Smartclip launches agentic AI platform for media industry automation

Hamburg-based smartclip, RTL Group's adtech business, announced the launch of Sidekicks on July 15, 2025. The new agentic AI platform addresses operational challenges in the media industry by combining Realytics' media intelligence capabilities with smartclip's process automation expertise. The platform delivers focused AI agents designed to assist teams across the digital advertising value chain while maintaining organizational knowledge security.

The announcement follows growing industry adoption of artificial intelligence technologies for advertising operations. Smartclip developed Sidekicks in close collaboration with subsidiary Realytics, leveraging the company's expertise in TV analytics and cross-media measurement. The platform supports operational teams through a portfolio of specialized AI agents that work within existing business workflows.

"While using GenAI for general purposes normally is very intuitive, it is surprisingly complex to get it to work reliably in complex business environments," said Thomas Servatius, Co-CEO at smartclip. "Our goal is to achieve meaningful outcomes for operational teams in and outside the media industry."

Summary

Who: Smartclip, RTL Group's adtech business, developed the platform in collaboration with subsidiary Realytics. Key executives include Thomas Servatius (Co-CEO, smartclip), Guillaume Belmas (CEO, Realytics), and Rhys Nölke (Chief Data Officer, Bertelsmann).

What: Sidekicks is an agentic AI platform that combines media intelligence with process automation to address operational challenges across digital advertising workflows. The platform delivers specialized AI agents that assist teams while maintaining organizational knowledge security.

When: The platform was announced on July 15, 2025, following development in collaboration with Realytics and backing from Bertelsmann AI Hub.

Where: Hamburg, Germany serves as smartclip's headquarters. The platform will initially be available to smartclip and Realytics clients, with pilot programs planned for RTL Deutschland and Ad Alliance, and broader media industry access planned for future phases.

Why: The platform addresses growing complexity in digital advertising operations where traditional workflows require multiple systems and manual interventions. The development responds to industry demand for AI automation that provides practical outcomes while maintaining data security and organizational knowledge protection.

Technical architecture and security focus

The Sidekicks platform distinguishes itself through its approach to data security and organizational knowledge protection. Unlike general-purpose AI solutions, the platform maintains proprietary business knowledge within organizational boundaries. This security-first design addresses concerns about sensitive business information being exposed to external AI systems.

The platform's architecture combines Realytics' spot detection technology with smartclip's workflow automation capabilities. Realytics has developed three proprietary algorithms over five years of research and development: real-time TV spot detection, TV-engaged viewer attribution and scoring, and machine learning technology for prediction algorithms. These technologies form the foundation for Sidekicks' media intelligence capabilities.

Smartclip's expertise in process automation complements Realytics' analytical capabilities. The company's custom-built advertising technology serves European broadcasters and publishers, enabling smarter monetization strategies across in-stream, out-stream, addressable TV, connected TV, audio, and gaming formats.

Industry collaboration and validation

The initiative receives backing from Bertelsmann AI Hub, demonstrating broader organizational support for agentic AI development. Rhys Nölke, Chief Data Officer at Bertelsmann, emphasized the platform's potential for cross-domain application beyond the media industry.

"Generative AI and agentic workflows hold enormous potential for Bertelsmann and the industries we serve," said Nölke. "Sidekicks stands out as a concrete, hands-on approach, with strong potential for cross-domain application."

The collaboration extends beyond internal development. Smartclip plans to make Sidekicks available to existing clients of both smartclip and Realytics platforms, with broader media industry access planned for future phases. RTL Deutschland and Ad Alliance are currently evaluating pilot integration opportunities for AI-driven automation in campaign management and cross-media planning.

Guillaume Belmas, CEO of Realytics, explained the platform's practical approach to media professional challenges. "Our vision for Sidekicks is grounded in the day-to-day realities of media professionals," said Belmas. "By embedding intelligence where it's needed most — in the actual flow of work — we can help teams move faster, smarter, and with greater confidence in a world where complexity and fragmentation are only increasing."

Market context and competitive landscape

The launch occurs amid increasing adoption of AI automation across digital advertising platforms. Major platforms including X, Microsoft Advertising, and StackAdapt have integrated AI-powered automation tools to address operational complexities and campaign optimization challenges.

