Amazon launches AI agent for automated campaign management

Amazon Ads announced Ads Agent on November 11, 2025, at its annual unBoxed conference. The artificial intelligence agent automates campaign management tasks across Amazon Marketing Cloud and Multimedia Solutions with Amazon DSP, representing a technical advancement in how advertisers interact with Amazon's advertising platforms.

Ads Agent processes natural language instructions to execute complex advertising workflows. Advertisers can upload media plans and allow the system to create campaign structures automatically. The agent reviews thousands of audience segments to recommend targeting options for Amazon DSP campaigns, while also building SQL queries for analytics without requiring coding expertise.

The launch addresses operational challenges facing advertisers managing campaigns at scale. According to the announcement, the tool works alongside advertisers to automate time-consuming tasks like identifying targeting segments, adjusting pacing across hundreds of campaigns, and generating SQL queries for advanced analytics.

Three primary capabilities define Ads Agent's functionality. First, the system streamlines operations for Multimedia Solutions with Amazon DSP campaigns by accepting custom media plan uploads and creating campaign structures automatically. Advertisers can optimize campaigns at scale using natural language commands—for example, instructing Ads Agent to "pause all campaigns with return on ad spend less than 2."

Second, the campaign targeting feature provides intelligent recommendations by analyzing thousands of audience segments. The system identifies relevant Amazon audience segments and keywords for DSP campaigns, allowing advertisers to review, refine, and apply suggestions through a simplified interface.

Third, Ads Agent accelerates analytics workflows in Amazon Marketing Cloud by translating business questions into SQL queries using natural language. The system provides real-time guidance to simplify analysis, eliminating technical barriers that previously required specialized database knowledge.

The agent operates within existing Amazon Ads interfaces rather than requiring separate platform access. Campaigns only launch after advertisers review and approve the automated recommendations, maintaining human oversight of advertising decisions.

Amazon positions the technology as combining agentic AI capabilities with first-party insights to unlock advertising efficiency gains. The announcement states that advertisers managing a few campaigns or hundreds can work smarter with Ads Agent's assistance, saving time to reinvest in strategic priorities.

Regional availability spans North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. The initial rollout includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, India, and Singapore.

Access restrictions apply based on product usage. All users with Amazon Marketing Cloud access can use Ads Agent's analytics capabilities. U.S. users of Multimedia Solutions with Amazon DSP gain access to campaign creation and optimization features.

The launch builds on Amazon's January 2025 introduction of an SQL generator for Amazon Marketing Cloud, which enabled marketers to create database queries through natural language inputs. That tool aimed to reduce query development time from hours to minutes by automating SQL code generation.

Amazon made Marketing Cloud directly accessible to sponsored ads advertisers in September 2025, eliminating partner coordination requirements for advanced analytics. The enhanced interface featured pre-built templates that removed SQL coding knowledge requirements, democratizing access to previously complex analytics capabilities.

The timing aligns with broader industry movement toward agentic AI adoption in advertising technology. McKinsey data indicates $1.1 billion in equity investment flowed into agentic AI in 2024, with job postings related to the technology increasing 985 percent from 2023 to 2024.

Agentic AI represents artificial intelligence systems that operate autonomously to plan and execute complex workflows without constant human supervision. Unlike traditional AI that responds to specific prompts, agentic AI creates virtual coworkers capable of managing entire marketing campaigns from audience analysis to budget optimization.

Multiple advertising technology companies launched agentic AI capabilities throughout 2025. LiveRamp introduced agentic orchestration on October 1, enabling autonomous AI agents to access its identity resolution and audience activation platform. Adobe announced Experience Platform Agent Orchestrator on September 10 for managing agents across Adobe and third-party ecosystems.

The advertising technology sector launched Ad Context Protocol on October 15, 2025, built on Anthropic's Model Context Protocol to provide a unified communication layer for managing campaigns across fragmented platforms. However, the initiative drew immediate scrutiny from industry observers questioning whether the sector needs another protocol when existing standards remain underutilized.

Amazon DSP has systematically expanded its capabilities throughout 2025. The platform integrated with Netflix in September, providing advertisers direct access to premium streaming inventory. Partnerships with Spotify announced in October extended DSP reach to 696 million monthly ad-supported listeners across nine markets.

Amazon DSP reached 275 million monthly ad-supported customers in the United States as of October 2024. The platform's advertising revenue jumped 22% to $15.7 billion in the second quarter of 2025, significantly outpacing the company's overall 12% sales growth.

The technical implementation leverages Amazon Marketing Cloud's secure, privacy-safe, cloud-based clean room infrastructure. AMC enables advertisers to perform analytics and build audiences across pseudonymized signals, unifying data from Amazon properties, advertiser inputs, and onboarded third-party providers.

For campaign targeting, Ads Agent's intelligent recommendations address the complexity of Amazon DSP's audience segment library. The platform offers thousands of potential targeting options based on shopping behavior, streaming consumption, browsing patterns, and demographic attributes. Manual review of these options requires substantial time investment from advertising teams.

The SQL query generation capability removes technical barriers that previously limited Amazon Marketing Cloud adoption. Traditional query creation required knowledge of database structures, join operations, aggregation functions, and Amazon's specific data schema. Many advertisers relied on agency partners or dedicated analytics teams to extract insights from AMC.

Implementation challenges remain despite growing investment in agentic AI systems. Gartner predicted in June 2025 that over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027 due to escalating costs, unclear business value, and inadequate risk controls.

