The case for and against agentic media buying

May 11, 2026 Agentic media buying promises a reinvention of the programmatic ecosystem, but experts are divided on whether it could help – or hinder – accountability. We explore the cases for and against agentic media buying. TOP STORY The Programmatic Marketer The case for and against agentic media buying Agentic media buying promises a reinvention of the programmatic ecosystem, but experts are divided on whether it could help – or hinder – accountability. Advertisement OTHER THINGS TO KNOW Join us in NYC on July 15 for Digiday’s CTV Advertising Strategies, hear how top brand and agency executives are navigating the opportunities and challenges in today’s streaming ad market and what they say it will take for streaming to overtake the TV once and for all. Pass prices rise after June 2.  AI gives marketers speed. Landing pages that used to take weeks to build now take minutes. But people with disabilities stop buying from brands whose AI-built sites make it impossible to complete a purchase. Partner insights from AudioEye. Increasingly, viewers turn on their TVs without a fixed plan. Nielsen estimates that viewers spend as long as 10.5 minutes browsing on the home screen before they decide what to watch. Partner insights from Nexxen. MARKETING The Programmatic Marketer ‘Google doesn't care that it's terrible’: Brand, agency execs air frustrations with The Trade Desk, Google’s Performance Max, Meta’s Advantage+ Think transparency is hard to come by in programmatic advertising? Well, get a bunch of brand and agency executives in a room, and they’ll get super transparent about how opaque the digital ad market has become. Strategizing for the Future The Trade Desk's $689M revenue beat is blunted by the departure of CSO Jacobson to OpenAI The DSP confirms the pending exit as PubMatic reports Q1 revenues of $62.6 million, capping off a bumper week of ad tech earnings. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM OPTABLE Why publishers can’t afford to wait on agentic AI The agentic era is here. But the nearly one-third of publishers who lack immediate investment plans risk falling behind. See how it works Member exclusive Digiday+ Research: Marketers optimize GEO strategies amid the effects of zero-click search While AI-generated search results are still relatively new compared to traditional search results, marketers are deeply feeling the effects. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM CONTENTFUL How AI is impacting content marketing According to a new survey from Contentful and Benchmarker, AI hasn’t replaced content outsourcing, but it is used most heavily in ideation, writing and editing. Advertisement The Creator Economy Inside Expedia’s year-long partnership with mega creator IShowSpeed Expedia partnered with mega creator IShowSpeed on a record-setting livestream and year-long campaign to target Gen Z audiences. DIGIDAY+ PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM PATHLABS How independent agencies are scaling in the age of AI AI may be speeding up media buying, but it’s also exposing cracks in how agencies execute. As independent agencies hit operational limits, they’re turning to partners to scale without sacrificing client trust. Member exclusive Media Buying Briefing: Takeshi Sano is making the rounds for Dentsu — is it enough? Dentsu just retained Heineken’s global business, and apparently the new CEO was involved. Should he take the heat for losing Microsoft? Most say no. ICYMI Business of TV Social video ad spending is set to outpace CTV in growth rate this year IAB estimates suggest advertisers are chasing users as they watch more video on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Written by Jim Cooper and Sara Jerde Were you forwarded this email? Sign up to get it daily. Advertise | Digiday+ | Events | Awards Update your email | Unsubscribe | Privacy policy