Creator spend hits $37B as social captures 40% of $294.6B digital ad market, IAB reports

Digital advertising revenue reached $294.6 billion in 2025, marking a 13.9% year-over-year increase, according to the latest report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC. The data highlights a structural shift in how advertisers allocate budgets, with creator-led marketing, social platforms, and video formats driving growth while traditional search shows signs of deceleration.

Social media emerged as the dominant channel, accounting for $117.7 billion in revenue—equivalent to 40% of the total digital ad market. The segment expanded 32.6% year over year, maintaining its position as the primary destination for advertiser spend. This growth reflects broader industry movement toward performance-driven, engagement-focused formats that combine content, commerce, and targeting capabilities.

Creator marketing is increasingly embedded into these strategies. The report identifies the creator economy as a “core media channel,” generating $37 billion in spend in 2025, with projections reaching $44 billion in 2026. Advertisers are moving beyond campaign-based influencer partnerships toward always-on models that integrate creators into media planning, performance marketing, and even product development workflows.

At the same time, search advertising—long a cornerstone of digital media—recorded slower growth. While still generating $114.2 billion annually, its expansion rate declined compared to the previous year. The shift is partly attributed to changing user behavior and the growing influence of AI-powered discovery, which is reshaping how consumers access information and how advertisers approach monetization.

Video also delivered significant gains, with revenue rising 25.4% to $78 billion. This includes connected TV, social video, and online formats, all benefiting from increased demand for measurable, performance-oriented media. Commerce media followed a similar trajectory, growing 18% to $63.4 billion as advertisers prioritized channels that directly link ad exposure to transactions.

For advertisers, the data points to a consolidation of spend around scalable platforms with strong first-party data and integrated commerce capabilities. The top 10 global media platforms increased their share of total digital ad revenue to 84.1%, underscoring the competitive pressure on smaller and mid-sized players.

The report also flags emerging challenges tied to AI adoption. More than half of global web traffic is now estimated to come from bots, raising concerns around transparency, measurement, and attribution. In response, the IAB is pushing for standardized frameworks, including initiatives like Project Eidos, aimed at improving interoperability and accountability across the ecosystem.