By Anastasiia Lushyna
The year 2025 is coming to an end, so now is the time to start getting ready for 2026 – this is the way to gain a competitive advantage! To help you and your AdTech business deal with this task, we interviewed Ihor Bazeliuk, the Business Development Manager of Attekmi, and Nina Pyvovar, the Head of Business Development at Aceex.
So, what trends will influence the industry in 2026? Read on to discover the thoughts of two skilled and experienced business development experts!
Ihor: Nina, thanks a lot for joining us today! It’s always better to prepare ahead, especially in AdTech, where everything moves fast and the landscape keeps shifting. 2025 was packed with fraud challenges, AI growth, privacy changes, and new regulations. Going into 2026, I expect even stronger momentum around first-party data. At this point, it’s not a trend; it’s the foundation of how the ecosystem operates. Everyone is moving toward privacy-first frameworks, and the level of innovation here is promising.
For me, the main point is not only replacing third-party cookies. It’s creating real collaboration. Long-term partnerships and secure data exchanges will push the market forward. This is why clean rooms keep gaining traction. Not because they are a buzzword, but because they finally offer a practical way to activate and analyze audiences safely. Curious to hear your view here.
Nina: Thanks for having me, and for inviting me to talk about what we can expect from 2026, how to prepare for the changes ahead, and how to read through the noise to spot real trends.
If you’re not adopting a privacy-first approach by now, you’re already behind. The shift from third-party data to first-party data and clean rooms is clearly happening. And while I don’t think we’ll see a full switch to first-party data for 100%, privacy is one of the most important trends. Regulations will continue to evolve and become even stricter, so we need to keep up, be compliant with the standards, and ensure data protection as well as effective usage of the data we have on our hands to get the best performance for our campaigns as well.
Ihor: That’s a good point. Okay, and what about supply path optimization? Advertisers are doubling down on SPO practices. They are removing unnecessary intermediaries, improving transparency, and reducing exposure to fraud. We also see budgets shifting toward programmatic direct, where quality and control are higher.
I’m sure SPO will stay a strong priority in 2026. Brands want cleaner paths, better environments, and more predictable outcomes. So the real question is how AdTech players can adapt and turn this into value. What do you think is the smartest way to stay competitive here?
Nina: Honestly, I don’t think SPO is optional anymore. The more transparent your setup is, the fewer intermediaries are involved – the more value you bring to the table. That’s just the reality of where programmatic is heading. The best thing you can do is to start implementing SPO practices right now if you’re not doing it yet. At Aceex, we heavily focus on SPO, and the value you’ll gain by bringing cost efficiency, transparency, quality supply, and reducing invalid traffic is hard to overestimate.
Ihor: When we talk about SPO, PMPs naturally come up. They are not direct deals, but they offer a nice balance of control and scale. We see this in practice. More partners are asking for PMP capabilities, and we are planning to roll out new PMP features in AdEx Enterprise to give them better targeting and predictability.
Open auctions will still stay relevant. They are flexible, they help new players test performance, and they allow quick scaling. So in 2026, I see the market leaning toward hybrid strategies. Direct deals, PMPs, and smarter open auction usage. What’s your take? Will open auctions keep their place, or will direct paths dominate budgets?
Nina: Even though there’s a lot of potential in PMPs, and I fully agree they offer a more controlled environment, premium inventory, and better transparency, I don’t think open marketplaces are going anywhere. At least, not yet. Open auctions still play a vital role, especially for testing, learning, and exploring new publishers or environments. They give advertisers the flexibility to experiment, compare, and discover untapped potential.
So for 2026, I think the key is to prioritize flexibility. We’ll see more strategic use of direct and PMP deals, especially for long-term planning and performance-focused campaigns. But open auctions will remain relevant, just used more thoughtfully.
Ihor: Let’s talk about generative AI. It’s already becoming a standard part of workflow for creatives, scripts, and general campaign management. Teams use it because it saves time and reduces production costs, and most platforms are actively integrating some level of AI assistance.
