# Video advertising: what AI models recommend, September 2026

Gane 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://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/marketing/video-advertising/2026-09

This is the permanent record of the September 2026 Edition, published September 15, 2026 and superseded since. The current standing: https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/marketing/video-advertising/index.md

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

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [StackAdapt](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/stackadapt/index.md) | 24% | 3% | 31 |
| 2 | [YouTube Ads](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/youtube-ads/index.md) | 20% | 14% | 42 |
| 3 | [LinkedIn Video Ads](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/linkedin-video-ads/index.md) | 20% | 13% | 23 |
| 4 | [Meta Ads](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/meta-ads/index.md) | 13% | 6% | 31 |
| 5 | [Vibe.co](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/vibe-co/index.md) | 7% | 0% | 28 |
| 6 | [TikTok Ads](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/tiktok-ads/index.md) | 7% | 29% | 34 |
| 7 | [Demandbase CTV](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/demandbase-ctv/index.md) | 2% | 9% | 11 |
| 12 | [MNTN](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/mntn/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 22 |
| 17 | [The Trade Desk](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/the-trade-desk/index.md) | 0% | 38% | 24 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 106 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## 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 Video Ads; alternatives YouTube Ads
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: LinkedIn Video Ads, YouTube Ads; alternatives MNTN, VISTY, Vibe.co
- Perplexity Sonar: StackAdapt; alternatives Demandbase CTV, LinkedIn Video Ads, Vibe.co
- Grok 4.20: LinkedIn Video Ads; alternatives Demandbase CTV, YouTube Ads
- Mistral Small: LinkedIn Video Ads; alternatives Vidyard, Wistia, YouTube Ads
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: LinkedIn Video Ads; alternatives StackAdapt, YouTube Ads
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice; alternatives Goldcast, Vibe.co
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: LinkedIn Video Ads, YouTube Ads; alternatives Meta Ads, Reddit Ads
- Kimi K2: LinkedIn Video Ads; alternatives StackAdapt, YouTube Ads
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: LinkedIn Video Ads; 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: 13 answers, 22 citations
- demandbase.com: 8 answers, 10 citations
- guideflow.com: 6 answers, 6 citations
- youtube.com: 5 answers, 12 citations
- heysid.com: 5 answers, 7 citations
- richads.com: 5 answers, 5 citations
- adroll.com: 4 answers, 4 citations
- learn.g2.com: 4 answers, 4 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://vibe.co/blog/how-to/video-advertising-platforms (12 answers)
- https://demandbase.com/blog/best-ctv-advertising-platforms (7 answers)
- https://richads.com/blog/best-video-ad-networks (5 answers)
- https://heysid.com/resources/best-connected-tv-advertising-platforms (4 answers)
- https://spotlightiq.com/insights/ctv-advertising-platforms (4 answers)
- https://vibe.co/blog/how-to/programmatic-video-advertising-platforms (4 answers)
- https://adroll.com/blog/best-ctv-ad-platforms-comparing-8-dsps-walled-gardens-and-specialized-platforms (3 answers)
- https://atlassian.com/blog/loom/video-marketing-platform (3 answers)
- https://demandbase.com/blog/6-b2b-advertising-platforms-worth-considering-for-2026 (3 answers)
- https://guideflow.com/blog/connected-tv-advertising-platforms (3 answers)

## Warned against

- TikTok Ads: 10 of 34 labels negative. "High IVT rates ... strict policies leading to frequent account bans/suspensions ... complaints of funds withheld" (Grok 4.20, negative prompt)
- YouTube Ads: 6 of 42 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 Video Partners: 3 of 3 labels negative. "The most concrete, evidence-backed "avoid or be very careful with" items are: 1. Google Video Partners inventory (limit/curate it)" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt)

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, September 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/gtm.