Industry experts have questioned whether autonomous AI systems could fundamentally disrupt traditional programmatic advertising technology by automating campaign setup, targeting, and optimization functions currently handled by demand-side platforms. The modern DSP represents one of the most complex software categories, but technological shifts threaten established models through AI-driven alternatives.

The announcement follows Amazon's pattern of reducing technical barriers to advertising platform adoption. The company launched unified advertiser accounts in October 2025, enabling single-login access to all advertising products across regions. That development eliminated previous requirements where advertisers needed separate accounts for each advertising product per country.

Amazon's advertising technology expansion has accelerated significantly throughout 2025, establishing its cloud infrastructure as foundational technology for multiple aspects of digital advertising beyond its own properties. AWS announced RTB Fabric in October 2025 to provide specialized infrastructure for real-time bidding systems.

The retail media sector projects growth exceeding $300 billion by 2030, representing approximately 20% of total global advertising revenue according to research firm Omdia. This expansion relies heavily on first-party data and closed-loop measurement rather than traditional real-time bidding mechanisms.

For marketing professionals, Ads Agent represents a shift in how campaign management workflows operate within Amazon's ecosystem. Tasks that previously required manual platform navigation, spreadsheet management, and technical expertise become accessible through conversational interfaces.

The technology's effectiveness depends on how well the AI agent interprets advertiser intentions and translates them into appropriate platform actions. Natural language processing systems can misunderstand ambiguous instructions or apply overly broad interpretations that don't match specific business requirements.

Automation of campaign creation raises questions about how advertisers maintain control over strategic decisions while delegating tactical execution to AI systems. The announcement emphasizes that campaigns only launch after review and approval, suggesting Amazon designed the agent to augment rather than replace human judgment.

The SQL query generation capability could democratize access to advanced analytics among smaller advertisers and brands without dedicated data science teams. However, interpreting query results and translating insights into actionable strategies still requires marketing expertise that AI agents cannot fully replicate.

Amazon DSP's competitive position benefits from the integration of Ads Agent capabilities with the platform's existing measurement infrastructure. The platform provides detailed performance analytics for streaming campaigns, combines browsing and shopping signals for audience targeting, and enables cross-channel campaign coordination within a unified interface.

The announcement arrives as Amazon continues expanding its demand-side platform partnerships. The company released a geographic optimization API in October 2025, enabling programmatic access to location-based optimization features within Amazon DSP. That development provided six distinct endpoints for managing geographic optimization strategies at the postal code level.

Amazon DSP launched goal-based bidding in September 2024, allowing advertisers to specify desired reach and frequency goals for brand campaigns. The system automatically optimizes bids in real-time to achieve these objectives, leveraging user and impression signals combined with Amazon's proprietary models.

The platform's technical capabilities include Performance+ optimization using machine learning and modeled attribution for off-Amazon conversions. These features operate across display, video, and connected television formats, providing comprehensive campaign management infrastructure.

Amazon's substantial investments in artificial intelligence yield measurable benefits for its advertising business. The company's AI-powered tools optimize campaign performance while reducing operational complexity for advertisers managing multiple campaigns across different product categories and geographic markets.

Timeline

• June 2024: Amazon Marketing Cloud unveils code-free high-value audience builder
• September 2024: Amazon DSP launches goal-based bidding to enhance brand campaign efficiency
• October 2024: Amazon Marketing Cloud unveils optimal frequency for ad campaign optimization
• January 2025: Amazon introduces SQL generator for Marketing Cloud to streamline data analysis
• July 2025: McKinsey analysis reveals agentic AI reshapes advertising landscape
• September 2025: Amazon makes Marketing Cloud directly accessible to sponsored ads advertisers
• September 2025: Netflix becomes available in Amazon DSP
• October 2025: Amazon DSP adds Spotify's global audio and video inventory
• October 2025: LiveRamp introduces agentic AI tools for marketing automation
• October 2025: Ad Context Protocol launches for advertising automation
• October 2025: Amazon releases geographic optimization API for DSP advertisers
• November 2025: Amazon announces Ads Agent at unBoxed 2025 conference

Summary

Who: Amazon Ads announced Ads Agent, affecting advertisers using Amazon Marketing Cloud and U.S. users of Multimedia Solutions with Amazon DSP. The tool targets agencies, brands, and enterprises managing advertising campaigns across Amazon's platforms.

What: Ads Agent is an artificial intelligence agent that automates campaign planning, launching, and optimization through natural language commands. The system creates campaign structures from uploaded media plans, recommends targeting segments by analyzing thousands of audience options, and generates SQL queries for analytics without requiring coding expertise. The agent provides data-driven recommendations while maintaining transparency and advertiser control over final decisions.

When: Amazon announced Ads Agent on November 11, 2025, during its annual unBoxed conference. The tool became available at launch to qualifying advertisers across multiple regions spanning North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

Where: Ads Agent operates within Amazon Marketing Cloud and Multimedia Solutions with Amazon DSP interfaces. Access depends on product usage—all AMC users can leverage analytics capabilities, while U.S. DSP users gain campaign creation and optimization features. Regional availability includes 36 countries across six continents.

Why: The agent addresses operational inefficiencies facing advertisers managing campaigns at scale by automating time-consuming tasks including targeting segment identification, campaign pacing adjustments, and SQL query generation. Amazon positions the technology as combining agentic AI capabilities with first-party insights to unlock advertising efficiency, enabling advertisers to save time for strategic priorities rather than tactical execution.