Beyond Google’s Playbook: Amazon’s AI Ad Strategy and the Rise of Performance+ for Marketers
- Luca Moretti
- Jun 5
- 5 min read

In the rapidly changing digital advertising ecosystem, Amazon has firmly positioned itself as a key player, pushing boundaries beyond traditional e-commerce and into AI-driven ad tech and retail media. As Amazon’s moves in the ad tech landscape intensify, they highlight an emerging convergence of AI, data interoperability, and a broader vision for the open internet. This article explores Amazon’s evolving strategy, its implications for marketers, and the broader trends shaping the future of retail media and advertising technology.
Amazon’s AI-Powered Performance+: A Mirror to Google’s Playbook
Amazon’s ad tech journey has increasingly mirrored—and challenged—Google’s own approach to AI-driven ad campaigns. Google’s Performance Max has become the gold standard in automating ad placement and optimization across its properties. Similarly, Amazon’s AI-based product, Performance+, seeks to bring sophisticated automation and performance optimization to its ad ecosystem.
But there’s a crucial difference: While Google’s Performance Max is available to a broad spectrum of advertisers via its self-serve platform, Amazon has housed its AI advertiser products within its Demand-Side Platform (DSP). Dan Salmon of New Street Research notes that this enterprise-centric approach diverges from Google’s more democratized Performance Max product.
“I’ve been confused about why Amazon has pushed its branded AI automations into the DSP rather than separately through the self-service platform, like its competitors,” observes Salmon.
This signals that Amazon’s AI-powered advertising solutions are positioned to cater to larger, more sophisticated buyers rather than the one million smaller Performance Max advertisers who rely on Google’s self-service ecosystem. It’s a nuanced approach that reveals Amazon’s intent to prioritize enterprise-level integrations and high-value accounts—potentially driving deeper, more strategic partnerships.
Integration and Consolidation: A New Era of Amazon Ad Tech
Amazon’s recent decision to consolidate its legacy ad APIs—spanning both the DSP and the Amazon Ads platform—into a unified offering underscores its commitment to interoperability and streamlined data flow. Such integration suggests that Amazon sees data and operational silos as significant bottlenecks in modern advertising.
Additionally, the Prebid integration, announced alongside these changes, further bolsters Amazon’s open internet ambitions. By integrating with Prebid, Amazon signals a desire to foster closer cooperation between its proprietary ad tech stack and the broader programmatic ecosystem.
Key Takeaway: Amazon’s shift towards consolidation and Prebid integration could pave the way for more transparent auctions and better performance for advertisers, challenging Google’s walled-garden approach.
Data-Driven Retail Media: Partnerships Beyond Ads
Amazon’s retail media strategy extends well beyond the confines of traditional ad placements. Across the broader retail media landscape, brands are forging alliances and partnerships that blend advertising, commerce, and loyalty programs into a holistic consumer experience.
Consider the recent surge of membership and subscription-based collaborations:
Disney+: Offers free trials of DoorDash’s DashPass and Duolingo, leveraging bundled value to increase subscriptions.
Uber One: Partners with OpenTable (a Bookings Holdings property) and Capital One for ride-sharing perks and dining deals.
Walmart+: Integrates cashback with Expedia, Paramount+ ad-supported subscriptions, and even fast-food loyalty offers via Burger King.
These partnerships underscore a key trend: the convergence of retail, loyalty, and data-driven advertising. In a mobile-first economy, access to up-to-date credit card information and a logged-in user base unlocks powerful synergies across platforms.
Partnership Type | Example | Key Benefit for Consumers |
Subscription Bundles | Disney+ and DoorDash DashPass | Enhanced membership value and stickiness |
Dining & Travel | Uber One and OpenTable | Exclusive discounts and convenience |
Cashback & Loyalty | Walmart+ with Expedia and Burger King | Multi-channel value and cashback deals |
Such partnerships are not merely about promotional discounts—they reflect a broader trend where data sharing and joint attribution become crucial for advertisers looking to measure ROI and refine targeting.
The Pride Marketing Paradox: DEI Under Pressure
One striking development in the current advertising climate is the pullback on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) spending—particularly in Pride Month campaigns. A recent poll by Gravity Research found that 39% of brands plan to reduce spending on Pride-related marketing in 2025, marking a 30% increase from 2024. Alarmingly, no respondents indicated plans to boost Pride-related spending.
