OpenX integrates Amazon's machine learning to filter low-value impressions

OpenX announced on December 22, 2025, that it has enhanced its traffic optimization framework to incorporate signals from Amazon Ads' Dynamic Traffic Engine, a machine learning system designed to help supply-side platforms identify which impression opportunities align most closely with advertiser campaign goals on Amazon DSP.

The enhancement builds upon OpenX's existing optimization infrastructure. According to the announcement, the integration adds intelligence that helps route supply and impression opportunities to Amazon DSP by evaluating which traffic types demonstrate higher value to buyers. The system analyzes recent performance patterns and shares automated feedback signals with OpenX, informing when and where sending bid requests may prove most beneficial.

Dynamic Traffic Engine operates as a machine learning-based evaluation system that examines marketplace activity to understand traffic value for Amazon DSP buyers. These insights generate automated feedback signals shared with supply partners like OpenX, enabling more strategic delivery decisions about which impressions receive bidding consideration.

Through automated signal exchange, DTE insights integrate into OpenX's traffic optimization logic. The system refines delivery decisions to prioritize impressions with higher potential alignment to Amazon DSP campaign goals. This approach reduces less-valuable traffic while elevating higher-value opportunities, helping minimize unnecessary bid requests and creating capacity for higher-quality request volume, according to the announcement.

The implementation represents OpenX's latest effort in performance-focused optimization as the supply-side platform continues improving how supply and demand connect. For advertisers, the enhancement aims to ensure that OpenX supply routed to Amazon DSP aligns more closely with campaign performance goals. For publishers, the system helps ensure valuable impressions receive stronger representation to Amazon DSP buyers, supporting more consistent auction outcomes.

"Dynamic Traffic Engine is designed to help supply partners deliver the most relevant opportunities to Amazon DSP buyers," said Chris Conetta, Director of Omnichannel Supply at Amazon Ads, in the announcement. "Collaborations like this can help programmatic solutions operate more efficiently and deliver stronger results for advertisers and publishers alike."

The announcement arrives as Amazon DSP has systematically expanded its technical capabilities throughout 2025. The platform unified sponsored ads and Amazon DSP into a single Campaign Manager interface on November 10, 2025, combining previously separate buying tools with AI-powered optimization features. Amazon introduced AI targeting for DSP campaigns on November 13, 2025, enabling advertisers to describe targeting objectives using natural language rather than platform-specific taxonomy.

Machine learning optimization has become fundamental to programmatic advertising efficiency. The approach addresses persistent challenges around computational effort required for real-time bidding systems. Demand-side platforms process massive volumes of bid requests, with many impressions delivering limited value to specific advertisers. Traffic shaping technologies attempt to filter these requests, though such systems can inadvertently remove valuable inventory while maintaining low-quality impressions.

Supply-side platforms maintain strategic advantages in traffic optimization due to direct publisher relationships and inventory access. OpenX operates as an independent omnichannel supply-side platform with a 17-year track record of programmatic innovation. The company maintains partnerships with more than 200,000 premium publisher domains and serves over 100,000 advertisers globally across connected television, mobile applications, mobile web, and desktop environments.

The Dynamic Traffic Engine integration follows OpenX's July 2025 launch of OpenXSelect, a curation and supply-side targeting platform providing inventory controls, scaled audience targeting through a 237 million user identity graph, and performance optimization tools. That platform reduced campaign setup and optimization time by up to 50% for current self-service partners, according to company statements.

Amazon DSP reached a monthly ad-supported audience of 275 million customers in the United States as of October 2024. The platform's recent enhancements include Netflix inventory integration beginning Q4 2025, frequency cap controls that saved up to 26% of campaign budgets and drove up to 21% incremental reach according to Amazon performance data, and goal-based bidding launched September 19, 2024, enabling advertisers to specify desired reach and frequency goals for brand campaigns.

Programmatic advertising investment continues expanding, with 72% of marketers planning to increase their programmatic spending in 2025, marking a rise from 62% in 2024 according to industry research. Connected television's share of media budgets projects to double from 14% in 2023 to 28% in 2025, creating substantial inventory across which advertisers must allocate budgets efficiently.

The technical implementation operates through secure signal exchange between Amazon's Dynamic Traffic Engine and OpenX's optimization logic. This exchange enables real-time evaluation of impression opportunities against performance patterns observed across Amazon DSP buyer campaigns. The system processes signals continuously, adjusting which impressions receive routing to Amazon DSP based on likelihood of meeting advertiser objectives.

