Why it struggles
- Context: the ad sits beside unrelated content.
- Attention: banner blindness is strongest on work devices.
- Matching: account targeting by IP weakens with remote work and small companies.
- Measurement: view-through credit can overstate impact.
Where it still works
- Retargeting visitors who showed real interest.
- Account awareness across a defined list, with frequency caps.
- Event and launch moments where reach matters more than precision.
What to move to AI ads
Budget aimed at demand capture, reaching buyers who are choosing now, often does more under an AI answer than in a banner. Display advertising vs AI ads.
How to fix a display programme
- Cut placements on sites with no B2B audience.
- Cap frequency per account.
- Judge on target accounts engaged, not view-through conversions.
- Move demand-capture budget to search and AI ads.
Questions
Is display dead for B2B?
No. It's useful for frequency and retargeting; it's weak at catching the decision.
What CTR should we expect?
Display is built for reach, so click rates are low. Measure account engagement instead.
Should we try native ads instead?
Native formats sit closer to content and can do better than banners, but the context problem remains.
The maths of display in B2B
Most websites' audiences are overwhelmingly not your buyers. Even with account targeting, a display ad competes for attention with the article the reader came for. The result is cheap impressions and few meaningful interactions. That's acceptable when the goal is familiarity; it's expensive when the goal is to reach someone choosing a vendor this month.
AI ads invert the problem. Impressions cost more, but the context is the buyer's own question about your category. You pay more per view and less per useful moment.
A practical split
- Keep display for retargeting identified accounts and for frequency on tier-1 accounts.
- Move prospecting display budget aimed at "in-market" buyers to search and AI ads.
- Measure display on account engagement over weeks, not on clicks.
When to cut display entirely
If engaged accounts from display don't rise over two quarters, and retargeting doesn't lift return visits, the budget will do more elsewhere.
Start here: Display advertising vs AI ads. More articles in AI ads vs other channels.