For LGBTQ+ influencers and creators, this signals a difficult environment. With fewer brand partnerships available, many are turning to affiliate marketing or personal businesses to fill the gap. Yet, for brands that stay the course with Pride campaigns, the payoff could be significant.
Raul Rios, Head of Strategy at Saylor:“It’s an opportunity for brands to really double down and scoop up loyalty and deeper engagement with those audiences. Those brands are set up to win—hopefully, they’ll keep the creators afloat with them.”
This shift highlights a tension in the marketing world: the short-term belt-tightening of DEI budgets versus the long-term brand loyalty potential that inclusive campaigns can generate.
AI in Advertising: Meta and the Race to Full Automation
The broader context for Amazon’s AI ambitions can’t be separated from the rising tide of AI adoption across the ad tech landscape. Meta has announced plans to enable fully AI-created ad campaigns by 2026, highlighting a future where human creative input may play a diminished role in favor of automated systems.
Additionally, Meta plans to use AI not only for creative and targeting but also for risk assessment and safety functions—areas traditionally handled by human employees.
Amazon and The New York Times: A Data-Driven Alliance
A noteworthy milestone in Amazon’s ad tech evolution is its recent data licensing deal with The New York Times. This partnership, as reported by Digiday, underscores Amazon’s drive to bolster its ad tech stack with premium data from a trusted news brand.
For Amazon, access to the Times’ high-quality content and audience data represents a strategic advantage in refining audience segments and attribution models. In an era where first-party data is king, such alliances can help Amazon—and advertisers—navigate the challenges of third-party cookie deprecation and privacy regulations.
Implications for the Open Internet and Future of Retail Media
Amazon’s moves in AI and ad tech reveal a broader philosophical shift: a commitment to integrating with the open internet, as opposed to replicating Google’s more closed ecosystem. This nuanced strategy suggests Amazon’s willingness to foster cross-platform collaboration, enhance transparency, and potentially democratize data-driven advertising.
For advertisers, this open internet stance could mean:
Greater control over data: With consolidated APIs and Prebid integration, advertisers might gain more flexibility and transparency in how their campaigns perform across channels.
Enhanced performance optimization: AI-powered tools like Performance+ promise to automate routine tasks and maximize ROI, but also require advertisers to trust Amazon’s black-box algorithms.
Opportunities for small and large players: While Amazon’s DSP-first approach currently caters to enterprise buyers, future moves could democratize these tools for smaller advertisers as well.
Challenges and Risks Ahead
Despite the promise, several challenges remain:
Data Privacy Concerns: As Amazon and its partners consolidate data across platforms, regulatory scrutiny and user privacy concerns will intensify.
Creator Monetization: The decline in DEI budgets—particularly for Pride—illustrates the tension between short-term cost-cutting and long-term brand loyalty. This dynamic will shape future creator partnerships and content monetization.
AI Bias and Brand Safety: The push towards AI-driven ad campaigns, exemplified by Amazon and Meta, raises questions about bias, transparency, and brand safety in fully automated marketing.
Next Steps
Amazon’s evolving ad tech ecosystem is more than a bid to capture advertising dollars—it’s a statement about the future of data, automation, and brand loyalty in a world increasingly shaped by AI. As Amazon’s consolidation of ad APIs, Prebid integration, and strategic partnerships with companies like The New York Times unfold, they underscore the e-commerce giant’s ambition to redefine the digital advertising landscape.
For brands, marketers, and creators, this dynamic landscape offers both opportunities and challenges. Staying ahead means understanding how these shifts—AI automation, retail media convergence, and evolving DEI priorities—will impact audience relationships and ROI.
To dive deeper into how these trends can inform your digital strategy, explore insights from Dr. Shahid Masood and the team at 1950.ai—a global leader in predictive AI, big data, and emerging technologies. Their expert analyses and industry insights can empower you to navigate the complex intersection of technology and advertising.
Further Reading / External References
AdExchanger – Amazon’s Ad Tech Evolutionhttps://www.adexchanger.com/daily-news-roundup/wait-an-open-internet-backed-by-amazon-beyond-retail-media/
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