Introduction to AdCP
Welcome to the Ad Context Protocol (AdCP) documentation—the open standard for agentic advertising.The Opportunity
RTB unlocked programmatic. AdCP unlocks the rest. 90% of ad spend never touches RTB—it lives in walled gardens, direct deals, and premium inventory. Execution costs limit how many media partners advertisers can work with. The opportunity isn’t optimizing existing platforms better—it’s expanding to more partners without scaling headcount. AI agents collapse this complexity cost. AdCP gives them a standard way to buy media, build creatives, and activate audiences across any platform.What is AdCP?
AdCP is an open standard for advertising automation that enables AI agents to interact with advertising platforms through unified interfaces:- One Protocol: Single interface for all advertising platforms
- AI-Native: Works over MCP and A2A protocols for seamless agent integration
- Platform Agnostic: Works with any compatible advertising platform
- MCP (Model Context Protocol): For direct AI assistant integration
- A2A (Agent2Agent Protocol): For complex workflows and agent collaboration
Protocol Architecture
AdCP operates at multiple layers, providing a clean separation between the business roles, orchestration layer, and technical execution:The AdCP Ecosystem Layers
Top Layer: Business Principals
Buying Principal (Left) The demand side of advertising, including:- Advertisers: Brands with products/services to promote
- Agencies: Acting on behalf of advertisers
- Retail Media Networks: Retailers monetizing their audiences
- Curators: Packaging inventory and data for specific use cases
- Publishers: Content creators with audience reach
- Sales Houses: Representing multiple publishers
- Rep Firms: Specialized sales representation
- SSPs: Supply-side platforms aggregating inventory
- Ad Networks: Aggregating and reselling inventory
Middle Layer: Orchestration
Media Orchestration Platform (Left) Platforms that evaluate sellers and audiences, and execute buying strategies:- Examples: Scope3, custom orchestration solutions
- Function: Strategy execution, seller evaluation, optimization
- Integration: Uses MCP to communicate with both Audience and Sales Agents
- Signal Discovery: Finding relevant signals (audiences, contextual, geographical, temporal) using natural language
- Signal Activation: Pushing signals to decisioning platforms
- Integration: Exposes data provider capabilities via MCP
- Media Product Discovery: Natural language inventory search
- Media Execution: Creating and managing campaigns
- Integration: Exposes publisher capabilities via MCP
Bottom Layer: Technical Execution
Agentic eXecution Engine (AXE) (Left) Real-time execution layer for:- Brand Suitability: Ensuring appropriate ad placement
- Frequency Capping: Managing exposure limits
- First-Party Data: Activating advertiser data
- Dynamic Audience Targeting: Applying buyer segments at impression time
- Integration: Connects via key-value pairs or RTB protocols
- Selects Impressions: Decides which ad to serve
- Delivery Method: Direct campaigns or programmatic (RTB)
- Examples: DSPs, SSPs, Ad Servers, Google Ad Manager, Kevel
Cross-Cutting: Governance & Human Oversight
Governance Agents Specialized agents that provide compliance and quality control across all layers:- Property Lists: Define where ads can and cannot run
- Brand Suitability: Content filtering and suitability scoring
- Quality Measurement: MFA score, ad density, consumer experience
- Compliance: Privacy regulations (COPPA, TCF, GDPR)
- Integration: Operates at setup time, real-time, and post-bid
- Campaign Approval: Publishers can require human review before activation
- Creative Review: Manual sign-off on ad content
- Budget Thresholds: Automatic escalation above certain spend levels
- Policy Exceptions: Human judgment for edge cases
The Complete AdCP Flow with Creative Agents
The AdCP ecosystem extends beyond media transactions to include creative production and delivery:Three Interconnected Flows
Creative Flow (Top)- Creative Agent: AI-powered creative generation and optimization
- Property: The publisher or platform displaying the ad
- Consumer: The end user viewing the advertisement
- Advertiser: The brand with a message to deliver
- Principal: The buying principal (agency, trading desk, or brand itself)
- Media Seller: The supply-side entity selling ad inventory
- Brand Agent: Represents the advertiser’s objectives and brand guidelines
- Media Agent: Orchestrates the media buying process
- Sales Agent: Facilitates inventory discovery and transaction execution
- Decisioning Platform: Makes real-time ad serving decisions
- AXE (Agentic eXecution Engine): Provides real-time execution capabilities
Protocol Domains
AdCP covers multiple advertising domains:| Domain | Purpose | Key Tasks |
|---|---|---|
| Media Buy | Inventory discovery and purchasing | get_products, create_media_buy |
| Creative | Ad creative management | build_creative, sync_creatives |
| Signals | Audience and targeting signals | get_signals, activate_signal |
| Sponsored Intelligence | AI-powered conversational ads | si_initiate_session, si_send_message |
Quick Start
Interactive Testing
Test all AdCP tasks in your browser—no code required
AdAgents.json Builder
Validate or create your publisher’s adagents.json file
Quickstart Guide
Get started in 5 minutes
Building with AdCP
Choose between MCP and A2A
Client Libraries
JavaScript/TypeScript
- NPM: @adcp/client
- GitHub: adcp-client
Python
- PyPI: adcp
- GitHub: adcp-python
Example: Natural Language Advertising
Instead of navigating multiple platforms, you can now say:“Find audience signals of premium sports enthusiasts who would be interested in high-end running shoes, and activate them on Scope3.”The AI assistant will:
- Search for relevant signals across connected platforms
- Show you options with transparent pricing
- Activate your chosen signals for use on decisioning platforms
For Platform Providers
AI is buying ads. Make sure it can buy yours. If you operate a data platform, DSP, or ad tech solution, AdCP lets AI agents discover and purchase your inventory. Review the Protocol Specifications to get started.For Advertisers & Agencies
AI that sells products and builds brands. AdCP-enabled AI assistants can work across all your media partners through a single interface:- Check if your platforms support AdCP
- Configure your AI assistant with AdCP-enabled platforms
- Start using natural language for your campaigns
Reference Implementations
Organizations
| Organization | Purpose |
|---|---|
| AgenticAdvertising.org | Membership community, working groups |
| AdCP (Ad Context Protocol) | Protocol specification, schemas, documentation |
Need Help?
- Browse the documentation
- Ask in Slack Community
- Email: support@adcontextprotocol.org