Recent market developments demonstrate strong momentum toward intelligent automation. StackAdapt's AI assistant Ivy processed over 1,700 platform messages during its first 30 days, with users commonly requesting campaign optimization guidance and platform navigation assistance. Similarly, Microsoft Advertising's integration with Mediaocean's Prisma platform enables automated order insertion, reducing approval times to minutes through streamlined workflow automation.

The advertising industry faces increasing complexity as campaigns span multiple channels and formats. Traditional workflows often require multiple systems and manual interventions, creating inefficiencies that AI automation aims to address. Google's Display & Video 360 platform reports 60% cost reductions through AI-enhanced automation, demonstrating measurable benefits from intelligent automation implementation.

Realytics foundation and market position

Realytics brings significant industry expertise to the Sidekicks platform. Founded in 2014, the company has analyzed more than 6 million commercials across Europe, helping brands and agencies measure TV campaign impact on digital channels. The subsidiary serves over 650 brands including CDiscount, SNCF Group, Leboncoin, Nespresso, Aramis auto, The Fork, La Poste Group, Ornikar, and Blablacar.

The company's Bee platform received recognition as Tech of the Year 2024 for cross-TV distribution channel measurement. Bee measures and compares linear TV campaigns, broadcast video on demand, and connected TV exposure alongside online engagement metrics. This unified measurement approach addresses audience fragmentation challenges as viewing habits shift between traditional and digital platforms.

Realytics' proprietary technologies enable real-time TV spot detection at the first second of broadcast, linking incremental web traffic to specific TV spots. The platform analyzes TV campaign impact across various digital channels including websites, mobile applications, call centers, and SMS responses. This comprehensive measurement capability provides the data foundation for Sidekicks' intelligent automation features.

Technical implementation and capabilities

The Sidekicks platform operates through specialized AI agents designed for specific use cases within digital advertising workflows. Each agent focuses on particular challenges across campaign planning, execution, and optimization phases. The modular approach allows organizations to implement automation selectively based on operational priorities.

Initial use cases target common pain points in digital advertising operations. These include campaign performance analysis, audience targeting optimization, creative asset management, and cross-channel reporting. The platform's agents work within existing technology stacks rather than requiring complete workflow replacement.

The system's architecture supports integration with existing adtech and martech platforms. This compatibility reduces implementation barriers while extending automation capabilities to established operational processes. The approach acknowledges that many organizations prefer evolutionary rather than transformational technology adoption strategies.

Future development and expansion plans

Smartclip indicates plans for broader industry availability beyond current client access. The company positions Sidekicks as applicable to business automation challenges beyond media and advertising, suggesting potential expansion into other industry verticals.

The Bertelsmann AI Hub collaboration supports development of applications across multiple business domains within the broader organization. This cross-functional approach could accelerate platform capabilities development while validating use cases across different operational contexts.

Current pilot programs with RTL Deutschland and Ad Alliance will provide implementation insights for campaign management and cross-media planning automation. These internal deployments offer controlled environments for testing platform capabilities before broader market release.

Industry significance and implications

The Sidekicks launch represents a strategic approach to agentic AI implementation that prioritizes security and practical outcomes over general-purpose capabilities. This focus addresses growing enterprise concerns about data protection and intellectual property security in AI adoption.

The platform's emphasis on embedded intelligence within existing workflows reflects industry preference for automation that augments rather than replaces human expertise. This approach acknowledges that successful AI implementation requires balancing efficiency gains with maintaining strategic control and differentiation capabilities.

For marketing professionals, the development signals continued evolution toward intelligent automation across digital advertising operations. The trend toward specialized AI agents for specific use cases suggests the industry is moving beyond experimental AI adoption toward practical implementation focused on measurable business outcomes.

The collaboration between smartclip and Realytics demonstrates how companies are combining complementary capabilities to address complex operational challenges. This partnership model may become increasingly common as organizations seek to leverage AI technologies while maintaining competitive advantages through proprietary capabilities.

