Generative AI applications are projected to reach $10 billion in in-app purchase revenue, 4 billion downloads, and 43 billion hours of user engagement by 2026, becoming a top-five mobile category.

According to "Predictions for the Digital Economy in 2026": Generative AI applications are projected to reach $10 billion in in-app purchase revenue, 4 billion downloads, and 43 billion hours of user engagement by 2026, becoming a top-five mobile category.

Short-drama vertical video is forecast to surpass traditional OTT streaming in global downloads and capture 40% of total user time spent by 2026.

According to "Predictions for the Digital Economy in 2026": Short-drama vertical video is forecast to surpass traditional OTT streaming in global downloads and capture 40% of total user time spent by 2026.

By the end of 2026, half of the top 1,000 U.S. websites are expected to receive more traffic from generative AI than from paid sources, with AI-related traffic rising over 130% year-over-year.

According to "Predictions for the Digital Economy in 2026": By the end of 2026, half of the top 1,000 U.S. websites are expected to receive more traffic from generative AI than from paid sources, with AI-related traffic rising over 130% year-over-year.

Digital advertising is shifting back toward image-based creatives, evidenced by a 35% year-over-year increase in image ad spend that is expected to accelerate through 2026.

According to "Predictions for the Digital Economy in 2026": Digital advertising is shifting back toward image-based creatives, evidenced by a 35% year-over-year increase in image ad spend that is expected to accelerate through 2026.

The gaming market is trending toward smaller, ad-native mobile titles to combat high acquisition costs, while Steam is seeing record-breaking release volumes driven by faster, lower-budget development cycles.

According to "Predictions for the Digital Economy in 2026": The gaming market is trending toward smaller, ad-native mobile titles to combat high acquisition costs, while Steam is seeing record-breaking release volumes driven by faster, lower-budget development cycles.

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Key Insights

Predictions for the Digital Economy in 2026

Sensor Tower~21 min full read

01
Generative AI applications are projected to reach $10 billion in in-app purchase revenue, 4 billion downloads, and 43 billion hours of user engagement by 2026, becoming a top-five mobile category.
See it on page 6
02
Short-drama vertical video is forecast to surpass traditional OTT streaming in global downloads and capture 40% of total user time spent by 2026.
See it on page 10
03
By the end of 2026, half of the top 1,000 U.S. websites are expected to receive more traffic from generative AI than from paid sources, with AI-related traffic rising over 130% year-over-year.
See it on page 13
04
Digital advertising is shifting back toward image-based creatives, evidenced by a 35% year-over-year increase in image ad spend that is expected to accelerate through 2026.
See it on page 16
05
The gaming market is trending toward smaller, ad-native mobile titles to combat high acquisition costs, while Steam is seeing record-breaking release volumes driven by faster, lower-budget development cycles.
See it on page 23

That's the gist.

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