IAB outlines roadmap to close CTV’s performance and measurement gap

IAB has released a comprehensive industry roadmap detailing how Conversion APIs (CAPI) could reshape CTV advertising by addressing one of the sector’s biggest challenges — proving measurable return on investment. The new report outlines a unified approach for brands, publishers, and ad tech partners to implement server-to-server data frameworks that deliver privacy-safe performance measurement.

CTV ad spending continues to grow, but its fragmented ecosystem — spanning multiple devices, platforms, and measurement systems — has made it difficult to achieve the accountability seen in search and social media. The IAB warns that without standardized data infrastructure, CTV could lose performance-driven budgets to more measurable channels.

According to the report, nearly two-thirds of advertisers using CAPI in CTV campaigns have already seen higher return on ad spend (ROAS), citing improved attribution and faster optimization. On the publisher side, 61% use CAPI to inform bidding strategies, while half apply it for audience segmentation and performance validation. However, 72% of publishers cite technical complexity as a key barrier, and more than 70% of advertisers remain hesitant about sharing conversion data due to privacy and compliance concerns.

The IAB’s findings highlight several shared industry imperatives: standardization of event taxonomies, stronger privacy frameworks, transparent reporting, and interoperable identity systems. Advertisers are increasingly adopting hybrid measurement models — combining CAPI with pixels, SDKs, and clean-room integrations — to maintain resilience amid ongoing data deprecation and regulatory constraints.

The report also points to emerging opportunities for both sides of the ad market. Advertisers can use standardized signals such as purchases and sign-ups to improve cross-platform comparability, while publishers can enrich mid-funnel tracking with events like cart abandonment and searches to demonstrate incremental value. Both sides stand to benefit from greater transparency, with only one in five publishers currently offering advertisers consistent access to logs or dashboards.

For CAPI to achieve broad adoption, the IAB emphasizes the need for shared governance between advertisers, publishers, and technology providers. Standardized frameworks — backed by privacy-first data sharing and consistent reporting — could allow CTV to finally compete on measurable outcomes with channels like search and social.

“Advertisers are demanding proof of outcomes, and platforms that can’t provide it will be deprioritized,” the IAB report concludes. “Conversion APIs offer a pathway toward performance accountability, but only if the ecosystem aligns on common standards of transparency, privacy, and interoperability.”