PubMatic CEO Has Championed Shift to Agentic Ad Buying
The move aims to lower costs and complexity for agencies and brands by bypassing traditional ad tech layers.
Updated on Sept. 29, 2026 in Advertising
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PubMatic CEO Rajeev Goel has advocated for the industry to transition to agentic buying systems to streamline digital advertising. The strategy is designed to reduce the high costs and operational complexity that have accumulated in the digital ad ecosystem over the past 20 years.
Why it matters
The transition addresses restricted data availability and the rising expenses of moving data through multiple third-party demand-side platforms. By adopting AI-driven agents, advertisers and publishers are looking to reclaim control of their trading infrastructure.
PubMatic reported 4,000 publisher-created deals utilizing AI during the first two quarters of 2026. The company's new Agentic OS suite includes more than 20 distinct AI agents designed to integrate with its Decision Fabric, which currently processes 300 data partners.
The players
Rajeev Goel
CEO of PubMatic who is leading the push toward AI-agent-based digital advertising infrastructure.
PubMatic
A sell-side platform that provides infrastructure for digital advertising and manages data transactions for publishers and buyers.
The details
The Agentic OS suite allows buyers and publishers to utilize AI agents for tasks ranging from discovery to governance. Its governance agent proactively scans campaign data against historical trading patterns to identify anomalies, such as unusual CPM fluctuations, while the Decision Fabric enables agencies to house buying algorithms directly within PubMatic's infrastructure. This structure aims to minimize the intermediary layers that have slowed transactions since 2006.
Timeline
Digital advertising began adding layers between media makers and payers in 2006.
PubMatic's Activate product has been in the market for approximately four years.
Publishers used AI to create 4,000 deals during the first two quarters of 2026.
Rajeev Goel discussed the shift to agentic systems at ATS London on 2026-09-28.
Market Landscape
This development challenges the status quo established by the 20-year proliferation of intermediaries in the digital advertising supply chain. It marks a significant departure from standard models by moving trading algorithms directly into the infrastructure of a sell-side platform.
Operators should evaluate whether their current buying workflows rely on excessive third-party intermediaries that increase costs and limit data visibility. Managers should monitor the adoption of AI-driven trading logs to replace manual review processes in the near term.
The takeaway
The move toward agentic buying suggests a future where AI handles the operational heavy lifting of campaign management. Teams should begin auditing their current data-transfer costs and identifying which repetitive manual tasks are candidates for automation via AI agents.
Further reading
For more on industry shifts, visit the Advertising section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Exchangewire.
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