# Video advertising: what AI models recommend, September 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Asked as "video advertising platform" and as "connected TV and online video ads platform", six framings each, to twelve models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/marketing/video-advertising/

**Standing:** StackAdapt leads with 24% of first choices; verdict contested. 46 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| # | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | StackAdapt | 24% | 3% | 31 |
| 2 | YouTube Ads | 17% | 15% | 41 |
| 3 | LinkedIn Campaign Manager | 15% | 8% | 12 |
| 4 | Meta Ads | 11% | 4% | 28 |
| 5 | Vibe.co | 7% | 0% | 28 |
| 6 | TikTok Ads | 7% | 30% | 33 |
| 7 | LinkedIn Video Ads | 4% | 18% | 11 |
| 8 | MNTN | 0% | 0% | 22 |
| 9 | The Trade Desk | 0% | 38% | 24 |

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: StackAdapt; alternatives AdRoll ABM, MNTN, Vibe.co, YouTube Ads
- GPT-5.4 mini: LinkedIn Campaign Manager; alternatives YouTube Ads
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: LinkedIn Campaign Manager, YouTube Ads; alternatives MNTN, VISTY, Vibe.co
- Perplexity Sonar: StackAdapt; alternatives Demandbase, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, Vibe.co
- Grok 4.1 Fast: LinkedIn Campaign Manager; alternatives Demandbase CTV, YouTube Ads
- Mistral Small: LinkedIn Video Ads; alternatives Vidyard, Wistia, YouTube Ads
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: LinkedIn Campaign Manager; alternatives StackAdapt, YouTube Ads
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice; alternatives Goldcast, Vibe.co
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: LinkedIn Campaign Manager, YouTube Ads via Google Video/PMax campaigns; alternatives Meta Ads, Reddit Ads
- Kimi K2: LinkedIn Campaign Manager; alternatives StackAdapt, YouTube Ads
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: LinkedIn Campaign Manager; alternatives Meta Ads, YouTube Ads
- MiniMax M2.5: LinkedIn Video Ads; alternatives Vidyard, Wistia

## Sources the answers cite

19 of 72 answers came back with a source list, from 4 of 12 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- vibe.co: 8 answers, 12 citations
- demandbase.com: 5 answers, 7 citations
- guideflow.com: 5 answers, 5 citations
- heysid.com: 4 answers, 5 citations
- learn.g2.com: 4 answers, 4 citations
- richads.com: 4 answers, 4 citations
- froggyads.com: 3 answers, 4 citations
- adroll.com: 3 answers, 3 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://vibe.co/blog/how-to/video-advertising-platforms (7 answers)
- https://demandbase.com/blog/best-ctv-advertising-platforms (5 answers)
- https://richads.com/blog/best-video-ad-networks (4 answers)
- https://guideflow.com/blog/video-advertising-software (3 answers)
- https://heysid.com/resources/best-connected-tv-advertising-platforms (3 answers)
- https://indiemedia.club/tools/best-video-advertising-networks (3 answers)
- https://influencermarketinghub.com/video-advertising/video-ad-platforms (3 answers)
- https://learn.g2.com/best-video-advertising-tools (3 answers)
- https://madgicx.com/blog/ad-tech-platform-for-video-advertising (3 answers)
- https://spotlightiq.com/insights/ctv-advertising-platforms (3 answers)

## Warned against

- TikTok Ads: 10 of 33 labels negative. "High IVT rates ... strict policies leading to frequent account bans/suspensions ... complaints of funds withheld" (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt)
- YouTube Ads: 6 of 41 labels negative. "Brand Safety: Content classification issues, especially in sensitive categories" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)
- The Trade Desk: 9 of 24 labels negative. "enterprise-grade demand-side platforms (DSPs) like *The Trade Desk* are powerful, they often require high monthly minimum spends (frequently $20,000+) and dedicated ad ops teams" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, paraphrase prompt)
- Google Display & Video 360: 3 of 8 labels negative. "Enterprise options like The Trade Desk or Google DV360 often require $20K-$50K+ monthly minimums, which can be prohibitive." (Grok 4.1 Fast, paraphrase prompt)

## Record

- Method: https://gtm-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://gtm-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as GTM AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, gtm-ai-index.com.