Traffic optimization represents a critical consideration for supply-side platforms managing programmatic campaigns. Publishers deploy various strategies to control bid request volumes while maintaining revenue. Some major publishers have implemented bid throttling techniques to combat overwhelming floods of duplicate bid requests that emerged from header bidding adoption. These approaches allow publishers to regain control over programmatic inventory while reducing page latency and improving monetization efficiency.

Supply path optimization has gained increased attention from advertisers managing programmatic campaigns. The practice involves evaluating supply-side platforms, ad exchanges, and publisher connections to eliminate unnecessary technology fees and latency. Match rate losses between platforms typically range from 40% to 70%, making direct supply path connections valuable for maintaining data fidelity.

For OpenX, the Amazon integration demonstrates ongoing commitment to building efficient marketplace connections. The company expanded leadership with five senior executives across product, marketing, communications, and operations on October 23, 2025, designed to scale OpenXSelect capabilities. The timing aligned with significant industry momentum around programmatic curation practices following IAB Tech Lab's formal standards announcement in December 2024.

Amazon DSP's technical capabilities include Performance+ optimization using machine learning, modeled attribution for off-Amazon conversions, and comprehensive campaign management infrastructure operating across display, video, and connected television formats. The platform launched brand suitability settings in open beta on November 18, 2025, allowing advertisers to adjust controls at advertiser and ad-group levels through API, expanding beyond Twitch to third-party inventory.

Third-party measurement capabilities have expanded across Amazon's advertising ecosystem. Integral Ad Science secured Media Rating Council accreditation for its third-party measurement capabilities on Amazon DSP properties on November 13, 2025, marking the first time an independent verification provider received MRC certification for impression, viewability, and invalid traffic metrics within Amazon's advertising ecosystem.

The OpenX-Amazon integration reflects broader industry patterns around specialized partnerships designed to improve programmatic efficiency. Amazon integrated SiriusXM Media in September 2025, expanding audio inventory accessible through Amazon DSP. Microsoft Monetize joined Amazon DSP as a preferred partner on October 7, 2025, through the Certified Supply Exchange program.

Publisher perspectives on supply-side platform optimization vary based on specific business models and inventory characteristics. Premium publishers maintaining direct advertiser relationships often exempt programmatic guaranteed and preferred deals from traffic optimization to preserve high-value demand. Open auction traffic receives more aggressive optimization to eliminate low-quality bid requests while maintaining competitive auction dynamics.

Amazon's advertising revenue reached $17.7 billion in the third quarter of 2025, representing 22% year-over-year growth according to financial results. The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green noted during a November 7 earnings call that Amazon will likely generate approximately $70 billion in advertising revenue for the full year 2025. This substantial scale creates incentives for supply-side platforms to optimize connections with Amazon DSP, ensuring valuable impressions receive appropriate exposure to Amazon's demand.

The Dynamic Traffic Engine implementation addresses fundamental marketplace efficiency challenges. Programmatic advertising ecosystems process trillions of bid requests annually, with supply-side platforms evaluating massive volumes of inventory against demand-side platform requirements. Machine learning systems can identify patterns in this data that human operators cannot discern at scale, enabling more precise routing decisions that benefit both buyers and sellers.

For marketing professionals managing programmatic campaigns, the OpenX-Amazon integration represents infrastructure improvements occurring beneath campaign management interfaces. Advertisers accessing OpenX inventory through Amazon DSP may observe performance improvements as the system routes higher-quality impressions matching campaign objectives. However, the enhancement operates automatically without requiring advertiser configuration or campaign adjustments.

OpenX achieved CarbonNeutral certification and third-party verification for its Science Based Targets initiative Net-Zero targets, positioning environmental sustainability as a differentiator within the advertising technology sector. The company's 100% cloud-based technology stack powers advertising across connected television, applications, mobile web, and desktop environments.

Supply-side platforms have moved beyond generic inventory aggregation toward vertical-specific solutions addressing unique requirements in sectors like connected television, mobile applications, and digital audio. OpenX launched curated video packages for Latin American advertisers on November 4, 2025, demonstrating geographic expansion strategies beyond saturated markets in North America and Europe.

Industry adoption of curation practices has accelerated following IAB Tech Lab's framework announcement, with major platforms including Google Ad Manager and Microsoft Advertising integrating standards into their operations. This standardization enables more efficient computational processes for demand-side platforms, which have traditionally faced increasing computational effort measured in queries per second required for integration with multiple parties and real-time supply filtering.

The OpenX-Amazon collaboration demonstrates how supply-side platforms and demand-side platforms can cooperate to improve marketplace efficiency rather than operating as adversarial parties competing for margin. By sharing performance signals, both parties gain insights enabling better decision-making about impression value and appropriate routing.

