Chris Modzelewski, EVP of Ad Solutions and Data Monetization at Intentsify, set out three interconnected shifts he expects to reshape B2B advertising through 2026: a reallocation of search budgets into channels such as paid social, audio, connected TV (CTV) and digital out‑of‑home (DOOH); a marked increase in the sophistication of B2B targeting; and a tempering of expectations around AI’s ability to fully automate campaign orchestration. According to the original report, Modzelewski delivered these predictions on December 10, 2025 as marketing teams confront “performance pressure” following the AI hype cycle of 2024 and early 2025. [1]
Industry measurement and market studies corroborate the budget migration Modzelewski describes. The IAB’s 2025 Outlook studies show pronounced growth in social and CTV investment, social media spending rising in double digits and CTV growing notably, while linear television is forecast to decline, reflecting a broader pivot toward digital platforms. Separate IAB data and trade reporting also indicate advertisers reallocating funds from paid search and social video into CTV, underlining streaming television’s expanding role in advertiser mixes. [2][4][3]
Those shifts are visible in vendor partnerships and platform rollouts: during 2025 several data and ad‑tech firms integrated B2B audiences into non‑search channels. Industry moves such as MNTN’s partnership with ZoomInfo and Intentsify’s own Buying Group Intent launch illustrate how providers are making firmographic and intent signals available on CTV and programmatic channels, enabling advertisers to target decision‑making groups rather than isolated contacts. The company said in a statement that the goal is to convert buying signals into pipeline by enhancing conversions among decision makers at priority accounts. [1][5]
Market analysis suggests the reallocation is not purely speculative. Forrester has forecast a marked pullback in display investment in 2026 as audiences migrate to AI‑driven discovery and entertainment‑first formats, recommending a shift toward CTV, streaming audio and social video. IAB figures showing strong growth in CTV and social media budgets provide the statistical backdrop to these strategic moves. Together they point to a substantive reweighting of media plans rather than tactical experimentation. [6][2]
The second trend, greater B2B targeting sophistication, reflects an industry effort to translate the granular audience techniques of B2C into the account‑based world. Modzelewski argued this means “to basically bring the kinds of audience targeting techniques and data that the B2C world takes for granted into the B2B space.” According to the original report, vendors during 2025 increasingly offered solution‑level intent, buying‑group targeting and prebuilt firmographic segments across social and programmatic inventories, addressing a long‑standing barrier for B2B marketers: turning specialised business signals into addressable, scalable audiences. [1]
Ad‑tech product launches and partnerships back that claim. Bombora and others repackaged platform signals into addressable segments, while Intuit and third‑party providers made aggregated, de‑identified SMB insights available on major demand‑side platforms. These moves aim to resolve the practical complexity B2B teams face: purchase decisions are made by committees, often over extended, multi‑touch journeys. Dreamdata’s benchmarks from 2025 underscore that reality, finding B2B journeys can span many months with numerous touches across several stakeholders and channels, data that reinforces the need for coordinated, account‑level targeting. [1]
On AI, Modzelewski offered a cautious assessment: “This primarily boils down to chatbot‑enabled exploration of data and performance, but not yet to the level of agentic orchestration of campaigns,” he said. The original report notes that while chatbot interfaces can simplify analytics and insight generation, the promise of fully agentic systems, where AI autonomously makes strategic budget and creative decisions, remains largely unrealised in production marketing environments. Industry research from late 2025 shows widespread AI experimentation but more limited enterprise‑wide scaling, reinforcing a view of near‑term utility concentrated in assistance rather than full automation. [1]
Major platforms are taking a guarded approach that illustrates this middle ground. Amazon’s December 2025 rollout of agent‑style features for sellers emphasised human oversight, portraying AI as a monitoring and optimisation aide rather than an independent decision‑maker. At the same time, platform developments, such as Google’s generative UI and growing use of AI modes in search, are compressing discovery paths and changing measurement dynamics, which advertisers and publishers must address as zero‑click and AI‑driven answers alter the funnels media planners have relied upon. The European Commission’s scrutiny of gatekeepers’ use of publisher content for AI search features further highlights regulatory headwinds that will shape how these capabilities are monetised and governed. [1]
Taken together, Modzelewski’s forecast and corroborating industry evidence present a pragmatic picture for B2B marketers in 2026: reallocate where audiences now gather, invest in richer account and buying‑group signals to navigate longer, multi‑stakeholder buying cycles, and adopt AI tools for augmentation while preserving human control over strategic decisions. The evolving media mix and measurement frameworks will reward advertisers that couple new channel investment with more precise audience definitions and rigorous performance validation. [1][2][3][5][6]
##Reference Map:
- [1] (PPC Land) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 3, Paragraph 5, Paragraph 7, Paragraph 8, Paragraph 9
- [2] (IAB) - Paragraph 2, Paragraph 4, Paragraph 9
- [3] (VideoWeek) - Paragraph 2, Paragraph 9
- [4] (IAB) - Paragraph 2
- [5] (Intentsify) - Paragraph 3, Paragraph 6, Paragraph 9
- [6] (Marketing‑Interactive / Forrester) - Paragraph 4, Paragraph 9
Source: Noah Wire Services