Opti Digital unveils new market research on the perception of digital ads by US audiences.
BARCELONA, ES / ACCESS Newswire / September 24, 2025 / Opti Digital, a leading AdTech company, has released new research examining how US audiences perceive digital advertising across apps, websites, and social media. The study highlights mobile consumption habits, ad fatigue, targeting challenges, and limited willingness to pay for content, offering publishers actionable insights to optimize engagement and revenue.
Preview of the report on ad experiences
A strong majority of US users (73.74%) consume editorial content on mobile, and most of them (86.30%) use apps either exclusively or alongside browsers. Yet only 8.08% see apps as the platform where ads are best integrated. By contrast, 39.73% consider social media the place where ads fit most naturally, a figure that rises to 51% among 18-34-year-olds. Notably, 40% of users said social media ads reflect their interests and blend seamlessly with content, a result of platforms' ability to leverage user history and interaction data, such as likes or direct feedback on the ads they see.
While social media ads are generally perceived more positively, users view ads on websites and apps less favorably. Over a third of US users (37.04%) want ads that better match their interests, and nearly half (46%) would prefer fewer, more easily skippable formats. Ad overload remains a major concern, with 69.36% of respondents reporting they leave sites cluttered with ads. This issue is particularly pressing in the era of AI-driven search, where users increasingly receive answers directly from search engines and chatbots, reducing traffic to publisher sites and highlighting the need for optimized ad experiences.
Despite widespread ad fatigue, willingness to pay for ad-free content remains very low. Only 3.7% of US users are willing to subscribe to avoid ads, compared with 12.63% in the UK. This creates a dual challenge for publishers: paywalls alone are unlikely to solve ad fatigue, and strategies to monetize content must account for differences in audience behavior across regions.
"While paywalls may seem like an attractive option for publishers, only 3 to 12% of users are willing to pay, which is far from sufficient to rely on as a primary revenue source in today's challenging landscape," said Magali Quentel-Reme, CEO of Opti Digital. "The key is to strike the right balance by implementing a mix of monetization strategies, such as direct deals, rewarded ads, hybrid pay models, and high-impact, minimally disruptive formats, while continuously monitoring results and keeping only what proves effective. At Opti Digital, we empower publishers with the nimbleness to iteratively enhance their user experience while optimizing monetization."
Access the Opti Digital US Report on Ad Experiences
Contact Information
Maëva Caratis
PR & Events Manager at Opti Digital
maeva@optidigital.com
+1 (646) 328-9697
SOURCE: Opti Digital
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/publishing-and-media/opti-digital-unveils-new-market-research-on-the-perception-of-digital-ads-by-u-1077292
