Amazon DSP

Amazon Ads has overhauled its DSP and the sponsored product and search-based ad console for on-platform ads, the company announced at its unBoxed event in San Francisco on Tuesday.

The agentification of Amazon Ads is underway. At its unBoxed ads industry event in San Francisco on Tuesday, Amazon announced a major ad tech overhaul, with its DSP turning into a default agentic chatbot experience.

As programmatic buying becomes more common in audio, marketers and platforms fight the temptation to cram in as many placements as possible.

The Trade Desk’s recent reduction of 15% of its workforce comes after nearly two years of challenges on Wall Street, leadership turnover and bumpy product decisions. Independent analyst Richard Kramer comes on to dissect how Wall Street views TTD – and what it got wrong in the first place.

The burden of understanding ad auction dynamics should not sit with buyers. Platforms built the systems, and only platforms can fully explain how they set the price. 

TTD is introducing agentic AI workflow improvements and automated audience building, which are quickly becoming table stakes for programmatic platforms.

Reuters wraps its series on Meta’s shrinking headcount; The Trade Desk has a new centralized AI interface; and USA Today Co. will restructure its content for bots.

Advertisers can target high- and medium-attention ad inventory in Amazon DSP while filtering out low-attention placements and made-for-advertising sites.

Samsung teases a shoppable TV integration with Amazon; hackers target AI search users for marketing account takeovers; and new research shows young news audiences are “social-first.”

Jeff Green doubles down on OpenPath’s value; Amazon wants Perplexity to disable agentic shopping; and the creator economy takes on political fundraising.

Fees, fees, fees. The Trade Desk is facing market pressure in all directions: from rival DSPs offering lower fee structures, SSPs and agencies clashing over its OpenPath product and bearish investors disappointed with growth. Guest Sarah Caputo, founder of consultancy Fraction Method, tells us why The Trade Desk should reduce its margin and make its fees more transparent.

Netflix unveils a conversion API; some publishers are using AI tools to expand their footprints; and CFOs are getting more involved in marketing decisions.

The divergence between the DSPs reveals shifting buy-side priorities. Advertisers have grown wary of how The Trade Desk earns margin, where its algorithm steers inventory and how these strategies compete with buyer goals.

The Trade Desk is cutting its workforce. A company spokesperson confirmed the news with AdExchanger. The layoffs affect less than 1% of the company.

On Google and Meta platforms, AI search becomes the default; TTD might cut its costs; and apparently, toddlers like AI slop on YouTube.

Spencer has exited The Trade Desk after 12 years, marking another major leadership change amid friction with ad tech trade groups and intensifying competition across the DSP landscape.

Inside Omnicom’s shift in spend from The Trade Desk DSP to Amazon DSP.

Two sources at ad tech platforms that observe programmatic bidding patterns said they’ve seen Omnicom agencies shifting spend from The Trade Desk to Amazon DSP in Q3. The Trade Desk denies any such shift.

“We just constantly hear how complex it is right now,” Kelly MacLean, Amazon Ads VP of engineering, science and product, tells AdExchanger. “So that’s really where we we’ve anchored a lot on hearing their feedback, [and] figuring out how we can drive even more simplicity.”

On Monday, Amazon announced the launch of location-based interactive video ad units on Prime Video, which will allow small and local businesses to reach their target customer in specific geographic areas.

The Trade Desk posted solid Q3 results on Thursday, with $739 million in revenue, up 18% year over year. But the main narrative for TTD this year is less about the numbers and more about optics and competitive dynamics.

The Trade Desk is going after Amazon; Facebook creators are going after Meta; and everybody’s going after Warner Bros. Discovery.

A new integration between Amazon and Clinch allows advertisers to access Amazon custom audiences via a third-party platform.

Judge Leonie Brinkema is ready to be done with the DOJ v. Google saga; Amazon DSP comes out on top; and Mozilla brings programmatic ads to to the Firefox browser.

On Tuesday, Amazon DSP announced an expanded integration with satellite radio company SiriusXM.

Morgan Stanley downgrades The Trade Desk; Warner Bros. Discovery and Nielsen announce a new deal; and brands aren’t sold on virtual influencers.

SSPs aren’t thrilled by TTD characterizing them as “resellers”; Amazon DSP just announced a new partnership to sell Netflix inventory; and pharma brands will be subject to stricter regulations, per the FDA.

GAM’s dinner with ad agencies sparked speculation that Google is preparing to spin off its bundled SSP and ad server as a remedy to its ad tech monopoly. But Google says it’s just part of the trend of SSPs going direct to buyers.

CAPI integrations have moved from a nice-to-have to a necessity for anyone operating within walled garden environments. Now they’re laying the groundwork for an outcomes-driven ad ecosystem.

Roqad is buying Zeotap’s third-party data biz to boost its identity resolution capabilities, but also for access to key integrations with major ad platforms.