We’re also seeing early activity around AdCP, the Ad Context Protocol. It’s a new open standard designed to let AI agents interact with ad platforms through one unified API. It’s still at an early stage, but the idea is promising: help AI systems discover inventory, suggest formats, generate placement-specific creatives, or assist with campaign setup without needing dozens of custom integrations. If adoption grows, AdCP could make cross-platform automation much simpler, especially as AI-driven workflows evolve.
I think in 2026 we’ll see more experiments, but not a full industry-wide shift yet. AI will keep growing, but brands will still focus on creative quality and differentiation. Automation can help, but it won’t replace the need for unique ideas.
How do you see it – slow adoption or faster than expected?
Nina: I already see the number of AI-generated ads growing significantly. For many companies, it’s part of a long-term strategy. For others, it’s still more of an experiment. I think we’ll be seeing more and more AI-generated ads, and that “old school” creatives will become a new luxury at some point.
Personally, I’m more excited about AI capabilities for targeting and algorithms that can be applied to the bidding process. Generative AI is an interesting thing to play with. It’s definitely a big trend, and it has its benefits, but I think that’s a tool that we need to be careful with to maintain our uniqueness.
Ihor: Sustainability is getting real attention, too. Every impression has a carbon footprint, and at a programmatic scale, the impact is huge. More brands are measuring emissions and optimizing supply paths with sustainability in mind.
I also look at sustainability through performance. Cleaner paths, efficient servers, and reduced waste improve both results and costs. I won’t be surprised if sustainability metrics become standard KPIs in the near future.
Do you think AdTech platforms will need built-in sustainability reporting to stay competitive in 2026?
Nina: That’s an interesting topic, and an important one. Sustainability awareness in AdTech is growing, and that’s a great thing. But if we look at the broader tech and media landscape, I wouldn’t say that sustainability will be a must-have for every AdTech company by 2026. Hopefully, we’ll get there soon, but right now, for many companies, it’s still more of a long-term ambition than an immediate priority.
There are already some great examples of companies becoming carbon-neutral or taking real steps toward greener programmatic – from optimizing server infrastructure to offering sustainability reporting. But in reality, many teams are still laser-focused on short-term goals: hitting quarterly revenue targets, improving win rates, solving latency, fraud, SPO, and so on.
That’s why sustainability efforts often get deprioritized, not because they’re unimportant, but because they don’t yet directly impact business metrics as clearly as, let’s say, ROI or CPM.
That said, I agree with you, sustainability isn’t just about being “eco-friendly.” It’s also about efficiency. Cleaner supply paths, fewer hops, reduced server load, and minimization of wasted impressions do translate into performance gains and lower costs. And that’s where the mindset shift is already happening: sustainability as part of optimization, not just ethics.
So yes, I think we’ll see more platforms integrating sustainability metrics, and eventually, sustainability may become part of partnership evaluations, right alongside brand safety, transparency, and performance.
Ihor: Let’s touch on channel growth. DOOH is growing quickly, and I think this will continue in 2026. It’s privacy safe, it can’t be skipped or blocked, and it grabs attention in places other channels just can’t reach. It’s also easier to activate now since most big DSPs already support it.
But measurement is still the weak point. Different vendors count impressions differently, offline screens don’t always match the data in DSPs, and proving real outcomes after someone sees a DOOH ad is still mostly based on modeling, not hard data. Managing frequency across channels is also tricky, since DOOH often lives outside the same identity graph used for web, mobile, and CTV.
I’m curious. Do you see DOOH becoming a core part of omnichannel plans? And do you think unified measurement, cleaner impression data, better attribution, and shared frequency control, will become a priority as brands scale DOOH along with CTV, mobile, and web?
Nina: The DOOH market in the US is already showing steady growth, around 7.5%. It absolutely has the potential to become an essential part of an omnichannel strategy, though I wouldn’t say it fits every brand or campaign just yet.
