Defining quality in an AI-disrupted internet.

AI has made low-quality supply nearly free to produce. Picnic's annual Inventory Quality Report shows what's actually happening to open-web inventory, and how advertisers can protect ad spend.

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0K domains scored by PIQ in 2026, up 300% on 2024.

0+ quality signals measured per domain.

0% of domains fall below PIQ's quality threshold.

0× more consented sessions on high-quality inventory.

The three forces

Three forces reshaping the open web.

Individually, each is a distinct challenge. Together, they're changing how value is created and lost in programmatic.

Challenge 1

AI vs the open internet

AI made low-quality content almost free to produce, and content farms now absorb ad spend at scale.

717% rise in AI slop sites since GenAI went mainstream.

Challenge 2

Signal washing

Signals used in isolation look like quality but hide how it's defined, so synthetic sites pass standard checks.

25–30% of programmatic spend lands in wasteful or low-quality environments.

Challenge 3

Framework overload & buyer reliance

When one platform defines quality, buys and optimises, advertisers can't question what "good" means.

90% of high-quality domains are absent from typical advertiser sitelists.

The PIQ10 · 2026

The domains delivering quality for advertisers.

PIQ analyses 100+ quality signals (ad density, ad refresh rates, video-player behaviour) and combines them into a single score from 0–100. Scores above 50 are High Quality; anything below 30 is Low Quality.

0 Low Quality MFA traits: high ad density, fast refresh, autoplay video. Below the 30 threshold.

0 Premium Quality Non-disruptive ad experience, reputable publisher profile, strong domain authority.

Rank Domain PIQ Score

1techcrunch.com96.77

2nationalgeographic.com87.96

3nature.com82.97

4engadget.com78.51

5politico.com76.34

6theguardian.com75.60

7lonelyplanet.com73.27

8healthline.com69.30

9drugs.com66.85

10newscientist.com64.42

Rankings reflect UK traffic only and include domains without a paywall. PIQ scores update continuously as page experiences evolve and may differ slightly from those shown here. The full top-10 and year-on-year movement are in the report.

Make each impression count.

The Inventory Quality Report shows where programmatic spend is being wasted, which signals to trust, and how to build a higher-quality inventory strategy.

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