Find out what our speakers are excited to discuss at ATS London 2026 - AI, publishing and first-party data are all in the spotlight...

With ATS London just around the corner, we asked leaders from publishers, advertisers, ad tech providers and trade bodies what they're most keen to talk about this year.

The tone has clearly shifted. Nobody's talking about AI as the shiny new thing anymore; instead, the conversation has moved on to real workflow adoption, agentic advertising, and how first-party data and measurement can drive a market that's trading volume for value.

Throw in the return of M&A, the growing pull of retail media, CTV, and the creator economy, and there's no shortage of talking points this year.

There's still a chance to join us at the event and hear their insights in person - final tickets available now!

Really looking forward to the always insightful conversations at ATS this year, especially given all the developments we've seen in our industry over the last year or so. Hoping to hear about some real-case application of AI, not pilot or hype but real workflow optimisation, solutions or productionised MCPs that unlock better access to platforms' data and context layers. The industry suffers from shiny-new-object syndrome, but the tech is mature enough for real business use cases. With M&A and consolidation roaring back, also keen to see how everyone is adapting their stack and rethinking their strategies.

Most conversations will focus on how AI I'm sure, but hopefully more on how it can drive top-line revenue, so I expect agentic advertising and AI monetisation will be big. First party data and the measurement are the real weapons for this new high-value, volume constrained ad market, so I expect these two topics will also come up a lot. The pivot from volume to value is real: ad impressions deprecation and traffic declines across the open web are challenging the industry's economics, it will be interesting to see how the big players are reshaping their business model around it. Expect the fights amongst those who are treating AI as a threat to the open web and those who are building on top of it.

Mimmo Palmieri, Founder & Consultant, MIMMS

I'm looking forward to the conversations between advertisers, media partners and tech providers about what true omnichannel media looks like in practice. The industry is reaching an inflection point where many of the capabilities we've been building towards are becoming a reality at scale.

AI, automation and measurement will remain front and centre, but increasingly through the lens of business outcomes. We'll see more focus on unified data foundations, cross-channel optimisation and the infrastructure needed to make media investments more intelligent, accountable, and effective.

Sam Mathie, Media Activation & Performance Director, Unilever

I always look forward to honest conversations and great discussions about what is happening within the industry. I am thrilled to be speaking on 'The Great Unbundling of AdTech 2.0' panel this year. As the ad tech ecosystem faces renewed fragmentation driven by AI agents, curated marketplaces, and emerging tech stacks, this session comes at a pivotal moment. I look forward to joining fellow industry leaders to unpack whether the unbundling of traditional full-stack platforms empowers premium publishers and buyers with greater control or simply adds complex friction to supply paths. We will also look at how we can build a more transparent, high-attention media ecosystem together.

ATS London is a special event for so many reasons and is always the best place to hear how industry leaders are bridging premium first-party data with sophisticated ad tech infrastructure. And this year’s agenda won’t disappoint! I expect us to discuss moving past ad tech hype to focus on what actually works. We are going to see major debates on the real economics of agentic AI and smart curation, specifically how buyers can streamline supply paths without losing access to rich publisher data. Across every track, the core focus will be on stripping out open-web waste and redirecting budgets toward privacy-safe, high-attention environments that prove real business impact.

Teddy Tepavicharova, Head of Programmatic Sales, The Telegraph

I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with so many familiar faces from across the industry. Both from our members and the wider ecosystem, as well as meeting new people. ATS is always a great opportunity to hear different perspectives, understand what’s top of mind for the market and come away with fresh thinking on the developments that are having the biggest impact across digital advertising. 

AI will inevitably be high on the agenda, particularly as the conversation moves from experimentation toward practical applications and what it means for the future of advertising. I also expect plenty of discussion around fast-growing areas such as Retail and Commerce Media, CTV and the Creator Economy. As lead of IAB Europe’s Advertising & Media Committee, these emerging and expanding areas are always particularly interesting to me, especially how they increasingly intersect, what new opportunities they create for advertisers and media owners, and what the industry needs to implement to support sustainable growth.  

Marie-Clare Puffett, Senior Director Industry Development & Marketing, IAB Europe

In an increasingly virtual world of Teams calls it's great to meet new people in person to discuss challenges, opportunities, and possible future partnerships. It is not often the brightest and best minds of the industry get together and share their knowledge and experience.

AI continues to dominate the narrative as its impact is so far reaching so extensive and so unknown. How fast will AI revolutionise deeply entrenched behaviours and ways of working? How will organisations, employees and commercial frameworks adapt to reflect the AI revolution? When will AI reach commercial and operational maturity i.e. shifting beyond pricing to build market share into profit and people rebelling against the environmental impact of datacentres and their logistics.

Ben Foster, Chief Digital Officer, The Kite Factory