Smart Supply Integrates with AI Digital, Delivering a Holistic Programmatic Powerhouse Solution
Tatev Malkhasyan
February 26, 2025
2
minutes read
By Integrating Smart Supply, AI Digital Becomes a One-Stop Shop for Programmatic Solutions.
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NEW YORK, February 26, 2025 – AI Digital, a leader in programmatic advertising solutions, and Smart Supply (formerly LucidX) are joining forces to bridge the gap between demand and supply sides of the programmatic ecosystem. This strategic move creates a unified, transparent, and AI-driven solution that empowers advertisers to achieve superior campaign performance.
The programmatic landscape has long been fragmented, with advertisers often facing challenges related to Demand-Side Platform (DSP) biases, supply inefficiencies, and mis-aglinement on marketer outcomes. Smart Supply addresses these issues head-on, providing direct access to premium inventory via outcome based AI-optimized deal IDs. By eliminating unnecessary intermediaries and optimizing traffic quality in real-time, Smart Supply ensures advertisers receive the most efficient and effective use of their media spend. The strategic alliance marks a significant step towards a more holistic approach to delivering measurable marketer value through programmatic advertising.
"This integration is a game-changer for programmatic advertising," says Britany Scott, VP of Growth at Smart Supply. "By unifying both demand and supply under one roof, we're eliminating the traditional complexities and biases that have plagued the industry for too long. This allows us to focus on what truly matters: delivering measurable outcomes for our clients through transparent, data-driven strategies and fostering stronger, more collaborative partnerships within the programmatic ecosystem."
The holistic advertising solution combining two companies offers several key benefits for advertisers, including:
- Unbiased, transparent supply paths: Eliminates DSP and Supply-Side Platform (SSP) biases, ensuring better pricing and optimized outcomes.
- AI-powered deal optimization: Real-time, in-flight adjustments based on performance.
- Enhanced cost-efficiency: Removes unnecessary intermediaries, optimizing pricing.
- Improved targeting & traffic quality: Eliminates non-brand-safe, low-quality inventory.
For more information about AI Digital's improved programmatic capabilities and AI-powered premium supply, visit www.aidigital.com/smart-supply.
The combined technology stack will be immediately available to existing clients of both companies, with new features rolling out throughout 2025.
About AI Digital
Founded in 2018, AI Digital is a leading programmatic advertising technology company with a team of 200 experts operating globally. The company's platform-agnostic approach and AI-powered solutions deliver transparent, outcome-based advertising across major digital platforms. With a 98% client retention rate and comprehensive programmatic capabilities enhanced by its recent Smart Supply integration, AI Digital continues to transform digital advertising through its OPEN GARDEN approach & philosophy. Headquartered in New York, the company maintains its commitment to innovation while bridging the gap between advertisers and AdTech through advanced AI optimization. For more information, visit www.aidigital.com
About Smart Supply
Founded as a pioneering supply-side solution and now part of AI Digital, Smart Supply is a premium programmatic advertising service that delivers outcome-based supply through AI-powered optimization. Through its DSP-agnostic approach and direct partnerships with major SSPs, Smart Supply ensures 99.9% coverage of high-quality inventory while eliminating supply-chain inefficiencies. By combining AI-driven filtering with human strategic oversight, Smart Supply provides custom-built deal IDs optimized for specific client success indicators while maintaining full transparency in pricing and placement. The solution continues to transform programmatic buying by ensuring premium, brand-safe inventory access across all major platforms. For more information, visit www.aidigital.com/smart-supply
Blind spot
Key issues
Business impact
AI Digital solution
Lack of transparency in AI models
• Platforms own AI models and train on proprietary data
• Brands have little visibility into decision-making
• "Walled gardens" restrict data access
• Brands have little visibility into decision-making
• "Walled gardens" restrict data access
• Inefficient ad spend
• Limited strategic control
• Eroded consumer trust
• Potential budget mismanagement
• Limited strategic control
• Eroded consumer trust
• Potential budget mismanagement
Open Garden framework providing:
• Complete transparency
• DSP-agnostic execution
• Cross-platform data & insights
• Complete transparency
• DSP-agnostic execution
• Cross-platform data & insights
Optimizing ads vs. optimizing impact
• AI excels at short-term metrics but may struggle with brand building
• Consumers can detect AI-generated content
• Efficiency might come at cost of authenticity
• Consumers can detect AI-generated content
• Efficiency might come at cost of authenticity
• Short-term gains at expense of brand health
• Potential loss of authentic connection
• Reduced effectiveness in storytelling
• Potential loss of authentic connection
• Reduced effectiveness in storytelling
Smart Supply offering:
• Human oversight of AI recommendations
• Custom KPI alignment beyond clicks
• Brand-safe inventory verification
• Human oversight of AI recommendations
• Custom KPI alignment beyond clicks
• Brand-safe inventory verification
The illusion of personalization
• Segment optimization rebranded as personalization
• First-party data infrastructure challenges
• Personalization vs. surveillance concerns
