AI Media Buying: How Publishers Are Boosting Efficiency With AI & Automation

When the majority of marketers are intent on doing a specific something, you know it’s probably a solid choice.

And something all involved in the publishing game should pay attention to.

So what really got my attention from the latest DoubleVerify research is not so much the 42% of marketers who’ve already leveraged third-party AI or automation for media bidding, but the 49% who plan on taking advantage of these for their advertising inventory.

“This growing usage indicates that brand marketers see the net value AI tools bring in time savings, budget efficiency and campaign performance,” says the AI, Automation And The Future of Digital Advertising report. “AI-driven media buying tools are especially attractive to executives at both brands and agencies, but understanding where AI can enhance digital campaign management, and where it might introduce new risks, is critical.”

Time was considered the most important “lever” for optimizing campaign performance in programmatic ad buys, as two-thirds (66%) of those surveyed spend at least 8 hours a week manually optimizing their digital campaign, with the average taking up 10 hours (or 26%) of their time.

(Source: DoubleVerify)

“To drive performance and minimize waste, media buyers must execute bidding strategies that effectively balance all these levers in real-time — a feat nearly impossible for any human to deliver,” says the report, which found AI usage for media campaigns seeing a 32% YoY increase, from 31% last year to 41% in 2025. “[AI’s] no longer just about optimization, it’s also about getting campaigns live faster — with fewer errors and more consistency.”

DoubleVerify suggests the following for simplifying campaigns with AI:

• “Audit campaign setup workflows”
• “Incorporate AI-driven templates and rule-based automation”
• “Leverage AI tools that can pre-fill parameters”
• “Build campaign activation playbooks with automation in mind”