DoubleVerify: MFA Impression Volume Increases by 19% Year-Over-Year Fueled By AI Advances

Over half of advertisers globally say Gen AI is hurting media quality and performance as

MFA content delivers below-average Attention scores

DoubleVerify ("DV"), the leading software platform for digital media measurement, data, and analytics, today announced a preview of findings from its eighth annual Global Insights Report, which analyzes media quality and performance trends across more than one trillion impressions from over 2,000 brands in 100 markets. The findings highlight the global impact of "Made for Advertising" (MFA) websites.

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In June 2023, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) reported that MFA sites comprised 21% of all programmatic ad impressions and attracted 15% of total advertising spend amid concerns that new Gen AI tools were accelerating the production of low-quality content. DV’s latest analysis shows a 19% year-over-year increase in MFA impression volume in 2023. The growth was primarily driven by a 73% increase in “Low-tier” MFA impressions, which appear on hybrid sites that include a mix of MFA and non-MFA characteristics.

Recent studies have linked Gen AI with an increase in online spam, misinformation, and low-quality content sites. In addition to leveraging its own data, DV commissioned Sapio Research to survey 1,000 advertisers globally regarding the impact Gen AI has on the online digital ecosystem. The results of this study revealed that 57% of the advertisers surveyed view AI-generated content as a key challenge for the digital ecosystem, 54% believe Gen AI has negatively impacted media quality and 50% believe an increase in MFA and low-quality content was “the biggest threat” to the digital ad ecosystem.

"It’s no surprise that advertisers are concerned," said Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify. "Gen AI has incredible potential for the ad industry in areas like creative development and media optimization, but it can also be weaponized against it. Ultimately, brands need dynamic tools to help them safeguard investments and maximize campaign performance."

MFAs may appear high-performing when looking at specific isolated KPIs, such as clicks and viewability, that they are designed to boost. Despite this, DV found that MFA sites deliver 7% less overall attention on display ads and 28% less on video than other media. "High-tier" MFAs, sites that exhibit the most extreme MFA criteria, were 25% below the attention baseline.

This below-average attention performance is driven by poor exposure (e.g., intensity, viewable time, share of screen, presentation, audibility, etc.), rather than engagement (user touches, screen orientation, video playback, audio control interactions, etc.). MFAs are explicitly designed for certain engagements, further underscoring the need for comprehensive attention-based measurement that considers both exposure and engagement.

"MFA content, powered by AI, has surged," added Zagorski. "Additionally, the worst offenders perform very poorly in terms of attention—an increasingly important metric for brands. It's critical for advertisers to identify, measure, and avoid problematic MFA content in real-time to drive better, authentic performance."

Method: The report employs DV technology to analyze more than one trillion impressions from over 2,000 brands in 100 markets, both pre and post-bid, and offers a detailed market-by-market analysis for North America, LATAM, EMEA, and APAC. It covers video and display impressions from January to December 2023 across desktop, mobile web, mobile app, and connected TV (CTV). The study also includes a global survey conducted by Sapio, polling 1,000 advertisers across North America, LATAM, EMEA, and APAC. DV introduced tiered MFA categories in 2024, and applied that methodology to 2022-2023 impressions to determine year-over-year analysis.

For more information about DV’s Global Insights Report, visit: https://doubleverify.com/global-insights-2024-trends/

Join DV’s “Back to Basics: Demystifying Made for Advertising Sites” webinar on Thursday, June 27th at 12 pm EST. Register here: https://doubleverify.com/back-to-basics-demystifying-made-for-advertising-sites/

About DoubleVerify

DoubleVerify (“DV”) (NYSE: DV) is the industry’s leading media effectiveness platform that leverages AI to drive superior outcomes for global brands. By creating more effective, transparent ad transactions, DV strengthens the digital advertising ecosystem, ensuring a fair value exchange between buyers and sellers of digital media.

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