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Optable Launches AI Platform for Automated Media Buying

The new marketplace automates direct publisher-to-buyer transactions to reduce intermediary fees in digital advertising.

Updated on Oct. 21, 2026 in Advertising

Isometric editorial illustration of modular containers moving on an automated rail system, representing a digital marketplace for advertising inventory.
Optable has launched an Agentic Marketplace platform to automate direct advertising deals, aiming to reduce intermediary fees and streamline media buying. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Optable has introduced its Agentic Marketplace platform, designed to facilitate the automated discovery, packaging, and purchasing of publisher inventory. By allowing AI agents to handle media plans, the system aims to streamline direct deals without manual work.

Why it matters

The platform seeks to minimize intermediary costs, ensuring more advertising dollars are directed toward working media. This approach preserves the customization of direct deals while removing the traditional inefficiencies associated with programmatic buying.

Programmatic fees currently account for approximately 41% of U.S. real-time bidding digital display spending. The market for agentic media buying is projected to grow from $100 million in 2026 to $29.5 billion by 2028.

The players

Optable

Optable is a data collaboration and advertising technology company that provides solutions for publisher inventory and audience targeting.

Goodway Group

Goodway Group is a digital media services company that provides programmatic expertise and managed marketing campaigns.

The details

Buyers connect their agents through a single integration to assemble media plans, while publishers package their audience data and inventory into products for discovery. Goodway Group recently demonstrated the efficiency of the platform by executing a campaign from start to quality assurance in just 30 minutes.

Timeline

  1. October 8, 2026: Optable unveiled the Agentic Marketplace.

  2. 2026: Programmatic fees account for 41% of U.S. digital display spending.

  3. 2027: Projected agentic media buying reaches $3.9 billion.

  4. 2028: Projected agentic media buying reaches $29.5 billion.

Market Landscape

The move by Optable is a direct response to the 41% share of digital spending lost to programmatic fees, aiming to reclaim margins for publishers. This platform marks a strategic attempt to circumvent established programmatic cost structures by automating direct buyer-seller relationships.

Advertisers and publishers using the platform benefit from the removal of transaction and activation fees for direct deals. This shift reduces overhead, potentially allowing companies to allocate more of their budgets toward actual media placements.

The takeaway

Automating the negotiation process allows marketing teams to significantly reduce execution time from days to minutes. Advertisers should monitor the adoption of agent-based buying to see if it becomes the new standard for efficient, high-customization campaign management.

Further reading

For more on industry shifts, see the Advertising section.

Source note: This article includes information reported by AdExchanger.

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Do you trust AI agents to handle direct business negotiations for you?