Measurement infrastructure supports these optimization systems by providing feedback loops confirming whether predicted performance aligns with actual outcomes. Amazon's unified reporting system provides measurement capabilities for AI-targeted campaigns, enabling advertisers to analyze performance across sponsored ads and DSP campaigns through consolidated reporting interfaces.

Future developments in traffic optimization will likely incorporate additional signal types beyond performance history. Contextual signals, attention metrics, and brand suitability indicators could inform routing decisions as the industry develops more sophisticated evaluation frameworks. Privacy regulations continue shaping what data can be shared between platforms, influencing how optimization systems operate while maintaining user privacy protections.

For publishers working with OpenX, the Dynamic Traffic Engine integration operates transparently within existing platform relationships. Publishers maintain control over inventory allocation and pricing while benefiting from improved auction efficiency that routes valuable impressions to buyers most likely to value them appropriately. This approach aligns publisher and platform incentives around maximizing yield rather than simply maximizing bid request volume.

The announcement positions OpenX within competitive dynamics among supply-side platforms seeking to differentiate capabilities and demonstrate value to both publishers and advertisers. Partnerships with major demand sources like Amazon DSP provide scale advantages, enabling supply-side platforms to justify technology investments that might not prove economical for smaller inventory sources.

Amazon's advertising business operates differently from traditional demand-side platforms due to its retail integration and first-party data assets. The company's extensive shopping signals enable precise audience targeting that enhances effectiveness of premium content. This combination of demand scale and targeting precision makes Amazon DSP an increasingly important demand source for publishers across formats and geographic markets.

OpenX maintains competitive positioning through independent operation outside ownership by major advertising holding companies or technology platforms. This independence enables partnerships across multiple demand sources without conflicts of interest that could arise from platform ownership structures. The company's focus on supply-side curation and transparency addresses advertiser demands for visibility into programmatic supply chains.

Technical infrastructure requirements for traffic optimization systems include low-latency signal processing, real-time decision-making capabilities, and continuous model updating based on performance feedback. These systems must operate within strict time constraints imposed by programmatic auction mechanics, typically completing evaluations within milliseconds to avoid introducing latency that could reduce auction participation.

Timeline

• December 22, 2025: OpenX announces integration with Amazon Ads' Dynamic Traffic Engine for traffic optimization
• November 18, 2025: Amazon DSP launches brand suitability settings in open beta
• November 13, 2025: Amazon introduces AI targeting for DSP campaigns
• November 10, 2025: Amazon unifies DSP and sponsored ads in Campaign Manager
• November 4, 2025: OpenX launches curated video packages for Latin American advertisers
• October 23, 2025: OpenX expands leadership team with five senior executives
• October 18, 2025: Amazon DSP forecasting API reaches general availability
• October 7, 2025: Amazon DSP integrates Microsoft Monetize SSP
• September 16, 2025: Amazon and SiriusXM expand programmatic audio reach
• September 10, 2025: Netflix becomes available in Amazon DSP
• July 16, 2025: OpenX launches OpenXSelect curation platform
• June 8, 2025: Industry adopts programmatic curation standards
• September 19, 2024: Amazon DSP launches goal-based bidding functionality

Summary

Who: OpenX Technologies, an independent omnichannel supply-side platform with a 17-year track record serving more than 200,000 premium publisher domains and over 100,000 advertisers, integrated with Amazon Ads' Dynamic Traffic Engine. Chris Conetta, Director of Omnichannel Supply at Amazon Ads, provided commentary on the collaboration.

What: OpenX enhanced its traffic optimization framework to incorporate machine learning signals from Amazon Ads' Dynamic Traffic Engine, enabling automated evaluation of which impression opportunities align most closely with Amazon DSP buyer campaign goals. The system refines delivery decisions, reduces less-valuable traffic, prioritizes higher-value opportunities, and enhances auction efficiency by improving visibility for publishers' most valuable impressions.

When: OpenX announced the enhancement on December 22, 2025, building upon the company's established optimization systems and data models. The integration follows OpenX's July 2025 launch of OpenXSelect and Amazon's November 2025 unification of Campaign Manager.

Where: The enhancement operates across OpenX's global network spanning connected television, mobile applications, mobile web, and desktop environments, routing optimized traffic to Amazon DSP, which reached a monthly ad-supported audience of 275 million customers in the United States as of October 2024.

Why: The integration addresses programmatic advertising efficiency challenges by reducing unnecessary bid requests, creating capacity for higher-quality request volume, and improving overall marketplace performance. For advertisers, the enhancement ensures OpenX supply routed to Amazon DSP aligns more closely with campaign performance goals. For publishers, the system helps ensure valuable impressions receive stronger representation to Amazon DSP buyers, supporting more consistent auction outcomes and healthier competition.