75% of Ad Clicks Lacked Basic Automation Signs

TOKYO, October 15, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Spider Labs, a cybersecurity SaaS company, has released an analysis of 62.77 million paid ad clicks classified as bot traffic, covering the period from January through August 2026. The findings reveal that 75.0% of these clicks lacked basic signs of browser automation, highlighting the risks to performance measurement, budget allocation, and automated ad optimization.

The analysis, conducted by Spider Labs' automated marketing security platform, Spider AF, identified the clicks using characteristics of their execution environments, network activity, and behavior. Yuriy Yashunin, VP of Product at Spider Labs, emphasized the importance of assessing execution environments, network activity, and behavior together to ensure accurate performance reporting.

Monthly shares of clicks without basic automation signs exceeded 80% in July and August, reaching a low of 51.6% in February. The share increased for five consecutive months, peaking at 85.1% in July before easing to 83.3% in August. At the account level, the median share of clicks without basic automation signs was 46.1% for accounts with at least 100 bot-classified clicks, covering 1,296 companies. For accounts with at least 1,000 clicks, the median was 51.2%, covering 835 companies. High-volume accounts, which represented 45.0% of bot-classified clicks in July and 42.6% in August, significantly influenced the overall share.

Excluding the top three accounts, the share without basic automation signs was 67.6%. This analysis underscores the need for advertisers to review their bot detection methods, ensuring they evaluate multiple characteristics to avoid inflating ad performance.

Beyond the issue of wasted clicks, Spider Labs' separate first-half 2026 report found that the rate of bot-related invalid clicks was approximately 2.2 times the full-year 2025 rate. Another analysis identified 3,262,655 invalid conversions in the first half of 2026, with 1,017,798 attributed to bots, or 31.2% of the total. These invalid activities can distort performance reports and the signals guiding future spending.

To mitigate these risks, Spider Labs recommends three steps: reviewing whether bot detection evaluates multiple characteristics, comparing reported conversions with qualified leads or sales before increasing budgets, and establishing how invalid activity is excluded or corrected in reporting and optimization. The company also notes that legitimate automation, including AI agents, exists, and the priority for marketing and security teams is determining whether traffic and outcome data can support reliable advertising decisions.

The study, which used Spider AF data from January 1, 2026, to August 31, 2026, covers paid ad clicks classified as bots and measures the share without basic browser automation signs. Pooled percentages use combined click counts, while medians use each account's full-period percentage. The findings describe traffic measured by Spider AF, providing advertisers with critical insights to improve their ad campaigns and avoid wasted spending.