Media Experts Redefine What Quality Means in AI World Dominated by Social Media and Digital Video, According to New IAS Industry Pulse Report

Rhea-AI Summary

Integral Ad Science (Nasdaq: IAS) released its 2026 Industry Pulse Report on Dec 8, 2025, showing media experts prioritizing digital video, social media, and media quality amid rising AI content concerns.

Key findings: 88% cite digital video as a top priority, 84% prioritize social media, 83–86% expect third‑party verification for AI content, and 83% flag ad fraud/brand suitability concerns in CTV. The report frames 2026 as a year of cautious AI adoption where brand safety, creator suitability, and verification become central to campaign performance.

Positive

• Digital video priority cited by 88% of respondents
• Social media priority cited by 84% of respondents
• Third‑party verification demand indicated by 84%–86% for AI content

Negative

• AI‑generated content concern cited by 83% of respondents
• Ad fraud and suitability risk in CTV cited by 83% of respondents
• Ad content adjacency challenge cited by 69% of respondents

News Market Reaction

-0.10%

1 alert

-0.10% News Effect

On the day this news was published, IAS declined 0.10%, reflecting a mild negative market reaction.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

Key Figures

Excited about AI: 61% AI on social concern: 83% AI verification social: 84% +5 more

8 metrics

Excited about AI 61% Share of respondents excited about AI developments in digital media

AI on social concern 83% See rise of AI-generated social content as a significant concern

AI verification social 84% Say third-party verification important for AI content on social platforms

AI verification video 86% Will look to third parties to identify AI content in digital video

Digital video priority 88% Cite digital video as a top priority for 2026

Social media priority 84% Confirm social media as a top priority digital environment

Influencer brand safety 87% Say brand safety of influencer or creator is essential in digital video

Adjacency challenge 69% Cite ad content adjacency as a major digital media challenge

Market Reality Check

Price: $10.34 Vol: Volume 602,754 is below t...

low vol

$10.34 Last Close

Volume Volume 602,754 is below the 20-day average of 1,175,701, suggesting limited pre-news positioning. low

Technical Price at 10.24 is trading above the 200-day MA of 8.82, after a -0.39% move over 24 hours.

Peers on Argus

Peers showed mixed moves: STGW +2.06%, CRTO +1.86%, ZD and QNST modestly positiv...

Peers showed mixed moves: STGW +2.06%, CRTO +1.86%, ZD and QNST modestly positive, while EEX fell -2.16%, pointing to stock-specific rather than coordinated sector trading.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: 2025-12-08 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
2025-12-08	AI industry report	Positive	-0.1%	2026 Industry Pulse highlights AI oversight, media quality, and brand safety focus.
2025-11-13	Accreditation news	Positive	+0.0%	MRC accreditation for Amazon DSP impression, viewability and invalid traffic reporting.
2025-11-04	Q3 2025 earnings	Neutral	+0.2%	Revenue and EBITDA growth with lower net income and ongoing Novacap acquisition process.
2025-10-28	Partnership expansion	Positive	-0.1%	TikTok Pangle integration adding IAS Total Media Quality brand safety measurement.
2025-10-16	AI measurement launch	Positive	+0.0%	AI-driven brand safety and suitability measurement launch for Meta Threads platform.

Pattern Detected

Recent IAS news, including AI and partnership updates, has often seen flat or slightly negative next-day moves even on seemingly positive developments.

Recent Company History

Over the last few months, IAS announced several AI-driven measurement launches and partnerships, including TikTok Pangle and Meta Threads, plus steady Q3 2025 revenue growth and an all-cash acquisition agreement. AI-related releases (e.g., ethical certifications and new contextual tools) have typically produced small or muted price reactions. Today’s Industry Pulse report continues the AI and media-quality theme, emphasizing verification and brand safety across social and digital video environments.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement highlights survey data showing media buyers emphasizing AI oversight, media qualit...

Analysis

This announcement highlights survey data showing media buyers emphasizing AI oversight, media quality, and brand safety across social and digital video. It reinforces IAS’s focus on third-party verification as AI-generated content grows. In context of ongoing AI product launches and a pending all-cash acquisition at $10.30 per share, investors may watch how IAS continues to translate these themes into measurable products, partnerships, and verified measurement coverage.

