Fluency’s 2026 Agency AdOps Benchmark Reveals Rising Concern Over Impact of Manual Workflows on Client Campaign Execution and Performance
BURLINGTON, VT, UNITED STATES, March 31, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Fluency, the digital advertising operating system that serves as a system of record for scaling paid media execution across all major channels, has released the findings of its 2026 Agency AdOps Benchmark Report. The annual study reveals that as agencies take on more client accounts and manage larger budgets, 71% of ad operations and execution teams (AdOps) say manual processes put client campaigns at risk–leading to errors such as wrong creative or copy uploads, audience targeting mistakes, overspending campaign budgets or inconsistent reporting–and that reducing this risk is their main reason for AI-powered automation. As many agencies look to grow without adding headcount, manual campaign management at scale is no longer just inefficient–it’s becoming a serious risk to performance, margins and client trust.
As digital advertising has grown more complex, the operational demands on agencies have grown as well. Ad strategists are managing more client accounts, campaigns now span more platforms and audience data sources continue to grow. Routine AdOps tasks once manageable through manual processes–like optimizing campaigns and pacing budgets–are becoming harder to manage without mistakes as workloads increase and teams remain lean. This work now consumes 39.75 hours per strategist each month, or roughly 25% of their annual working time. As manual processes become both a barrier to growth and a growing source of risk, 94% of ad executives say scaling operations is one of their biggest challenges.
Fluency currently powers nearly $3B in annual media spend and 250,000+ monthly campaigns for brands and agencies. The Benchmark Report reflects data from more than 170 U.S. independent digital advertising agencies and in-house advertising teams responsible for performance marketing across multiple brands and regions for its 2026 Agency AdOps Benchmark Report. The report offers insight into how advertisers are managing increasingly complex digital campaigns and why many are pursuing automation to replace manual operations as they scale.
Among the findings:
– Ad strategists are stretched thin across platforms. Survey respondents are managing 33 client accounts, on average. This work is compounded as they deliver campaigns across multiple platforms. Eighty-two percent (82%) of strategists manage 3+ ad channels, and of those, nearly 2 in 3 (63%) manage 4 or more. Each comes with its own interface, reporting system and campaign settings, forcing teams to repeat many of the same manual tasks. As agencies’ multi-platform management burden grows, so does their operational strain and the likelihood of errors.
– More data sources are making campaign performance harder to measure. As data sources multiply, many teams still lack a centralized system to bring that information together–nearly half (46%) rely on two or more reporting tools to piece together campaign insights. Without a single source of truth, teams are left manually reconciling data across systems, which creates inefficiencies and increases the potential for reporting errors. Agencies understand this, which is why 54% want a single system of record for better reporting capabilities.
– Manual budget management remains common, despite its risk. The AdOps teams who report managing budgets manually increased by 14.5% year-over-year, rising now to 63%. This is costing teams more than 12 hours every month–time they could be using on higher-priority, more strategic tasks. More specifically, 87% of advertisers still rely on manual budget pacing, a process that can expose them to errors, overspend and underspend–especially as their campaigns scale.
“Many of the manual processes advertisers rely on today were built for a much simpler digital advertising ecosystem,” said Andy MacLeay, VP of Engagement and Channels, Fluency. “Agencies have known for years that these workflows come with inefficiencies, but many have continued to use them because they’re all they know. As teams scale campaigns across more channels and take on more client accounts, the time and risks that come with manual AdOps are becoming much harder to manage, leading more agencies to lean into AI-powered automation.”
Founded in 2017, Fluency centralizes all major aspects of digital advertising execution and management into a single solution. The company’s Digital Advertising Operating System empowers agencies and brands to automate and leverage AI on paid media across walled gardens and the open web at a scale not achievable through endless hiring, outsourcing or point solution tools.
The full report can be viewed here.
###
About Fluency
Fluency is the Digital Advertising Operating System (OS) that transforms paid media operations into breakthrough outcomes by centralizing all major campaign execution workflows into a single solution. The AI-powered platform eliminates the most time and resource-intensive aspects of campaign execution, and automates campaigns across all major digital ad channels – including walled gardens and the open web. As a result, advertisers can activate, automate, and analyze any number of campaigns with unprecedented efficiency, working at a scale not previously achievable. Fluency powers nearly $3b in annual media spend. Its user base supports more than 250,000+ monthly campaigns for brands with 50,000+ locations. In 2025, the company ranked #1,278 on the Inc 5000, marking its third year in a row on the list. With a founding team that’s worked in online advertising since 1998, Fluency has certified partnerships with many major ad publishers and was named a finalist for the Technology Innovation in the 2024 Amazon Ads Partner Awards.
Kieran Powell
Fluency
kieran.powell@channelvmedia.com
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this
article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Topic / Business & Economy, Topic / Social Media, Topic / Technology, Topic / Media, Advertising & PR, Country / United States, State / Vermont
Be First to Comment