S5: Sponsored Intelligence

AdCP specialist module S5: Sponsored Intelligence. Monetizing AI chat — generative creative, the reversed data flow, and SI Chat Protocol for conversational brand experiences.

S5: Sponsored Intelligence

Members only — Requires Practitioner credential. ~45 minutes with Addie. Combines hands-on lab and adaptive exam.

Experimental. Sponsored Intelligence is part of AdCP 3.0 as an experimental surface (feature id sponsored_intelligence.core) — session lifecycle, UI components, identity/consent object shape, and capability negotiation may change between 3.x releases with at least 6 weeks’ notice. Assessments in this module cover current protocol surfaces; credentials will be flagged for targeted recertification when experimental SI surfaces change — the same policy that applies to every experimental surface. See experimental status for the full contract.

This specialist module covers how advertising works in AI: generative creative from brand assets and catalogs, the reversed data flow where buyers push data into platforms instead of bid requests flowing out, and SI Chat Protocol where brands engage users in multi-turn conversations. Addie evaluates both your hands-on work and your understanding of when and why Sponsored Intelligence fits.

Passing earns the AdCP specialist — Sponsored Intelligence credential.

Sponsored Intelligence as a full protocol

In 3.0, Sponsored Intelligence was promoted from a specialism to a full protocol. An agent that supports SI declares sponsored_intelligence in supported_protocols on get_adcp_capabilities — not as a specialism. The compliance runner executes the SI domain baseline storyboard at /compliance/{version}/domains/sponsored-intelligence/ plus every universal storyboard. See the Compliance Catalog.

What you’ll demonstrate

• Generate creative from brand assets, catalog data, and natural language briefs
• Execute Sponsored Intelligence campaigns using the reversed data flow
• Manage SI Chat Protocol sessions for conversational brand experiences
• Explain account models for walled gardens vs agent-trusted networks
• Reason about when Sponsored Intelligence fits vs traditional approaches

Prerequisite reading

Generative creative

Generative creative

AI-powered creative generation via build_creative — manifests, code output, and brand identity integration.

Creative formats

Format discovery — what ad formats a creative agent supports.

Sponsored Intelligence

Sponsored Intelligence

The reversed data flow, product spectrum, end-to-end workflow, and network aggregation pattern.

Catalogs

Product and offering catalogs — the raw material for generative creative on AI platforms.

Seller integration

How to expose inventory to AI buyer agents, including governance enforcement.

Media channel taxonomy

The sponsored_intelligence channel definition.

Governance integration

SI governance integration

How governance validates content standards, policy compliance, and brand safety in Sponsored Intelligence sessions.

Content standards

Buyer-defined content rules that constrain what SI agents can say.

SI Chat Protocol

SI Chat Protocol

Conversational brand experiences — session lifecycle, identity, and commerce handoff.

SI specification

The formal specification for the Sponsored Intelligence protocol.

SI Chat Protocol hosts

How AI platforms integrate SI Chat Protocol for brand experience handoffs.

SI Chat Protocol agents

Architecture guide for building SI brand agents.

Connecting to the test agent

Lab exercises run against the public test agent. Sponsored Intelligence labs span creative generation, governance, and SI Chat Protocol surfaces — use the multi-specialism endpoint that exposes every tool on a single URL:

export ADCP_AUTH_TOKEN="1v8tAhASaUYYp4odoQ1PnMpdqNaMiTrCRqYo9OJp6IQ"
export AGENT_URL="https://test-agent.adcontextprotocol.org/mcp"

See the Quickstart for a walkthrough of your first call.

Lab exercises

During the module, Addie will guide you through hands-on exercises:

1. Generative creative — Discover formats, generate creative from brand assets and a brief, evaluate output quality
2. Sponsored Intelligence campaign — Push catalogs to a platform, discover products, create a media buy with optimization goals
3. SI Chat Protocol session — Initiate a session, exchange messages with offering integration, observe commerce handoff
4. Strategic evaluation — Compare Sponsored Intelligence vs traditional approaches for different scenarios

Assessment

Dimension	Weight	What Addie evaluates
Generative creative	25%	Builds creative from brand assets, catalogs, and briefs
SI mastery	30%	Understands the reversed data flow and executes Sponsored Intelligence campaigns
SI Chat Protocol competence	25%	Manages SI Chat Protocol sessions and understands conversational brand experiences
Strategic thinking	20%	Reasons about when and how to use Sponsored Intelligence

Passing threshold: 70%.

Start this module

Start S5 with Addie

“I’d like to start the Sponsored Intelligence specialist module.”