A consortium of over 20 companies across the advertising ecosystem has launched the Ad Context Protocol (AdCP), an open standard enabling AI agents to communicate with advertising platforms and, as the standard evolves, directly with each other across the ecosystem.
The current advertising ecosystem is known for fragmentation as well as inefficiency. Ad spend often flows through numerous disconnected tools with unclear economic structures, causing budgets to dissipate through intermediary layers rather than reaching publishers or achieving advertiser objectives.
As companies develop AI agents for AI in media buying and selling, there is a pressing need for a unified foundation, a shared infrastructure that enables these agents to communicate seamlessly, irrespective of the platforms they are built on.
As OpenRTB standardised real-time bidding for programmatic advertising, AdCP standardises agent-to-agent communication for agentic advertising—enabling AI agents to work more efficiently with existing infrastructure while establishing the technical foundation for direct agent-to-agent transactions as the industry evolves.
AdCP uses a common language for AI agents across the advertising ecosystem. Whether an agent is helping a marketer build audiences, discover inventory, or execute media buys, AdCP ensures it can communicate with any compatible platform or agent.
Executive Statement
According to Adam Broitman, partner, McKinsey & Company, AdCP gives the advertising industry a chance to establish shared technical infrastructure and standards that aim to accelerate progress.