Glossary

Glossary

A

Account Type
Classification of MCP session credentials as either “platform” (aggregator) or “customer” (direct advertiser/agency).

Activation
The process of making a signal available for targeting on a specific platform and seat.

Ad Context Protocol (AdCP)
An open standard based on Model Context Protocol (MCP) that enables AI-powered advertising workflows through natural language interfaces.

Agentic eXecution Engine (AXE)
Real-time systems that handle brand safety, frequency capping, first-party data activation, and advanced signal processing for advertising campaigns.

Signal Discovery
The process of finding relevant data signals (audiences, contextual, geographical, temporal) using natural language descriptions.

Signal ID
A unique identifier for a signal within a provider’s catalog.

Signal Type
Classification of signals as “marketplace” (third-party), “owned” (first-party), “destination” (bundled with media), “contextual”, “geographical”, or “temporal”.

C

CPC (Cost Per Click) Pricing model based on cost per click on the advertisement.

CPCV (Cost Per Completed View) Pricing model based on cost per 100% video or audio completion.

CPM (Cost Per Mille) Pricing model based on cost per thousand impressions. Traditional display advertising pricing.

CPP (Cost Per Point) Pricing model based on cost per Gross Rating Point (GRP), commonly used in TV and audio advertising.

CPV (Cost Per View) Pricing model based on cost per view at a publisher-defined threshold (e.g., 50% video completion).

Completed View A video or audio ad that has been viewed to 100% completion. Used for CPCV pricing and completion rate metrics.

Completion Rate The percentage of video or audio ads that are viewed to 100% completion (completed_views / impressions).

Customer Account Direct advertiser or agency account with specific seat access and negotiated rates.

D

Daypart Specific time-of-day segment for time-based advertising, commonly used in DOOH (e.g., morning_commute, evening_prime, overnight).

Deployment (Signals Protocol) The availability status of a signal on specific platforms, including activation state and timing.

Devices (Signals Protocol) Size unit representing unique device identifiers (cookies, mobile IDs) - typically the largest reach metric.

Device Type (Media Buy Protocol) Targeting dimension for platform types: mobile, desktop, tablet, CTV, audio, DOOH.

DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) Digital advertising displayed on screens in public spaces such as billboards, transit stations, airports, and retail locations. Uses CPM or flat_rate pricing with parameters for SOV, duration, and venue targeting.

DSP (Demand-Side Platform) Technology platform that allows advertisers to buy advertising inventory programmatically.

E

Estimated Activation Time Predicted timeframe for signal deployment, typically 24-48 hours for new activations.

F

Flat Rate Fixed-cost pricing model where a single payment is made regardless of delivery volume. Common for sponsorships and takeovers.

Frequency The average number of times an individual is exposed to an advertisement during a campaign.

G

GRP (Gross Rating Point) A unit of measurement for television and radio advertising representing 1% of the target audience. Used in CPP pricing models. Total GRPs = Reach % × Average Frequency. Measured by third-party providers such as Nielsen, Comscore, iSpot.tv, or Triton Digital.

H

Households Size unit representing unique household addresses, useful for geographic and family-based targeting.

I

Impressions (Media Buy Protocol)
The number of times an ad is displayed, used for pricing and delivery tracking.

Individuals (Signals Protocol)
Size unit representing unique people, best for frequency capping and demographic targeting.

Inventory
Available advertising space on websites, apps, or other media properties.

M

MCP (Model Context Protocol)
The underlying protocol framework that enables AI assistants to interact with external systems.

Marketplace Signal
Third-party signal available for licensing from data providers.

N

Natural Language Processing
The AI capability that allows audience discovery through conversational descriptions rather than technical parameters.

O

Owned Signal
First-party signal data belonging to the advertiser or platform.

P

Platform Account Master account representing an advertising platform that can syndicate signals to multiple customers.

Pricing Model The method by which advertising inventory is priced and billed. AdCP supports CPM, CPC, CPCV, CPV, CPA, CPL, CPP, and flat rate models.

Pricing Option A specific pricing model offered by a publisher for a product, including rate, currency, and parameters.

Prompt Natural language description used to discover relevant signals (e.g., “high-income sports enthusiasts”, “premium automotive content”, “users in urban areas during evening hours”).

Provider The company or platform that supplies signal data (e.g., LiveRamp, Experian, Peer39, weather services).

Q

Quartile (Video) Milestones in video ad viewing: Q1 (25% viewed), Q2 (50% viewed), Q3 (75% viewed), Q4 (100% complete). Used to measure video engagement.

R

Reach The number or percentage of unique individuals exposed to an advertisement at least once during a campaign.

