PubMatic Unveils AI-Powered Media Buying Platform

Rhea-AI Summary

PubMatic (PUBM) has launched an enhanced AI-powered media buying platform for digital advertising. The platform provides direct access to 1,900 premium publishers, data from 190 partners, and processes over 821 billion daily ad impressions. Key features include AI-driven efficiency with natural language processing, unified activation and insights, omnichannel scale across connected TVs and mobile devices, and real-time optimization. The platform demonstrated success with GroupM, delivering a 126% incremental sales lift for a client. The solution combines supply-side intelligence with AI buying tools, offering unique supply-path transparency unavailable to DSPs. Built with privacy-first approach, it leverages first-party data for targeting while ensuring regulatory compliance.

Positive

• Integration of Generative AI technology across the entire platform enhances efficiency and performance
• Direct access to vast inventory: 1,900 premium publishers and 821 billion daily ad impressions
• Demonstrated success with 126% incremental sales lift for a GroupM client
• Partnership with major industry player GroupM validates platform effectiveness
• Privacy-compliant solution addressing growing demand for secure advertising

Negative

• Platform is still in beta testing phase
• Success metrics limited to single case study with GroupM

Insights

Digital Advertising Technology Expert

PubMatic's AI-powered platform transforms it from SSP to end-to-end adtech provider, bringing unprecedented transparency and efficiency to programmatic advertising.

PubMatic's launch of a generative AI-powered media buying platform marks a strategic transformation, evolving beyond their traditional supply-side platform (SSP) role into a comprehensive end-to-end technology provider. This shift directly addresses several critical industry pain points while positioning the company to capture greater value in the digital advertising ecosystem.

The platform's scale is remarkable - offering access to 1,900 premium publishers, data from 190 partners, and processing over 821 billion daily ad impressions. This extensive reach creates a compelling value proposition for buyers seeking efficiency and comprehensive access to the open internet.

The integration of generative AI throughout the platform represents genuine innovation in programmatic workflow automation. The natural language interface for campaign creation and the 24/7 AI monitoring agent for performance optimization could dramatically reduce manual effort while improving outcomes - addressing the operational efficiency demands facing digital advertising teams.

Supply-path transparency has become a major priority for advertisers concerned about the "ad tech tax" and inefficiencies in the programmatic supply chain. By combining direct SSP access with activation capabilities, PubMatic offers visibility that traditional DSPs typically cannot provide.

The platform's privacy-first approach and first-party data integration aligns perfectly with the industry's movement away from third-party cookies toward consent-based targeting solutions. This positions PubMatic advantageously for advertising's privacy-centric future.

The early testimonial from GroupM citing a 126% incremental sales lift provides promising initial validation, though broader performance data across different campaign types would strengthen the value proposition.

For publishers, the AI-driven optimization and first-party data integration could help maximize yield and fill rates while maintaining inventory quality - addressing revenue challenges many publishers face in today's digital ecosystem.

This evolution reflects a broader industry trend toward supply chain integration, where the traditional boundaries between demand-side and supply-side platforms continue to blur. By positioning itself at this critical nexus, PubMatic appears well-positioned to establish stronger strategic relationships with both buyers and sellers in the programmatic ecosystem.

Buy-Side Technology Enables Transparent Media Buying Across Full Open Internet Inventory

NO-HEADQUARTERS/REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PubMatic, a leader in digital advertising technology, today announced the launch of its upgraded solution suite for buyers, powered by generative AI. PubMatic’s buyer platform streamlines every stage of the media buying process – from audience and inventory discovery and forecasting to curation, activation, and performance optimization. It is the only solution with direct access to nearly the entire open internet – 1,900 premium publishers, privacy-safe audience data from 190 data partners, and over 821 billion daily ad impressions.

The buyer-facing platform combines proprietary supply-side intelligence with AI-powered buying tools, and by uniquely combining direct SSP access with seamless campaign activation capabilities, it offers supply-path transparency unavailable to DSPs. This is critical at a time when buyers demand greater control over and visibility into where and how their media dollars are spent.

Announced on the two-year anniversary of PubMatic’s Activate product launch, this marks a milestone in PubMatic’s evolution from a traditional SSP into an innovative end-to-end technology company powering the future of programmatic advertising on the open internet. With Gen AI at its core, PubMatic’s buyer suite addresses an array of inefficiencies around supply paths, workflows, inventory discovery, audience strategy, and optimization.

New Capabilities of the Upgraded Platform Include:

• AI-Driven Efficiency: In PubMatic’s Gen AI-powered marketplace, buyers will describe their campaign goals, audience strategy, or inventory needs using natural language. The platform will instantly surface or create curated deals while built-in forecasting tools will recommend optimal budgets and bid CPMs to maximize performance, resulting in faster deal creation and more predictable, high-performing outcomes.
• Unified Activation & Insights: Buyers will seamlessly activate curated deals through PubMatic’s Activate platform or their DSP of choice while benefiting from real-time supply insights.
• Omnichannel Scale: Buyers will tap into premium streaming and omnichannel inventory across connected TVs, mobile apps and browsers, enriched with audience data from PubMatic’s Connect platform to drive better targeting and efficiency.
• Real-Time, Always-On Optimization: PubMatic’s Gen AI monitoring agent will proactively track campaign and deal performance 24/7, surfacing actionable insights and optimization recommendations to ensure delivery goals are met. This always-on intelligence will reduce manual efforts, flag issues before they impact outcomes, and free up traders to focus on higher-value strategic tasks.
• Privacy-First Approach: The platform will ensure compliance with privacy regulations while leveraging first-party data for precision targeting, addressing the growing demand for privacy-conscious advertising solutions.
  

