Online advertising grows 13.8%: Economy weakens, ad market booms

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Online advertising grows 13.8%: Economy weakens, ad market booms.

While the economy is weakening, online advertising is surprisingly picking up: The OVK, as the industry's voice, now expects 13.8 percent growth for 2026. That sounds paradoxical at first — and exactly for that reason, it's worth looking at the background.

According to the OVK, the online advertising market is proving remarkably robust. Even in a phase where the overall economy is slowing, the industry is noticeably revising its growth expectations for 2026 upward — a signal that makes brands, agencies, and platforms alike sit up and take notice.

What's behind the growth

A forecast of 13.8 percent is no small feat. With it, the OVK underscores that digital advertising continues to attract budgets even in uncertain times — while other channels lose ground. For you, it means in short: the advertising pie is growing, but it's being redistributed.

The AI break: Why everything needs to be reconsidered

At the same time, the OVK warns of fundamental changes brought about by AI search and curated AI answers. What used to be a list of blue links is increasingly becoming a single, AI-summarized answer. This shifts clicks, visibility, and ultimately ad revenue — and poses fundamental questions for traditional search engine advertising.

For advertisers, this means: those who rely solely on traditional SEO and SEA channels today risk losing some of their reach to AI interfaces. Those who factor AI visibility in as its own line item spread the risk.

The outlook

13.8 percent growth amid a weakening economy is one side of the coin. The other is the transformation that AI search and curated answers bring with them. What's clear: the online advertising market is growing — but no longer along the paths we knew. Anyone planning now should deliberately mix channels and factor in AI visibility from the start.