Speaking at the IAB Engage conference in London, Yang said the situation now is similar to that in 2001, when the dotcom bubble burst, but said the industry will evolve to continue to bring in revenue.
"Brand advertisers will go through a period of adjustment where they look at advertising spend," he said. "I think that advertising will come out of this recession in a better position than it is going in. Advertisers will look to online as a way to connect with audiences as they become harder and harder to reach."
The embattled Yahoo! chief executive said that although the current environment may delay the adoption of new platforms such as internet television and mobile advertising, he is optimistic about developments for the future.
"History has shown it is times like this that new concepts and companies get born. In the darkest days companies like Yahoo! and Google were born and I'm sure that somewhere out there there's a company being built that'll present new opportunities."
Yang, who is facing shareholder pressure after the collapse of a proposed search partnership between Yahoo! and Google said that Yahoo! was continually looking to innovate.
"We at Yahoo! are looking for opportunities like this and building the right relationship in the marketplace to allow us to come out at the other end much stronger."
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