Innovid wins QKS AI leadership recognition for adtech

Innovid has been named Most Valuable Pioneer and an Orchestrated AI Leader in QKS Group's 2026 AI Maturity Matrix for Intelligent Creative & Media Optimisation, an assessment of advertising technology platforms.

The ranking examined whether providers could connect creative intelligence, audience and media signals, campaign execution, measurement and optimisation, rather than relying on separate AI tools. Innovid said the recognition focused on its NIVO AI product, which it uses across creative, delivery, measurement and optimisation workflows.

The report comes as advertising groups face pressure to prove AI systems can do more than automate individual tasks. In adtech, marketers have adopted a growing number of tools for campaign setup, creative production, targeting and reporting. But fragmented data and disconnected workflows have often limited how well those systems work together.

QKS said the market is shifting towards platforms that can link intelligence across the campaign cycle and turn it into coordinated action. In its assessment of Innovid, the research firm pointed to the company's approach to combining specialised AI agents, advertising data and workflow systems.

Assessment areas

The evaluation reviewed vendors on creative intelligence, connected media intelligence, advertising orchestration, and governed and adaptive execution. Innovid said it received "Leading" assessments across the evaluated dimensions.

QKS highlighted a range of functions, including AI-led creative generation, predictive scoring, dynamic personalisation and optimisation based on campaign performance. It also cited connected media signals spanning audience, reach, frequency and performance, along with workflow automation for trafficking, quality assurance, taxonomy management and reporting.

Cross-channel support was another part of the assessment, covering connected advertising workflows across connected television, video, display, social and audio. Measurement and data intelligence were also included, with attention to exposure, reach, frequency, conversion and incrementality signals as inputs for optimisation.

Governance featured prominently in the findings. QKS noted human oversight, permissions and workflow controls as factors that enable AI-driven processes while keeping advertisers in control.

Interoperability focus

The assessment also highlighted interoperability with external systems. QKS referred to Innovid's use of application programming interfaces and Model Context Protocol integrations to connect NIVO with other advertising platforms and AI agents.

That includes NIVO's integration with Meta's ads MCP server, which lets advertisers access and analyse Meta campaign intelligence through a conversational workflow. The emphasis on interoperability reflects a broader debate in advertising over whether brands and agencies will favour open systems that work across multiple platforms or tools tied more closely to single media owners.

Richa Choubey, Principal Analyst, QKS Group, said Innovid's development showed a shift in how AI is being applied in advertising operations.

"Innovid by Mediaocean has progressed from applying AI to individual advertising tasks toward connecting intelligence across the creative, media, measurement, and optimisation lifecycle," said Choubey. "NIVO brings specialised AI capabilities together with advertising data and workflows, enabling performance signals to inform campaign decisions and increasingly coordinated execution. Its approach demonstrates how intelligent advertising can evolve beyond isolated AI features toward adaptive, outcome-oriented operations, while maintaining interoperability, governance, and human control."

Broader strategy

Innovid has been positioning NIVO as a system for linking tasks often spread across separate teams and software tools. The company said the product supports activities from creative generation and predictive scoring to campaign setup, reporting and optimisation, while keeping strategic decisions under human supervision.

The recognition also adds to Innovid's standing in external industry research. Innovid said it had also been named a Leader in QKS Group's SPARK Matrix for adtech platforms.

For Innovid, the latest assessment comes as AI claims in advertising face increasing scrutiny from buyers seeking evidence of operational gains rather than broad automation promises. Research firms and investors have been watching whether adtech suppliers can translate AI features into systems that improve media decisions, reduce manual work and feed measurement back into campaign execution.

Zvika Netter, Innovid Co-Founder & CEO and Mediaocean President, said the company viewed connected decision-making across platforms as central to that effort.

"It's great to be recognised by QKS for the tangible results we're delivering for our clients and the role we're playing in their AI transformation," said Netter. "To win in a modern media world, marketers need intelligence that can move across platforms, connect decisions, and drive action. That's what we're building with NIVO: an open, agentic foundation that helps advertising move faster, work smarter, and deliver better outcomes."