As adoption grows, we’re seeing steps toward standardization. The IAB’s DOOH Measurement Guidelines are a strong signal that the industry is moving toward clearer benchmarks for performance, audience engagement, and creative effectiveness in DOOH. That’s a necessary step for scaling it meaningfully within omnichannel planning.
That said, unified measurement will be a key challenge and opportunity. Advertisers want to understand how DOOH contributes to brand lift or performance in combination with other channels, and that’s where AdTech platforms have a real role to play in connecting the dots.
So yes, I believe DOOH will continue to evolve as part of an omnichannel strategy in 2026, especially when paired with smart measurement and creative that fits the environment.
Ihor: Measurement is going through a major shift. With tighter privacy rules, advertisers are moving toward incrementality testing, cohort-based analytics, and modeled attribution instead of user-level tracking. Clean rooms and first-party data are playing a bigger role, which is helping build measurement frameworks that are more privacy-aligned and still reliable.
I don’t think we’re losing accuracy as an industry. The tools and methodologies are just evolving. And in 2026, the platforms that offer transparent, privacy-first measurement will have a clear advantage.
What’s your take – do you see this becoming the new standard?
Nina: I agree, the shift in measurement isn’t about less accuracy, but about a smarter, more sustainable approach. Privacy-first doesn’t mean insight-last.
From a business development perspective, this shift also changes how we talk about value in partnerships. Advertisers are no longer just looking at raw attribution numbers; they want to understand incremental lift, behavioral patterns across cohorts, and how much real impact they’re driving, not just how many clicks happened.
What’s interesting for me is how this changes the expectations around transparency and trust. Clean rooms, first-party data integrations, and privacy-safe measurement frameworks are now seen as business enablers, not blockers.
Ihor: Yes, the measurement approach is getting more attention-focused. I agree that advertisers don’t rely on basic metrics like impressions anymore. They want to understand the real impact of their ads instead. Metrics like aCPM (Attentive Cost per Mille), APM (Attention per Mille), and eAPM (Effective Attention per Mille) enable marketers to measure the performance in a more precise way and adjust their strategies accordingly – for CTV and video ads, this is especially important.
Therefore, I expect more and more AdTech platforms to integrate attention-based metrics in response to their users’ needs. What about you? Will attention measurement become a trend in 2026?
Nina: Yes, I definitely see attention metrics becoming more prominent, and not just for CTV and video. I think the conversation is evolving from was the ad seen to was the ad noticed, and ultimately, did it make a difference?
A partner who used to offer good volume but low attention quality might not be a “safe bet” anymore. Now, we’re seeing demand shift toward quality signals, like average attention time, screen coverage, and audio on/off.
What’s exciting is that attention measurement is still far from standardized. Some platforms define it based on viewability + interaction, others use biometric proxies or eye-tracking panels. As more SSPs and DSPs bake these metrics into their products, I think we’ll need a layer of translation to make sense of what these metrics actually mean in the real world.
Ihor: Thanks a lot, that was a very interesting discussion! I hope we will soon get another opportunity to talk. After all, the AdTech industry never stands still, with new trends and opportunities emerging on a regular basis. For now, let’s keep doing a great job – I wish you and your team all the best! The year 2026 is almost here, so I expect some new achievements for both Aceex and Attekmi.
Nina: Thanks so much for the invite and for an amazing conversation! Always great to reflect on where the industry is going. Wishing your team a strong start to 2026, and looking forward to seeing what both Attekmi and Aceex will build next.
For businesses of any industry, it is crucial to keep an eye on the trends to remain competitive, and AdTech is no exception. Being aware of what is going on allows you to react and adjust your strategy on time.
In this interview, we have explored the key AdTech trends for 2026, so now you can get ready in advance. However, it is important to remember that you shouldn’t just follow every trend introduced by the industry. The needs and requirements of your existing and potential customers should be your number one priority – they will help you move in the right direction.
Thanks for joining us today, Nina Pyvovar. That was a very fruitful talk! And, obviously, pretty soon we will have new topics to discuss! Follow our interview series to stay on top of industry trends and other important news!
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