The UK’s digital sector will contribute almost £250bn to the economy and over a million jobs by 2035, research projects.
The UK’s digital advertising industry could inject £242bn into the economy and create an additional 1.2 million jobs by 2035, according to research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau UK (IAB UK).
Digital advertising currently supports 2.6 million UK jobs, and contributed £175bn to the economy in 2026. The industry could achieve significant growth in the next decade under a policy environment which “prioritises innovation and growth”, the research said.
Sinead Coogan Jobes, head of policy and public affairs at IAB UK said: “Digital advertising is already one of Britain’s great growth stories – contributing £175bn to our economy, supporting 2.6 million jobs and helping businesses of every size find customers and grow.”
The research also outlined a 10% AI-driven uplift in return-on-adspend (ROAS), which could see £80bn generated for UK business sales in the coming decade.
Coogan Jobes continued: “AI and emerging technologies are opening up an even bigger opportunity. With the right conditions, the sector could contribute £242bn to the economy by 2035 and support another 1.2 million jobs.”
Advertising is one of the industries which has adopted AI at the highest rates. As much as 95% of the industry is using AI tools, which is far ahead of the national average (16%).
Two-thirds of digital ad businesses said AI has improved their profitability (67%), and the vast majority (82%) sreported productivity has increased as a result.
Since 2022, the industry has experienced strong development with digital advertising’s gross value added (GVA) growing by 35%, which is 10times the rate of the overall UK economy.
Businesses benefit from this growth, with digital adspend driving £118bn in sales growth for British businesses each year, with small-to-medium enterprises in particular driving £53bn in sales growth.
Crucially, growth in the industry hinges on a suitable policy environment. IAB UK’s report outlined this would combine “proportionate regulation with sustained investment in innovation, infrastructure, and skills”.
The research also called on policymakers to avoid “unnecessarily prescriptive restrictions on data protection”, which might hinder the benefits of personalised advertising.
Coogan Jobes concluded: “That economic prize cannot be taken for granted. Britain needs a policy environment that protects consumers while giving businesses the confidence to innovate, invest and build here in the UK.”
