8.8%, citing two key drivers: relaxed trade tariffs and a surge in AI-related advertising. The revised figure marks a significant jump from its earlier 6% projection.
The biggest surprise is the rise of the "intelligence" category—largely AI-driven search—which now makes up over 21% of WPP’s ad revenue, second only to content-based ads. WPP predicts this segment will continue to grow by around 10.3% in 2026. However, long-term growth is expected to slow, tapering off toward 5.9% by 2030.
The company also announced plans to broaden its intelligence category in 2026 to include AI search platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity, signaling future ad shifts toward more proactive, personalized, and automated discovery.
While AI is boosting short-term performance, WPP cautions that factors like lingering tariff costs and market saturation could limit sustained acceleration. Still, the agency plans to debut a new AI advertising intelligence framework at CES 2026, aimed at measuring companies’ capabilities in content, data, and automation.
