Agentic buying
Agentic buying is the use of software agents that act on behalf of an advertiser or agency to plan, find and negotiate media within goals and limits set by people. The agent interprets a brief, queries available supply, proposes or requests deals and reports back, while humans approve budgets and commitments.
What is agentic buying?
Agentic buying describes buy-side workflows in which an AI agent carries out parts of the media buying process for an advertiser or agency. Rather than a person manually searching inventory, emailing sellers and building plans, the agent works from a brief and goal constraints, talks to supply sources and returns options or deal requests. It sits within the broader field of Agentic advertising and is usually paired with a Buyer agent that represents the buyer’s interests. The practice is emerging: standards, protocols and accountability models are still being worked out, and most activity today is pilots alongside conventional programmatic buying.
How agentic buying works
A buyer gives an agent a structured brief covering audience, budget, flight dates, formats and brand rules. The agent queries sellers or their agents, compares the options returned and assembles a recommended plan or deal request. Execution usually still runs through existing DSPs and deal IDs, with people approving each commitment.
- A planner defines objectives, budget, audience, formats, timing and brand suitability rules as a structured brief.
- The buying agent translates the brief into queries and sends them to seller systems or seller agents.
- Returned inventory, pricing and terms are compared against the brief and ranked.
- The agent presents a recommended plan or deal request, and a person approves or adjusts it.
- Approved deals are activated through existing tools such as a DSP and deal IDs, and results feed back into later briefs.
Why it matters
Media planning involves many repetitive requests, comparisons and follow-ups that slow campaigns down. Delegating that legwork to an agent can shorten planning cycles and let buyers spend more time on strategy and evaluation.
For advertisers
Agentic buying can make it quicker to see what supply is available against a brief, but advertisers still own the goals, guardrails and final spend decisions.
For agencies
Agencies can use agents to handle repetitive request-for-proposal work across many sellers, freeing planners to focus on strategy and client advice.
Practical example
A sportswear brand’s agency asks its buying agent for CTV and in-app options reaching young adults in three cities; the agent returns a shortlist of packages with prices for the planner to approve.
Traditional programmatic and agentic advertising
Agentic advertising builds on programmatic rather than replacing it. Agents work through the same exchanges, deals and transparency files; what changes is who carries out the tasks.
| Aspect | Traditional programmatic | Agentic advertising |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | People plan, set up and adjust campaigns in buying and selling platforms. | Software agents carry out defined tasks, such as finding inventory or proposing terms, for a person who sets the goal. |
| How inventory is found | Buyers search platforms, run auctions or agree deals through sales conversations. | Buyer agents query seller agents for inventory that matches a brief. |
| How terms are agreed | Open auction bids, or deal terms negotiated by people and set up as a deal ID. | Agents exchange proposals within limits each side has set; people approve the result. |
| Standards | Established: OpenRTB, ads.txt, sellers.json, deal IDs. | Emerging: agent protocols such as MCP and A2A, used alongside the existing standards. |
| Maturity | Established and in wide use. | Early. At Vertoz, Agentic Buying and Agentic Selling are in early access. |
Key considerations
- Clear permissions matter: decide which actions an agent may take alone and which always need human sign-off.
- Output quality depends on the quality of the brief and of the inventory data sellers expose.
- Interoperability between buyer and seller agents is still developing, so integrations may be bespoke for now.
- Keep an audit trail of agent requests, responses and approvals for accountability and billing reconciliation.
More AI & Agentic Advertising terms
Frequently asked questions
Does agentic buying replace a DSP?
Not today. Agents typically sit on top of existing tools, preparing plans and deal requests that are then executed through DSPs and standard deal mechanics.
Is agentic buying the same as automated bidding?
No. Automated bidding sets impression-level prices inside a live campaign, while agentic buying focuses on the planning, discovery and negotiation work that happens before and around activation.
Is agentic buying widely adopted?
It is an emerging capability. Many companies are piloting it, and Vertoz offers Agentic Buying in early access, but conventional programmatic buying remains the established norm.