Frontier Tech in Marketing Mix Modeling: What Does "Next Gen" Mean in 2026?

The definition of state-of-the-art in marketing measurement moves fast. Features that were considered "Next Gen" just last year are rapidly becoming the standard expectation for data-driven marketing teams today.

As we navigate early 2026, the landscape of Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) is shifting again. We are moving beyond measurement into an era of  optimization and ultimately, autonomous action.

Based on what we see in the market and what we are building at Sellforte, there are two specific frontier technologies defining the leading edge of MMM right now.

Frontier Tech 1: Optimal Bid Values for Each Campaign and Ad Set

The granularity of MMM insights has deepened significantly over the last years. In 2025, we saw the industry transition from high-level channel tactics (e.g., comparing Meta Prospecting vs. Meta Retargeting) down to the individual campaign and ad set level. We saw the first solutions capable of estimating Marginal Incremental ROAS (miROAS) at this granular level.

Why does miROAS matter? It answers the most critical question for performance marketers: "Where will the next dollar I spend bring the highest return?"

Now, in 2026, the most advanced MMMs are taking the next leap. It is no longer enough to simply identify which ad set has room to scale. The frontier capability is now providing optimal bid values (e.g., Target ROAS or CPA targets) directly for each campaign and ad set.

Instead of a generic recommendation to "increase spend by 10%", Next Gen MMMs tell you exactly how to achieve that: "Change Target ROAS from 4.5 to 4.1."

The Prediction: Bid value recommendations is just a stepping stone. By the end of 2026, I predict we will see MMM solutions that not only recommend these values but automatically push the optimized bid values directly to advertising platforms, closing the loop between insight and action.

Frontier Tech 2: Agentic MMM (Marketing Mix Modeling)

In 2025, we saw the first announcements of AI Agents coming to MMM. Early iterations included agents that could summarize past performance or assist with basic future spend optimization and revenue forecasting. As an example, below are the agents Sellforte announced in 2025 Q4:

In 2026, Agentic MMM is driving a transformation in two distinct areas:

A New Interaction Model

Agentic MMM brings a more natural interaction model via a chat interface. This democratizes access to MMM. Marketers no longer need to learn complex, vendor-specific dashboards or query tools. Instead, they can simply ask, "How should I allocate my budget next month to hit my revenue target?" and receive an immediate, data-backed answer.

As an example, below is a screenshot from Sellforte's AI interface with an active discussion on sales forecast;

Increased Value through Automation

Beyond ease of use, AI Agents are increasing the tangible value marketers get from MMM by automating workflows. We are moving toward Media Buying Agents that can automatically buy media based on the specific objectives and constraints you provide.

This shifts the marketer's role from manual execution and spreadsheet tinkering to strategic oversight: setting the goals and letting the Agents handle the optimization.

Conclusion

The pace of innovation in 2026 is accelerating. Capabilities that seemed futuristic a year ago, like granular bid value recommendations and conversational AI agents, are now the differentiators between standard and advanced measurement.

For marketers, this presents a clear choice: adopt these agents and granular optimization tools to gain a massive first-mover advantage, or risk being outpaced by competitors who are already automating their growth engines.

Authors

Lauri Potka is the Chief Operating Officer at Sellforte, with over 15 years of experience in Marketing Mix Modeling, marketing measurement, and media spend optimization. Before joining Sellforte, he worked as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, advising some of the world’s largest advertisers on data-driven marketing optimization. Follow Lauri in LinkedIn, where he is one of the leading voices in MMM and marketing measurement.