Yahoo DSP launches open AI agent network for advertisers

Yahoo DSP has launched the Yahoo DSP Agent Network, a framework that links advertisers in Yahoo DSP with AI agents from adtech partners.

Designed as an open framework rather than a system limited to Yahoo's own tools, the network lets advertisers use partner-built AI agents inside Yahoo DSP across audience targeting, campaign activation, creative workflows and measurement.

Launch partners include MiQ, DoubleVerify, Innovid, Integral Ad Science, Kochava and Pacvue, along with several other companies across the advertising market. More than a dozen partners are joining at launch, covering different parts of the media-buying process.

They are grouped into four areas. In audience and contextual targeting, advertisers can use agents for audience segment creation, onboarding and contextual category work. In campaign activation, the framework supports planning, activation, management and optimisation. Creative partners handle generation, trafficking and scheduling, while measurement partners analyse campaign performance and deliver results.

Companies in audience and contextual targeting include Datonics, DoubleVerify, Innovid, Integral Ad Science, Kochava, Liquid Advertising, Mobian, Pacvue, Roya and Samba. Campaign activation includes Clinch, Datonics, DoubleVerify, Innovid, Integral Ad Science, Kochava, Liquid Advertising, MiQ, Newton Research, Pacvue and Samba.

Creative partners include Clinch, Innovid, Pacvue and Roya. In measurement, Yahoo named Clinch, DoubleVerify, Innovid, Integral Ad Science, Kochava, Liquid Advertising, Mobian, Newton Research, Pacvue, Samba and Akkio.

Open model

The launch extends Yahoo DSP's broader approach to agentic AI. Yahoo has framed that strategy around giving advertisers the option to use their own AI systems, Yahoo's native agents, or a mix of both through open integrations.

Advertisers will be able to see what each agent does, how it integrates and whether it fits their existing technology stack. The network also includes governance, compliance and authentication controls for advertisers using partner tools inside the platform.

For advertisers, the move addresses a growing question in the market: whether AI in ad buying will be handled by closed platform tools or by a wider ecosystem of specialist providers. Yahoo is positioning its system around interoperability with external vendors that already serve media buyers in planning, targeting, verification, creative and attribution.

"Agentic AI should make advertising simpler, not harder, and that starts with openness," said Adam Roodman, GM, Yahoo DSP. "Interoperability has always been at the core of what Yahoo DSP stands for, across identity, data, and measurement. The Agent Network is the next chapter: giving advertisers the freedom to work with the best partners in the industry, all within a single, connected ecosystem they can trust."

Partner response

Several launch partners said the framework reflects a broader shift in advertising technology toward AI systems that work across existing software rather than replace it. That is likely to matter for agencies and brands that already use multiple specialist vendors and need those systems to work together inside buying platforms.

"AI will be most valuable when it can operate across the tools advertisers already use every day," said Kyle Cheasman, VP, Business Development at Innovid. "The Yahoo DSP Agent Network reflects the industry's shift toward more interoperable workflows, making it easier for advertisers to connect AI-powered capabilities within existing planning, activation, measurement, and optimisation processes."

MiQ made a similar case for a more connected model. "The Yahoo DSP Agent Network reflects where the industry is heading, toward more connected and interoperable AI workflows," said Georgiana Haig, Global Strategy & Partnerships Director at MiQ. "Creating a framework where different technologies can integrate and work together more seamlessly will help advertisers operationalise AI more effectively across media planning, activation, and optimisation."

The network also gives Yahoo DSP a way to deepen ties with adtech vendors as AI agents become a more visible part of the ad-buying stack. Instead of competing with every specialist provider by building all tools in-house, Yahoo is opening its platform to outside agents that can plug into different stages of campaign work.

Partners that want to join the ecosystem can go through a certification and onboarding process. The network is intended to expand through additional partners, deeper integrations and agent-to-agent functions.