The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and new automation tools has disrupted the programmatic advertising industry, stoking fears among some marketers about the future or scope of their roles.
A 2023 Forrester Research report predicted that 33,000 agency jobs could be replaced by automation by 2030, with up to one-third of those directly attributable to AI. Meanwhile, an eMarketer study found 37% of worldwide C-level executives thought generative AI will have an extreme impact on jobs across all levels. This is particularly concerning for programmatic traders.
Traders must constantly navigate between strategy and technology, responsible not only for optimizing their clients’ campaigns but also keeping pace with the ever-evolving digital landscape. As a result, their days are more complex than ever.
Another challenge traders face is the growing fragmentation of tools and technologies. According to the 2023 Programmatic Advertising Trends Report, 60% of teams grapple with this issue, struggling to get a holistic view of campaign performance and make timely effective optimizations. Plus, the effort required to master and operate these tools – which can add up to 12 hours per week – pulls their focus away from strategic work. In a study commissioned by Amazon Ads and conducted by Forrester Consulting, 78% of agencies called out the need to automate these manual tasks to drive cost and operational efficiencies.
Add in the fear of losing granular controls and strategic differentiation to Claude, Gemini or ChatGPT, and it’s easy to see why traders might have automation anxiety.
But what if AI is actually traders’ greatest ally?
AI as friend, not foe
Instead of a world devoid of traders, imagine this: AI simplifies traders’ lives, allowing them to automate manual tasks. Technology and predictive models are used to surface and consolidate insights across tools in a faster, more intuitive way, freeing up traders’ time to dive deep into strategy and focus on delivering results for their customers.
No matter how good models become, there’s always interpersonal nuance and context that a model can miss. Traders deeply understand their clients’ needs and goals. When technology’s rapid insights are combined with human intuition, traders can look around corners and make smarter optimization decisions, both now and for the future.
Based on our own conversations with customers, we’d reimagined our DSP experience to be more intuitive. Now, we have streamlined campaign management with simple, efficient workflows. Traders can use real-time optimization tools and curated performance insights. These are solutions that help our customers achieve their goals.
Plus, we’ve launched new features like machine learning-driven frequency insights, generative AI creative upsizing and Performance+ – with more coming soon. All of these improvements will enable traders to make faster, better and smarter decisions through technology to drive meaningful results.
This combination of human insight and technological innovation points to an exciting reality: The future of programmatic advertising isn’t about choosing between human expertise or technology; it’s about traders using both to reach new heights of success.
