The ad fraud landscape underwent significant changes in 2026, as highlighted by the ADEX Trust & Safety Report. This comprehensive analysis covers moderation and verification data from the first nine months of the year, evaluating 1.2 million ad campaigns across eight platforms.
AI’s Pervasive Role in Fraud
AI has become a major player in ad fraud, with 52% of schemes involving AI-generated or AI-assisted elements. A significant 64% of these schemes utilized bots that mimic human behavior, while 53% employed cloned brands and fake endorsements. The use of deepfakes, although less prevalent, was still evident in 11% of AI-related fraud attempts.
A notable trend is the rise of infected domains as the leading cause of ad rejections from the second quarter onward, accounting for roughly a third of all rejections. Additionally, scareware tactics like fake prize notifications became a distinct category, making up 6% of rejections in the third quarter.
Emerging Threats in Ad Fraud
While cloaking remains a predominant reason for suspensions, the emergence of malicious iOS scripts and messenger-based phishing presents new challenges. These phishing schemes exploit services like WhatsApp and Telegram, leveraging advanced language models to conduct conversations across multiple languages.
The ADEX report notes a decline in the sheer number of rejected campaigns, which fell by about a third after the first quarter, indicating a shift towards fewer but more sophisticated scams. Sergey Martianov, CPO at ADEX, emphasizes the damage potential of well-crafted scams over numerous low-quality attempts.
High-Risk Regions and Industry Insights
Tier-1 markets such as the US, UK, and Germany consistently faced high rejection rates. Other regions, including South Asia and Turkey, also experienced elevated risks during specific periods.
The report aligns its findings with broader industry data, such as the Thales 2026 Bad Bot Report, which revealed that bots constituted over 53% of internet traffic. Additionally, HUMAN reported a 187% increase in AI-driven traffic in 2025.
Looking Ahead: The 2027 Outlook
ADEX forecasts several trends for 2027, including ads tailored for AI agents and increased agent traffic that blurs the lines between bots and genuine users. The report anticipates a rise in fraud operations entirely orchestrated by AI, further exploitation of hacked domains, and a shift of scareware tactics to connected TV and AI assistant platforms.
These insights, along with the full dataset and methodology, are detailed in the complete ADEX report, offering a comprehensive view of the evolving ad fraud landscape.
