Magnite Launches Media Buying Agent with Disney and Publicis Partnerships

The programmatic advertising landscape is getting another layer of automation. Magnite, the largest independent sell-side advertising company, announced a new AI-driven buyer agent on April 27, 2026. The tool is designed to streamline campaign activation, optimization, and performance management across premium CTV and other media environments.

This isn't just another chatbot wrapped in marketing language. The buyer agent represents a shift toward agentic workflows where AI systems can execute decisions rather than merely suggest them. Kepler and MiQ are launching tests using the Magnite buyer agent, with access to inventory from Disney Advertising. The company is also working with Publicis Media Exchange (PMX) to drive innovation on behalf of marketers.

According to the official press release from Magnite, the buyer agent is part of a broader expansion of AI capabilities meant to enhance human decision-making for both media owners and buyers. As complexity grows across premium CTV and other media environments, Magnite's AI features help teams act on real-time signals and operate more efficiently.

On the seller side, Magnite is advancing ad mediation technology within its SpringServe video platform. New AI-supported mediation features include anomaly detection to identify shifts in auction performance, demand path optimization to improve efficiency, and dynamic pricing tools that adjust to changing market conditions. This gives media owners a more centralized view of monetization and greater control over how demand is activated and optimized.

The physical reality of this technology matters. Media buyers no longer need to manually refresh dashboards every fifteen minutes to check bid performance. Instead, the agent monitors auction signals continuously, adjusting bids and allocations without the human clicking through endless tabs (which, let's be honest, is where most of the actual work used to happen anyway).

Disney Advertising is providing inventory access for the initial tests. Jamie Power, SVP of Addressable Sales at Disney Advertising, said the work with Kepler, Magnite, and MiQ is focused on workflow automation. The goal is using agent-driven technology to streamline how buyers and sellers operate, creating a more efficient, automation-first marketplace where execution is faster and more connected.

Independent reporting from Ad Age confirms the partnership details and scope of the launch. The outlet's coverage aligns with Magnite's official announcement regarding the buyer agent capabilities and the involvement of Disney Advertising and Publicis Media Exchange.

Kepler's Jake Hohlfelder, Director and Head of Programmatic COE, noted that as programmatic workflows become more complex, there's a growing opportunity to use AI to simplify execution. As one of the first partners testing Magnite's buyer agent technology, Kepler is seeing how AI can streamline execution and help respond more quickly to performance signals. That speed and adaptability are increasingly important for delivering better outcomes in an intricate media environment.

MiQ's Georgiana Haig, Global Strategy and Partnerships Director, emphasized that interoperability and flexibility are becoming increasingly important as programmatic continues to evolve. Magnite's approach to enabling agent-driven workflows within an open framework aligns with how MiQ thinks about building scalable, future-ready solutions for clients.

PMX's Eyal Ebel, Senior Vice President of Platform Partnerships, said the ongoing testing of agentic AI workflows is helping PMX learn how to better analyze supply, generate meaningful market insights, and streamline activation. The focus is on applying technology in ways that create tangible value for clients while remaining at the forefront of innovation.

Magnite's approach to agentic innovation is centered on interoperability and optionality. In addition to developing its own buyer and seller agents, Magnite will continue to collaborate with partners that choose to utilize third-party agents to enable more flexible, connected workflows. This is a notable distinction from some competitors who are building walled gardens around their AI capabilities.

Sean Buckley, President of Revenue and Market Strategy at Magnite, stated that AI is creating an opportunity to bring greater intelligence and efficiency to every part of the advertising workflow. By advancing mediation within SpringServe, Magnite is helping publishers gain clearer visibility into performance, automate optimization, and make more confident decisions about their business. At the same time, the work with AI agents is streamlining how campaigns are executed and optimized.

The official documentation from Magnite's press release details the full scope of the AI capabilities being unveiled. The company describes these innovations as reflecting a broader vision to build a more connected, intelligent platform that improves outcomes for both buyers and sellers.

For advertisers, the practical implication is reduced friction in campaign setup and optimization. For publishers, it means more automated control over how their inventory is monetized. But the real question isn't whether the technology works—it's whether the industry will trust AI agents with enough budget authority to make meaningful changes without human oversight.

Whether agencies and brands actually hand over significant spend to these agents remains the real question. The technology is ready, but the trust gap in programmatic advertising is still wide.

Artūras Malašauskas is an AI Systems Integrator with 20+ years of production-grade web engineering experience. He has designed, shipped, and scaled enterprise Python/PHP systems for logistics, SaaS, and public-sector clients. For the past year, he has focused exclusively on AI integrations: deploying open-source LLMs, building generative media pipelines (image, audio, video), and engineering multi-agent workflows for real production environments. His standard: reproducibility, security, cost-efficient inference—no vaporware. He documents and evaluates emerging AI tooling, separating verified capabilities from marketing noise. Technical editor at: muza-ai.eu, ai-verslas.lt, ai-naujinos.lt Connect on LinkedIn