Key Terms

brand safety, AI-generated content, third-party verification, ad fraud, +3 more

7 terms

brand safety technical

"brand safety for influencer/creator content, and monitoring AI-generated content"

Brand safety is the set of practices and controls companies use to prevent their name, ads or content from appearing alongside harmful, offensive, or misleading material online. Investors care because damage to reputation can reduce sales, ad revenue, partnerships and share value—think of it like keeping a storefront away from trouble to protect customer trust and long-term earnings.

AI-generated content technical

"rise of AI-generated content on social media is a significant concern"

Content created automatically by computer programs that use artificial intelligence to write text, generate images, or produce audio and video rather than a human author. Investors care because this “robot-produced” material can speed up communications and cut costs, but it also raises risks around accuracy, disclosure, legal compliance and company credibility—similar to trusting automated bookkeeping versus a human review, errors or misleading claims can affect value and regulatory standing.

third-party verification technical

"84% say that third-party verification will be important in identifying"

An independent review by an outside organization that checks and confirms the accuracy, completeness or compliance of claims, numbers or processes reported by a company. For investors it’s like hiring an independent referee or home inspector: it reduces uncertainty by giving a trusted, unbiased confirmation that financial figures, product claims, safety records or regulatory steps are reliable, which can affect risk assessments and investment decisions.

ad fraud technical

"measuring ad fraud, viewability, and suitability are important to driving"

Ad fraud is when digital advertising metrics are faked—through false clicks, fake views, or bogus leads—so advertisers pay for attention that never reached real people. For investors, it matters because inflated or phony ad performance can disguise a company’s true customer demand and marketing efficiency, leading to overstated revenue, wasted budgets, and misleading growth metrics much like paying for counterfeit goods instead of real inventory.

viewability technical

"measuring ad fraud, viewability, and suitability are important to driving"

Viewability is a measurement of whether an online ad or piece of digital content was actually in a user’s sight long enough to be noticed, not just delivered to a page. Think of it like a billboard you can actually see from the road versus one hidden behind trees; higher viewability means marketing dollars are more likely to reach real people, which matters to investors because it influences ad effectiveness, revenue, and the value of digital media assets.

retail media networks technical

"performance outcomes within retail media networks; 83% agree that ad fraud"

Retail media networks are the advertising platforms run by stores and online retailers that let brands display ads, sponsored products, and personalized offers to shoppers on the retailer’s website, apps, email and in-store screens. For investors, they matter because these networks turn a retailer’s customer traffic into a high-margin advertising business—like a mall owner leasing premium billboard space to brands—boosting revenue, improving customer data control and potentially raising profitability and valuation.

deepfakes technical

"risky content, deepfakes and AI-generated content are the most cited"

Deepfakes are audio, video or image content created or altered by artificial intelligence to make people appear to say, do, or be somewhere they did not. They matter to investors because a convincing fake can trigger sudden market moves, enable fraud, manipulate sentiment, or harm a company’s reputation—similar to a counterfeit document or forged signature sparking real financial consequences and regulatory scrutiny.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

Top priorities for 2026 include measuring media quality across social media and CTV, brand safety for influencer/creator content, and monitoring AI-generated content

NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Integral Ad Science (Nasdaq: IAS), a leading global media measurement and optimization platform, today released its annual Industry Pulse Report. The new findings reveal that media experts are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) cautiously, centering their brand strategies on the evolution of digital video and social media, and reinforcing media quality as a cornerstone of campaign performance. The findings point to a complex media environment where innovation is balanced with a strong emphasis on brand protection and performance.

"2026 marks a turning point in digital advertising. As the boundaries between channels blur — and AI reshapes how content is created, consumed, and measured — industry experts are redefining what quality means in this new era," said Integral Ad Science CEO Lisa Utzschneider. "Advertisers and publishers alike recognize that marketing opportunities, like those on social media and digital video, come with complexity. The industry's challenge lies in balancing digital innovation with control — ensuring every impression drives trust and performance."