Relevance Score Numerical rating (0-1) indicating how well a signal matches the discovery prompt.

Relevance Rationale Human-readable explanation of why an audience received its relevance score.

Revenue Share Pricing model based on a percentage of media spend rather than fixed CPM.

S

Screen Time Total duration an ad was displayed across all DOOH screens, measured in seconds. Used for DOOH delivery reporting.

Seat A specific advertising account within a platform, typically representing a brand or campaign.

Segment ID The specific identifier used for signal activation, may differ from signal_id.

Share of Voice (SOV) Percentage of available ad inventory allocated to a specific advertiser in DOOH loops. Expressed as 0.0-1.0 (e.g., 0.15 = 15% SOV).

Size Unit (Signals Protocol) The measurement type for signal size: individuals, devices, or households.

T

Takeover Exclusive 100% share of voice placement on DOOH inventory for a specific time period. Priced as flat_rate with sov_percentage: 100.

Third-Party Signal Signal data licensed from external providers, also known as marketplace signals.

Time-Based Pricing Pricing structure based on duration (hourly, daily, or daypart) rather than impressions. Common in DOOH advertising using flat_rate model.

U

Usage Reporting Daily reporting of signal utilization for billing and optimization purposes.

V

Venue Physical location where DOOH advertising is displayed (e.g., airport terminal, transit station, retail store). Used for DOOH targeting and delivery reporting.

Venue Package Named collection of DOOH screens across specific venues (e.g., ‘times_square_network’, ‘airport_terminals’). Used in DOOH pricing parameters.

B

Budget
Total monetary allocation for a media buy, which can be distributed across multiple packages.

F

Flight
A time-bounded advertising campaign segment, mapped to line items in ad servers.

H

Households (Signals Protocol)
Size unit representing unique household addresses, useful for geographic and family-based targeting.

Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) (Media Buy Protocol)
Protocol feature allowing publishers to require manual approval for operations.

L

Line Item The basic unit of inventory in ad servers like Google Ad Manager, represented as packages in AdCP.

Loop Duration The length of time for a complete rotation of ads in a DOOH display, measured in seconds. Used to calculate frequency and share of voice.

Loop Plays The number of times an ad was displayed in a DOOH loop rotation. Key metric for DOOH delivery reporting.

M

MCP (Model Context Protocol)
The underlying protocol framework that enables AI assistants to interact with external systems.

Marketplace Signal
Third-party signal available for licensing from data providers.

Media Buy
A complete advertising campaign containing packages, budget, targeting, and creative assets.

P

Package
A specific advertising product within a media buy, representing a flight or line item with its own pricing and targeting.

Principal
An authenticated entity (advertiser, agency, or brand) with unique access credentials and platform mappings.

Product
Advertising inventory available for purchase, discovered through natural language queries.

Acronyms

• AdCP: Ad Context Protocol
• API: Application Programming Interface
• AXE: Agentic eXecution Engine
• CPM: Cost Per Mille (thousand)
• DSP: Demand-Side Platform
• DMP: Data Management Platform
• MCP: Model Context Protocol
• PII: Personally Identifiable Information
• RTB: Real-Time Bidding
• SSP: Supply-Side Platform
• TTD: The Trade Desk
• UTC: Coordinated Universal Time

Units and Measurements

Time Formats

• All timestamps use ISO 8601 format (e.g., “2025-01-20T14:30:00Z”)
• Dates use YYYY-MM-DD format
• Activation times expressed as human-readable estimates (“24-48 hours”)

Currency

• All pricing in specified currency (typically USD)
• CPM expressed as cost per 1,000 impressions
• Revenue share expressed as decimal (0.15 = 15%)

Size Reporting (Signals Protocol)

• Counts expressed as integers
• Units clearly specified (individuals/devices/households)
• Dated with “as_of” timestamp for freshness

Impression Reporting (Media Buy Protocol)

• Delivery counts by package
• Pacing metrics for optimization
• Dimensional breakdowns available

Error Codes Reference

Common error codes across all AdCP implementations:

• SEGMENT_NOT_FOUND: Invalid or expired segment ID
• ACTIVATION_FAILED: Unable to complete activation process
• ALREADY_ACTIVATED: Signal already active for platform/seat
• DEPLOYMENT_UNAUTHORIZED: Insufficient permissions for platform/seat
• BUDGET_EXCEEDED: Operation would exceed allocated budget
• CREATIVE_REJECTED: Creative asset failed platform review
• INVALID_PRICING_MODEL: Requested pricing model unavailable
• RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED: Too many requests in time window
• AUTHENTICATION_FAILED: Invalid or expired credentials
• VALIDATION_ERROR: Request format or parameter errors