Key terminology

Agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can act autonomously to achieve specific goals without constant human supervision. Unlike traditional AI that responds to prompts, agentic AI can plan sequences of actions, make decisions, and execute complex workflows independently. In advertising contexts, these systems can manage campaign optimization, budget allocation, and creative testing while adapting to changing performance metrics in real-time.

Cross-media workflows encompass the operational processes that span multiple advertising channels and platforms simultaneously. These workflows coordinate campaign elements across television, digital display, social media, connected TV, and other channels to ensure consistent messaging and optimal resource allocation. Modern cross-media workflows require sophisticated orchestration to manage timing, creative assets, audience targeting, and budget distribution across diverse platform requirements.

Adtech represents the technological infrastructure that enables digital advertising operations, including demand-side platforms, supply-side platforms, ad exchanges, and data management platforms. This ecosystem facilitates the automated buying and selling of advertising inventory while providing targeting, measurement, and optimization capabilities. Adtech solutions form the foundation for programmatic advertising and enable the complex data flows that power modern campaign management.

Connected TV (CTV) describes television content delivered through internet-connected devices rather than traditional broadcast or cable systems. CTV advertising allows for precise targeting and measurement capabilities similar to digital advertising while reaching audiences consuming video content on smart TVs, streaming devices, and gaming consoles. This channel bridges traditional television advertising with digital advertising technologies, creating new opportunities for audience engagement and campaign optimization.

Programmatic advertising automates the buying and selling of advertising inventory through software platforms and algorithms rather than manual negotiations. This approach enables real-time bidding on advertising placements based on audience data, campaign objectives, and performance metrics. Programmatic systems can process millions of bid requests per second, optimizing campaign performance through continuous learning and adjustment based on conversion data and user behavior patterns.

Attribution and scoring algorithms analyze customer touchpoints across multiple channels to determine which interactions contribute to conversions and business outcomes. These sophisticated mathematical models assign credit to various marketing activities based on their influence on customer decisions. Advanced attribution systems incorporate machine learning to understand complex customer journeys that span weeks or months across different devices and platforms.

Real-time spot detection technology identifies television advertisements at the moment they begin broadcasting using audio or video fingerprinting techniques. This capability enables immediate correlation between TV ad airings and subsequent digital activity, providing precise measurement of TV advertising impact on website traffic, app downloads, and online conversions. The technology processes broadcast signals continuously to trigger attribution algorithms within seconds of ad exposure.

Addressable TV enables advertisers to deliver different advertisements to different households watching the same television program based on demographic, behavioral, or geographic targeting criteria. This approach combines traditional television's broad reach with digital advertising's precision targeting capabilities. Addressable TV systems manage complex decisioning processes to select appropriate advertisements for each household while maintaining broadcast synchronization and content quality standards.

Broadcast Video On Demand (BVOD) refers to catch-up television services provided by traditional broadcasters through internet-connected platforms. BVOD combines broadcast content with digital delivery mechanisms, enabling more sophisticated advertising insertion and measurement capabilities than traditional linear television. These platforms support advanced targeting, dynamic ad insertion, and detailed analytics while maintaining the premium content environments associated with established media brands.

Multi-ID measurement encompasses the technologies and methodologies used to track advertising effectiveness across multiple identification systems as the industry transitions away from third-party cookies. This approach combines first-party data, contextual signals, device fingerprinting, and privacy-preserving technologies to maintain campaign measurement capabilities. Multi-ID systems must reconcile data from various sources while respecting user privacy preferences and regulatory requirements across different jurisdictions.

Timeline

• July 15, 2025: Smartclip announces Sidekicks launch
• June 30, 2025: Reddit launches comprehensive Smartly integration for automated campaign management
• March 17, 2025: Adform launches AI-powered Campaign Planner tool
• January 26, 2025: Mediaocean 2025 Advertising Outlook reveals AI and automation as top priorities
• January 22, 2025: Google's DV360 reports 60% cost reduction through AI-enhanced automation
• December 7, 2024: Microsoft Advertising integrates with Mediaocean for automated order insertion
• October 24, 2024: X rolls out new AI-powered advertising platform