Marketers lean into AI's opportunities while recognizing challenges
Media experts agree that generative AI's potential to bring speed, personalization, and scale to campaigns is undeniable — but its power also introduces new risks.

• 61% are excited about the AI developments in digital media and the opportunities it unlocks for advertising within gen-AI content;
• 83% believe the increasing rise of AI-generated content on social media is a significant concern and will require careful monitoring;
• 84% say that third-party verification will be important in identifying and classifying AI generated content within social media platforms while 86% will look to third-party sources for the ability to identify and classify AI-generated content within digital video platforms as this type of content becomes more prevalent.

Social media and digital video remain at the center of media preference
Video continues to dominate attention — and investment. In 2026, advertisers are scrutinizing the environments where their messages appear, seeking brand-safe spaces that both foster consumer trust and enhance brand relevancy.

• 88% cite digital video as a top priority, outranking display and audio;
• 84% confirm social media as a top priority compared to other digital environments;
• 87% say brand safety and suitability of the influencer or creator is essential when advertising adjacent to digital video content;
• 82% agree creator suitability is equally important as adjacency risks rise within social media platforms.

Media quality is a cornerstone of performance
Amid these shifts, media quality remains a fundamental pillar for performance.

• 86% say the need to identify, classify, target and avoid AI-generated content will be needed within digital video platforms;
• 83% concur that measuring ad fraud, viewability, and suitability are important to driving performance outcomes within retail media networks;
• 83% agree that ad fraud and brand suitability will be a great concern as the volume of CTV inventory grows;
• 69% cite ad content adjacency as a major digital media challenge with ad fraud and measurement/outcomes rounding out the top three;
• A closer look at the types of content adjacencies shows that risky content, deepfakes and AI-generated content are the most cited, with influencer creator content following closely.

"The use of AI and AI-generated content surged in 2025, leaving publishers and advertisers trying to balance both its opportunities and risks," said Jeremy Kanterman, Vice President of Research and Insights at IAS. "This year's Industry Pulse report reveals a cautious industry looking to prioritize oversight of AI in digital media in 2026, with the bulk of investment still flowing into digital video, social platforms, and a steadily rising interest in using, measuring and determining outcomes around influencer marketing."

About IAS Industry Pulse Report

The IAS Industry Pulse Report is a yearly survey of digital media experts and provides key trends, a look at emerging technologies and solutions expected to shape the advertising industry next year. In partnership with YouGov, this year IAS surveyed nearly 300 U.S. media experts including digital advertising professionals representing brands, agencies, and publishers, as well as ad tech vendors to understand their perspectives on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for 2026. Download the full report.

About Integral Ad Science

Integral Ad Science (IAS) is a leading global media measurement and optimization platform that delivers the industry's most actionable data to drive superior results for the world's largest advertisers, publishers, and media platforms. IAS's software provides comprehensive and enriched data that ensures ads are seen by real people in safe and suitable environments, while improving return on ad spend for advertisers and yield for publishers. Our mission is to be the global benchmark for trust and transparency in digital media quality. For more information, visit integralads.com.

Press Contact:

Travis DeLingua

press@integralads.com

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SOURCE Integral Ad Science, Inc.

FAQ

What did Integral Ad Science (IAS) report on media priorities for 2026?

The report found digital video (88%) and social media (84%) as top priorities and emphasized media quality and brand safety.

How prevalent are concerns about AI‑generated content in IAS's Dec 8, 2025 report (IAS)?

83% of media experts said AI‑generated content on social media is a significant concern requiring monitoring.

What level of demand does the IAS report show for third‑party verification of AI content (IAS)?

84%–86% of respondents said third‑party verification will be important for identifying and classifying AI content.

How does the IAS report describe risks for CTV and retail media networks (IAS)?

Respondents flagged 83% concern for ad fraud and brand suitability as CTV inventory grows and similar concerns for retail media.

What does the IAS report suggest investors should watch about IAS in 2026 (IAS)?

Investors should watch demand for media verification and brand‑safety solutions as AI content and digital video investment rise.