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- Amazon Ads Agent: a single hub for planning and buying
- How DVA+ changes programmatic access and control
- Full-Funnel Campaigns: merging upper and lower funnel tactics
- Transparency and auditing: what advertisers need to probe
- Regulatory pressure: the FTC lawsuit and auction concerns
- Practical checks advertisers should run before committing budgets
- Industry implications: blending retail media with programmatic advertising
At its San Francisco conference, Amazon rolled out a new, AI-centered ad stack that merges formerly siloed buying tools. The company rebranded its unified system and introduced products that promise simpler programmatic access, while regulators and advertisers push back over transparency and auction practices.
Amazon Ads Agent: a single hub for planning and buying
Amazon has renamed its unified platform Amazon Ads Agent and elevated AI to the center of campaign workflows. The platform now spans planning, creative setup, optimization, measurement, and support.
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Advertisers can submit product lists, creative assets, and budgets. Amazon’s models then plan and execute across formats. The company says this reduces operational friction.
Key product launches at the event included:
- Full-Funnel Campaigns — combines sponsored ads, display, video, and streaming inventory into one campaign.
- DVA+ — unifies Sponsored Display, Sponsored TV, and programmatic display, video, and audio buying.
Amazon frames the Agent as more than a feature. It aims to make AI the connective tissue that decides allocation and pacing across channels.
How DVA+ changes programmatic access and control
DVA+ pulls together capabilities that used to live in separate products. The idea is to offer programmatic buying to a wider range of advertisers.
Two modes: simplified and advanced
- Simplified mode: input an objective, budget, and creative. Amazon handles targeting and optimization.
- Advanced mode: experienced buyers retain controls over supply, deals, frequency, and bids.
The setup lets small brands use Amazon’s programmatic infrastructure with minimal staff. It also gives agencies and enterprise teams a path to keep granular controls when needed.
Amazon describes the approach as human-led and AI-supported, with the platform optimizing to meet stated objectives.
Full-Funnel Campaigns: merging upper and lower funnel tactics
Full-Funnel Campaigns seek to remove the operational walls between search-style sponsored ads and broader display or streaming placements.
The product allows a single campaign to run across:
- Sponsored product placements
- Display and programmatic video
- Streaming TV and audio, including open internet inventory
Amazon optimizes toward outcomes like new-to-brand customers and a metric it calls Long-Term Sales. That shifts many media decisions to the platform’s models.
Advertisers keep creative approval and higher-level objectives. But they lose the ability to pick specific channels or audiences at a granular level.
Transparency and auditing: what advertisers need to probe
As Amazon asks clients to cede planning and allocation choices, visibility becomes crucial. Three areas deserve scrutiny.
- Auditability — Can you trace how the Agent spent each dollar?
- Third-party compatibility — Does the platform work with outside identity, data, and measurement providers?
- Fee and auction clarity — Are fees, winning prices, and supply sources disclosed?
Amazon says its reporting shows where ads ran. DVA+ advanced settings preserve conventional programmatic controls. The company is also building explanations that surface why the Agent recommends targets and budgets.
Still, some advertisers say the shift raises questions about how much real control they retain once automation takes the wheel.
Regulatory pressure: the FTC lawsuit and auction concerns
The product rollouts come while Amazon’s ad business faces legal scrutiny. The FTC and multiple states have accused Amazon of using undisclosed surcharges in ad auctions.
Those authorities claim the practice made Sponsored Products advertisers pay more than they expected. Amazon disputes the allegations and has pushed back publicly.
When asked whether new tools would reveal how individual winning prices were set, Amazon declined to promise full auction-level transparency. That leaves buyers wondering whether they can audit per-impression prices or reserve pricing mechanics.
Practical checks advertisers should run before committing budgets
Marketing teams should enter conversations with specific requests. Useful questions include:
- Can we see placement-level delivery and spend reports?
- How does the Agent integrate with our measurement vendors?
- Will you disclose auction mechanics and fee breakdowns?
- Which controls remain in advanced mode, and which decisions are fully automated?
- How does Amazon define and measure metrics like new-to-brand and Long-Term Sales?
Smaller advertisers may welcome the reduced complexity. Larger buyers will weigh the trade-off between convenience and control when Amazon’s AI picks channels and audiences.
Industry implications: blending retail media with programmatic advertising
Amazon’s changes further blur boundaries between retail media and open-internet programmatic inventory. The company is positioning its stack as a one-stop solution.
For brands, the appeal is clear: easier access to Amazon’s data and clearer paths to multi-format campaigns. For analysts, the central question is how much transparency and auditability remain as Amazon’s models direct more spend.
