AI-to-AI communication could change how ads are bought and sold: Report
Artificial intelligence could change the way advertisements are bought and sold by enabling automated communication between systems, reducing manual coordination across the fragmented advertising ecosystem, according to a report by ADvendio, an advertising technology company.
Artificial intelligence is poised to transform the way advertisements are bought and sold, according to a report by ADvendio, an advertising technology company. The report outlines a shift from traditional, manually coordinated ad sales towards a new era of autonomous AI systems.
At the core of this transformation is the Ad Context Protocol (AdCP), an open standard designed to create a universal language for AI systems within the advertising ecosystem. AdCP enables communication between buyers, publishers, media networks, and ad-tech platforms, allowing for real-time discovery of inventory, alignment of targeting, verification of availability, and negotiation of terms.
This represents a departure from the fragmented and manual ad sales processes that have characterized the industry for years. Historically, ad operations relied heavily on human coordination, with email chains and manual approvals contributing to operational bottlenecks. The report outlines this evolution in three stages: a manual system, AI-enabled assistance, and now, autonomous agentic automation.
Julian Ahrends, the CTO at ADvendio, emphasized the importance of addressing the fragmentation that has long plagued ad operations. The launch of the AdCP in 2025 marks a significant step in resolving this challenge. However, the report cautions that simply enabling AI systems to communicate is not sufficient to ensure trustworthiness in transactions. Commercial rules and frameworks must still be applied, including existing agreements, negotiated pricing, spending commitments, and margin requirements.
Despite these complexities, the report highlights the potential benefits of an AdCP-powered environment. Agentic AI could communicate using a common operational language, while a separate commercial layer handles matching, clearing, reconciliation, and discrepancy resolution. This separation of concerns allows AI to streamline operational tasks while preserving human judgment where it matters most.
The report concludes that open standards like AdCP will be crucial as the advertising industry transitions towards agentic AI, but commercial controls will remain essential to validate autonomous transactions.
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