Search advertising is one of the largest digital advertising categories, but its growth is slowing as social media and video see faster gains, according to the IAB annual report by PwC.
What the data shows
In 2025, digital advertising revenue reached $294 billion, reflecting a 13% increase compared to the previous year. The report uses self-reported revenue data from companies selling online advertising. PwC says it does not verify the information or provide assurance.
Search advertising, including AI search, generated $114 billion, making it one of the largest segments in the report, although IAB category definitions overlap.
Find a saw an 11% growth from one year to the next, slower than the 15% in 2024. Social media has seen stronger growth, with advertising revenue totaling $117 billion, a figure 32% rise or an increase of 29 billion dollars. The IAB attributed this to the creator economy, greater business integration and improved targeting and measurement.
Digital video grew 25%, reaching $78 billion, faster than the previous year’s 19% growth, indicating an increase in ad spending driven by video. Commercial media reached $63 billion, up 18%, while programmatic advertising grew 20% to $162 billion.
In its 2026 outlook, the IAB said creator advertising reached $37 billion in 2025, with projections of $44 billion in 2026, noting the shift from campaign-based influencer marketing to ongoing programs for creators.
Data note: Categories such as social, search, video, display, and commercial overlap in a total of $294 billion, so a single ad, such as a social video ad, may be counted in multiple categories.
Why it matters
The slowdown in search growth deserves close attention alongside other recent indicators. Google Results for the 4th quarter of 2025 reported a 17% increase in search revenue, but that only reflects a single quarter for a single company.
In contrast, the IAB data covers the entire year on a large sector data set, with growth rates ranging from 15% has 11%indicating that the overall category is growing more slowly than competing channels competing for the same budgets. This does not mean that research is diminishing; it still generated $114 billion in revenue, even though social and video ads grew faster. Commercial media, at $63 billion, now accounts for more than 20% of total digital advertising revenue.
Looking to the future
The IAB will host a webinar on April 21 at 1 p.m. ET with experts from the IAB, PwC and Madison & Wall to discuss the findings.