“Our goal is to give media buyers a smarter, faster path to campaign performance,” said Kyle Dozeman, Chief Revenue Officer, Americas, at PubMatic. “We’ve embedded Generative AI into the entire PubMatic experience, integrating the technology seamlessly into our proven tools – Activate, Connect, and our SSP – unlocking the full potential of data-driven decision-making, while bringing buyers closer to high-quality, performant supply that reaches across the breadth of the open internet. Early adopters of our buy-side tools have already seen remarkable improvements in campaign efficiency and ROI, and we’re excited to continue driving innovation in partnership with leading agencies and advertisers."

Currently in beta testing with long-standing partners, the combined suite has strong support from industry leaders. GroupM, a global partner and early adopter of PubMatic’s Activate platform, which delivered a 126% incremental sales lift for a client, implements PubMatic’s buy-side solutions worldwide. Andrew Meaden, Global Head of Investment at GroupM expressed enthusiasm for the new platform: "Our long-standing partnership with PubMatic is based on a shared commitment to privacy-first, AI-powered innovation and helps us stay ahead in a rapidly evolving industry. PubMatic’s new unified platform will help us deliver smarter, more efficient campaigns for our clients, bringing together discovery, curation and activation in a single easy-to-use solution.”

Publishers also stand to gain from the platform’s success. By leveraging machine learning and curated deals, the platform helps publishers maximize yield, increase fill rates, and maintain control over inventory quality and pricing. Integration with first-party data and commerce media networks empowers publishers to deliver targeted, privacy-compliant advertising experiences that drive incremental revenue and long-term growth. PubMatic’s integrated supply chain brings buyers and sellers closer together, reduces complexity, and ensures more value flows directly to publishers.

As the industry moves toward a fully integrated supply chain, PubMatic’s buyer platform emerges as a critical nexus – scaling partnerships and AI-driven innovation across curation, activation and measurement to unlock ecosystem-wide collaboration. PubMatic’s curation partner Attain, whose transaction insights power precision targeting and will be available immediately to buyers on the platform, highlights the platform’s opportunity: “PubMatic’s AI-first platform represents an exciting vision for aligning ad spend with curated purchasing behavior”, said Dave Constantino, SVP at Attain. “By integrating real-time transaction data directly into deal curation and activation workflows, buyers gain an unprecedented ability to target high-intent audiences while measuring and optimizing for true business outcomes. This is the future of technology-first, performance-driven programmatic, and we’re excited to be a part of it.”

To preview the new platform’s user experience, click to watch the video below:
 https://vimeo.com/1082017337/63a02d270b?ts=0&share=copy

For more information about PubMatic’s enhanced buyer suite or partnership opportunities, please visit: www.pubmatic.com/buyers

About PubMatic:
PubMatic (Nasdaq: PUBM) is an independent technology company maximizing customer value by delivering digital advertising’s supply chain of the future. PubMatic’s sell-side platform empowers the world’s leading digital content creators across the open internet to control access to their inventory and increase monetization by enabling marketers to drive return on investment and reach addressable audiences across ad formats and devices. Since 2006, our infrastructure-driven approach has allowed for the efficient processing and utilization of data in real time. By delivering scalable and flexible programmatic innovation, we improve outcomes for our customers while championing a vibrant and transparent digital advertising supply chain.

Press Contact:
Ashley Jacobson, Director of Corporate Marketing, press@pubmatic.com
Broadsheet Communications for PubMatic, pubmaticteam@broadsheetcomms.com

A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a21bf614-d202-4e4f-a765-c3dca0defe02

FAQ

What are the key features of PubMatic's (PUBM) new AI-powered media buying platform?

The platform features AI-driven efficiency with natural language processing, unified activation and insights, omnichannel scale across connected TVs and mobile devices, real-time optimization, and privacy-first approach with first-party data targeting.

How much inventory does PubMatic's (PUBM) new platform have access to?

The platform provides direct access to 1,900 premium publishers, data from 190 partners, and processes over 821 billion daily ad impressions.

What performance results has PubMatic's (PUBM) new platform achieved?

In early testing with GroupM, the platform delivered a 126% incremental sales lift for a client.

How does PubMatic's (PUBM) new platform handle privacy concerns?

The platform ensures compliance with privacy regulations while leveraging first-party data for precision targeting, addressing the growing demand for privacy-conscious advertising solutions.

What makes PubMatic's (PUBM) platform different from traditional DSPs?

The platform uniquely combines direct SSP access with seamless campaign activation capabilities, offering supply-path transparency that is unavailable to traditional DSPs.