The digital ad market is off to a strong start in 2025, as major platforms in tech posted solid ad revenue gains in the first quarter. From search and video to retail media and social platforms, advertising remains a steady source of growth.

Google reported $66.9 billion in advertising revenue for Q1, marking an 8.5% jump from the same time last year. Its “Search and Other” segment brought in $50.7 billion alone, up nearly 10% year-over-year. 

YouTube’s ad revenue reached $8.93 billion compared to $8.0 billion in Q1 2024. Despite this growth, the platform slightly missed analyst expectations of $8.97 billion, according to data from StreetAccount.

Google’s total revenue rose 12% to $90.2 billion, beating Wall Street’s forecast of $89.12 billion. On Alphabet’s earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai credited the growth to strong user engagement and the rollout of AI Overviews in Search, which the company says now reaches over 1.5 billion users monthly. “We saw continued double-digit revenue growth,” Pichai noted.

Meta drives higher ad revenue by increasing both ad load and prices

In its earning call, Meta reported $42.31 billion in revenue in Q1 2025, up 16% from the previous year. It beat Wall Street’s estimate of $41.36 billion. Ad impressions across Facebook, Instagram, and other Meta platforms increased by 5%, and the company raised its average ad price by 10%. That means more ads were shown, and advertisers paid more per impression.

User growth continues to be a major factor here. Meta says it hit 3.43 billion daily active users across its family of apps in March. Threads, Meta’s X-like app, continues to gain traction with 350 million monthly active users, up from 320 million. 

Meta wants to capitalize on the growing popularity of Threads. Ads are now running on Threads, though Meta said they won’t have a significant revenue impact yet.

Amazon’s ad business outpaces its core retail segment

Amazon’s ad revenue rose 18% year-over-year to just under $13.9 billion, beating analyst expectations of $13.7 billion. This growth now puts Amazon firmly in third place in the global digital ad market, behind Google and Meta.

With this figure, Amazon's ad revenue outpaced its core retail business, which grew by 9%. CEO Andy Jassy said the company’s broad ad offerings now reach over 275 million people in the U.S. alone. “We’re working hard to be the best place for brands of all sizes,” Jassy told analysts.

The company’s total Q1 revenue was $155.7 billion, up 9%, beating analyst forecasts.

Reddit leans into AI and new ad placements to grow its ad business

Reddit’s ad revenue surged 61% year-over-year, reaching $358.6 million in Q1. This boost was tied to its strong visibility on Google and a growing logged-in user base. 

Reddit says daily users rose 31% to 108 million, and weekly users now exceed 400 million. Like Meta, Reddit is aiming to attract more dollars by offering more targeting options. Considering its growing user base, the company is now allowing ads to appear between comments. 

Reddit also continues to integrate AI into its platform. “Reddit Answers,” its AI-powered search tool backed by Google Cloud’s Gemini models, hit 1 million weekly active users and is expected to roll into broader Reddit search features later this year.

Microsoft’s advertising business keeps expanding

Microsoft’s Q3 2025 earnings showed strength in its advertising segment, especially in search and news. Revenue from those categories grew 21%, and even faster (23%) when adjusted for currency. Microsoft’s total revenue hit $70.1 billion, beating analyst forecasts of $68.53 billion.

While Microsoft’s ad business is smaller than Google’s or Meta’s, it continues to grow thanks to its integration with tools like Bing, Edge, and AI-based features.

What this means for advertisers

Q1 2025 shows that digital advertising across search, social, video, retail media, and community platforms isn’t slowing down. Advertisers are still spending, platforms are refining their ad tools, and user engagement remains strong.

Google and Meta still dominate, but platforms like Amazon and Reddit are scaling fast. With AI playing a massive role in ad delivery and platform features, the second quarter may bring even more changes to how campaigns are planned, served, and measured.

‍