Up to $978.7 Million in US Ad Spend Goes to AI-Generated Low-Quality Content, Video Bureau Estimates
TLDR
PPC Land reports that bad bots took 40% of 2025 web traffic and US consumers lost $2.1 billion to social media scams, and it questions which of the 12 figures in its coverage hold up.
PPC Land reports that bad bots accounted for 40% of 2025 web traffic and that US consumers lost $2.1 billion to social media scams. The piece sets out to check the 12 figures it cites against their sources, but the excerpt available cuts off before those checks appear.
How we got here
- Oct 28ADEX Finds Bots Posing as Humans in 64% of AI-Linked Ad Fraud Schemes in 2026
ADEX reports that AI was involved in 52% of the ad fraud schemes it flagged in 2026, with bots posing as humans appearing in 64% of those AI-linked schemes.
- Oct 27Resemble AI Study Finds Nearly No Flagged Meta Ad Files Disclosed AI Use
A Resemble AI analysis of 509 brands found AI-generated media in one of every 11 Facebook and Instagram ad files, but only 2 of 3,379 flagged files disclosed AI use.
- Oct 14Social commerce conversion rates fall to 25% from 30%, DoubleVerify survey finds
DoubleVerify survey data shows social commerce conversions dropped to 25% from 30%, even as influencer marketing effectiveness and reach concerns declined among marketers.