The next evolution of advertising: intelligent CTV

In many ways, Connected TV (CTV) is an advertiser’s dream. It offers the brand-safe, broadcast-quality environment of traditional TV, combined with the precision targeting and measurement of digital channels – all delivered on the biggest screen in the house. 

Once traditionally used for top-of-funnel awareness, advancements in technology, such as AI, have helped transform CTV into a full-funnel performance channel. Its momentum is undeniable, and marketers are taking note: it’s the fastest-growing segment in digital video, with spend expected to double by 2028 and exceed 40% of global ad spend by 2030. 

This growth is being fuelled by shifting consumer viewing habits and advertiser demand for greater accountability and transparency. As the streaming landscape continues its evolution and on-demand viewing becomes the norm, CTV offers a scalable, future-ready way to reach audiences without sacrificing precision or control. 

With AI accelerating innovation across the ecosystem, the opportunity is expanding even further. As a result, marketers will increasingly need cohesive strategies that work across every screen. Success in this new phase relies on striking the right balance between AI-driven automation and human expertise to unlock smarter, scalable results. 

CTV meets AI 

AI is reshaping every stage of the advertising process, from planning and targeting to creative execution and measurement. While machine learning has long underpinned programmatic buying, today’s advancements go beyond optimisation to help unlock deeper insights, adapt creative in real time and improve campaign efficiency at scale.  

In practice, this means campaigns that are no longer static, but dynamic and responsive, learning from performance signals as they happen and adjusting accordingly. This shift allows advertisers to move faster, test more effectively and maximise impact in a highly competitive attention economy. 

CTV is well-positioned to benefit. As the channel evolves, AI is enabling more sophisticated performance models, stronger monetisation and greater personalisation, transforming it into an intelligent full-funnel engine.  

With AI, CTV is becoming smarter, faster, and more responsive to audience behaviour. AI can help transform massive volumes of data into real-time, actionable insights, optimising every impression, bid, and message more precisely. By learning and adapting at scale, it drives greater efficiency, relevance, and measurable outcomes for advertisers. 

One area AI is having a tangible impact on is audience planning. These advances are not just improving how campaigns are optimised; they are also reshaping how audiences are identified and planned from the outset. AI-powered predictive analytics can help transform audience planning from reactive to proactive. Instead of relying solely on historical data or manual segmentation, AI can continuously analyse viewing patterns, device behaviour, content preferences, and contextual signals. This allows advertisers to identify high-value audiences before competitors do, build intent-based segments and forecast campaign performance based on real-time demand signals. 

These advancements are also opening the door to deeper personalisation in CTV. By combining AI with human oversight, advertisers can deliver relevant messages at scale, improving engagement while reducing wasted impressions.  

The human touch 

AI doesn’t create intelligence on its own; it needs human oversight to guide it in the right direction and ensure it’s applied correctly. Its ability to enhance workflows and elevate performance is undeniable, but human strategy, creativity, and ethical judgment remain essential to leveraging its power. 

Humans provide the context, define objectives, interpret insights, and ensure technology is aligned with brand values and long-term goals. Without this, even the most advanced AI risks optimising for efficiency at the expense of effectiveness. 

It’s this collaboration that will ultimately deliver benefits to publishers, advertisers, tech partners and end consumers alike. Shared data insights can improve campaign precision, creating alignment on unified measurement, which will help bring trust to the marketplace, and standardising metrics can help solve fragmentation across platforms. As this vision becomes a reality, it stands to create a more transparent and efficient ecosystem where performance and creativity coexist.  

Reshape the future 

The next chapter of CTV will be one driven by intelligence, with AI at the centre enabling greater optimisation, personalisation and measurable performance and attribution. To truly leverage the full capabilities of this remarkable channel, smart brands will harness AI to empower humans. 

Those that succeed will be the ones that invest not just in technology, but in talent, partnerships and interoperability, building strategies that are flexible enough to evolve as the ecosystem continues to mature. 

The future of advertising lies in the balance between AI’s predictive power and human creativity; a partnership that fuels growth, builds stronger audience connections, and redefines what effectiveness means in the age of intelligent CTV.