PubMatic, a top ad tech platform, launched PubMatic AgenticOS. This new operating system streamlines agent-to-agent advertising in premium digital spaces. The system adds an AI-driven layer for programmatic campaigns. This allows for autonomous execution, optimization, and real-time decision-making. It transforms traditional manual workflows into smart, ongoing operations.
AgenticOS is different from past point solutions and simple automation tools. It brings together smart agents. They handle planning, execution, forecasting, pacing, yield management, and measurement. This system can autonomously plan and optimize campaigns. It also follows brand-safety rules and the strategic goals set by advertisers.
The launch comes on the heels of successful early campaigns – including a December 2025 autonomous deployment with independent agency Butler/Till and Geloso Beverage Group’s Clubtails brand – where AgenticOS, guided by natural-language inputs via Anthropic’s Claude LLM, autonomously recommended tactics, executed media buys, and optimized performance in real time within predefined constraints. These campaigns allowed human teams to focus on creativity and strategy while the system handled operational execution.
What AgenticOS Is and How It Works
AgenticOS is built on PubMatic’s Architecture of Advertising Intelligence, a three-layer framework designed for responsible and scalable agent-driven operation:
Infrastructure layer: Powered by NVIDIA-accelerated computing for microsecond-level inference and real-time data integration across tens of millions of auctions per second. This layer delivers high-speed decision-making and up to 5× faster campaign execution, reducing auction timeouts and improving bid responsiveness.
Application layer: It embeds agentic capabilities. It interprets natural language intent using standards like Ad Context Protocol (AdCP) and Model Context Protocol (MCP). This helps automate planning, forecasting, pacing, yield optimizations, troubleshooting, and ongoing measurement.
Transaction layer: Translates agentic decisions into real-world execution by connecting directly to PubMatic’s Activate buying platform, enabling seamless transactions across Programmatic Guaranteed, Private Marketplace, and other inventory sources.
To accelerate adoption, PubMatic is launching the Agentic AI Acceleration Program, designed to help advertisers, agencies, publishers, and partners move from early testing to full agentic workflows in just weeks – with a strong emphasis on execution, governance, and measurable outcomes expected throughout the first quarter of 2026.
Why This Matters for the Digital Advertising Industry
1. A Shift Toward Autonomous Advertising Execution
The digital advertising world is now much more complex. There are billions of users and countless formats and devices. Plus, more advertisers are joining the mix every day. Legacy programmatic systems struggle to keep pace with this scale and variability. AgenticOS offers a new model. Autonomous agents learn, adapt, and optimize campaigns in real time. This reduces friction and boosts efficiency in the ad ecosystem.
This shifts from rule-based automation to true autonomy. Now, AI agents can interpret intent, make decisions, and coordinate tasks. This means less manual work for marketers. They can focus more on creative strategy and performance insights instead of setting up campaigns and fixing issues.
Also Read: Wondershare and Topaz Labs Join Forces to Bring Industry-Leading AI Video Enhancement to Creative Software
2. AI as an Operational Backbone of Advertising
AgenticOS is part of a larger trend. Generative AI and intelligent agents are shifting from experiments to essential operational tools. Advertisers can use natural-language interfaces to turn their goals into smart actions. They describe their aims simply, and the system takes care of the rest.
This builds on the industry’s momentum toward AI-driven advertising. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and IBM are creating tools for campaign planning and optimization. There’s a clear agreement that automation and AI will change how digital media is bought and sold.
3. Enhanced Performance and Operational Efficiency
Early tests indicate that agentic workflows can dramatically reduce campaign setup time and issue resolution delays – with reported reductions in setup time by 87% and a 70% decrease in troubleshooting cycles. Agents can autonomously adjust pacing, yield, and placement, reacting instantly to market conditions without human lag – a significant leap for programmatic efficiency.
This can translate to lower operational costs, faster time-to-market, and improved campaign outcomes – particularly in premium inventory environments such as Connected TV (CTV), video, and large-format digital placements – which have historically required extensive manual configuration and oversight.
Effects on Businesses Operating in Digital Advertising
Ad Tech Platforms and DSPs
Demand-side platforms (DSPs), supply-side platforms (SSPs), and programmatic marketplaces will likely enhance their agentic capabilities. They can do this by creating their own systems or teaming up with specialists like PubMatic. This could spark a race for ecosystem interoperability. Systems that best coordinate autonomous agents and uphold governance controls will emerge as the preferred platforms.
Advertisers and Agencies
AgenticOS helps advertisers and agencies scale campaigns across different inventories. It also keeps strategic guardrails and brand safety in place. Agencies can use the system to cut down on manual work. This helps boost creativity in campaigns. It also allows them to focus on important areas like messaging, customer insights, and cross-channel strategy.
Publishers and Media Owners
Publishers – especially those with premium inventory – benefit from better yield management and more efficient monetization as agentic systems can more intelligently match advertising demand and audience segments in real time. This creates more transparent value exchange and improved performance for both media owners and buyers using the platform.
Ecosystem Partners
The launch partners already include major agencies and partners committed to pushing agentic workflows into live market conditions. As more partners join – and as the Agentic AI Acceleration Program scales – this could accelerate the adoption of autonomous execution models across the advertising ecosystem.
Challenges and Considerations
Agentic advertising offers promise but brings challenges:
Governance and control: It’s crucial that autonomous agents follow brand safety and compliance rules without becoming too automated.
Transparency: Advertisers require clear accountability and reporting to grasp how decisions are made.
Skill shifts: Marketers and media buyers might need new skills to set goals and understand agentic outputs.
Conclusion
The launch of PubMatic’s AgenticOS represents a pivotal shift in the Digital Advertising industry – where autonomous AI agents are no longer experimental add-ons but foundational execution engines for programmatic media. By combining natural-language strategic input with AI-driven planning and optimization, PubMatic is positioning itself at the forefront of the agentic advertising era – a future where campaigns are managed continuously, intelligently and with reduced operational drag.
As more advertisers, agencies, publishers, and platforms adopt these systems, agentic execution could become the new standard for digital advertising – increasing performance, reducing manual inefficiencies, and enabling marketers to focus on strategy and creativity in ways that weren’t possible in the traditional programmatic era.