• First-party data infrastructure challenges
• Personalization vs. surveillance concerns
• Potential mismatch between promise and reality
• Privacy concerns affecting consumer trust
• Cost barriers for smaller businesses
• Privacy concerns affecting consumer trust
• Cost barriers for smaller businesses
Elevate platform features:
• Real-time AI + human intelligence
• First-party data activation
• Ethical personalization strategies
• Real-time AI + human intelligence
• First-party data activation
• Ethical personalization strategies
AI-Driven efficiency vs. decision-making
• AI shifting from tool to decision-maker
• Black box optimization like Google Performance Max
• Human oversight limitations
• Black box optimization like Google Performance Max
• Human oversight limitations
• Strategic control loss
• Difficulty questioning AI outputs
• Inability to measure granular impact
• Potential brand damage from mistakes
• Difficulty questioning AI outputs
• Inability to measure granular impact
• Potential brand damage from mistakes
Managed Service with:
• Human strategists overseeing AI
• Custom KPI optimization
• Complete campaign transparency
• Human strategists overseeing AI
• Custom KPI optimization
• Complete campaign transparency
Fig. 1. Summary of AI blind spots in advertising
Dimension
Walled garden advantage
Walled garden limitation
Strategic impact
Audience access
Massive, engaged user bases
Limited visibility beyond platform
Reach without understanding
Data control
Sophisticated targeting tools
Data remains siloed within platform
Fragmented customer view
Measurement
Detailed in-platform metrics
Inconsistent cross-platform standards
Difficult performance comparison
Intelligence
Platform-specific insights
Limited data portability
Restricted strategic learning
Optimization
Powerful automated tools
Black-box algorithms
Reduced marketer control
Fig. 2. Strategic trade-offs in walled garden advertising.
Core issue
Platform priority
Walled garden limitation
Real-world example
Attribution opacity
Claiming maximum credit for conversions
Limited visibility into true conversion paths
Meta and TikTok's conflicting attribution models after iOS privacy updates
Data restrictions
Maintaining proprietary data control
Inability to combine platform data with other sources
Amazon DSP's limitations on detailed performance data exports
Cross-channel blindspots
Keeping advertisers within ecosystem
Fragmented view of customer journey
YouTube/DV360 campaigns lacking integration with non-Google platforms
Black box algorithms
Optimizing for platform revenue
Reduced control over campaign execution
Self-serve platforms using opaque ML models with little advertiser input
Performance reporting
Presenting platform in best light
Discrepancies between platform-reported and independently measured results
Consistently higher performance metrics in platform reports vs. third-party measurement
Fig. 1. The Walled garden misalignment: Platform interests vs. advertiser needs.
Key dimension
Challenge
Strategic imperative
ROAS volatility
Softer returns across digital channels
Shift from soft KPIs to measurable revenue impact
Media planning
Static plans no longer effective
Develop agile, modular approaches adaptable to changing conditions
Brand/performance
Traditional division dissolving
Create full-funnel strategies balancing long-term equity with short-term conversion
Capability
Key features
Benefits
Performance data
Elevate forecasting tool
• Vertical-specific insights
• Historical data from past economic turbulence
• "Cascade planning" functionality
• Real-time adaptation
• Historical data from past economic turbulence
• "Cascade planning" functionality
• Real-time adaptation
• Provides agility to adjust campaign strategy based on performance
• Shows which media channels work best to drive efficient and effective performance
• Confident budget reallocation
• Reduces reaction time to market shifts
• Shows which media channels work best to drive efficient and effective performance
• Confident budget reallocation
• Reduces reaction time to market shifts
• Dataset from 10,000+ campaigns
• Cuts response time from weeks to minutes
• Cuts response time from weeks to minutes
Smart, premium supply
• AI-powered analysis
• Human strategic oversight
• Smart Supply solution
• Contextual intelligence engine
• Human strategic oversight
• Smart Supply solution
• Contextual intelligence engine
• Reaches people most likely to buy
• Avoids wasted impressions and budgets on poor-performing placements
• Context-aligned messaging
• Avoids wasted impressions and budgets on poor-performing placements
• Context-aligned messaging
• 25+ billion bid requests analyzed daily
• 18% improvement in working media efficiency
• 26% increase in engagement during recessions
• 18% improvement in working media efficiency
• 26% increase in engagement during recessions
Full-funnel accountability
• Links awareness campaigns to lower funnel outcomes
• Tests if ads actually drive new business
• Measures brand perception changes
• "Ask Elevate" AI Chat Assistant
• Tests if ads actually drive new business
• Measures brand perception changes
• "Ask Elevate" AI Chat Assistant
• Upper-funnel to outcome connection
• Sentiment shift tracking
• Personalized messaging
• Helps balance immediate sales vs. long-term brand building
• Sentiment shift tracking
• Personalized messaging
• Helps balance immediate sales vs. long-term brand building
• Natural language data queries
• True business impact measurement
• True business impact measurement
Open Garden approach
• Cross-platform and channel planning
• Not locked into specific platforms
• Unified cross-platform reach
• Shows exactly where money is spent
• Not locked into specific platforms
• Unified cross-platform reach
• Shows exactly where money is spent
• Reduces complexity across channels
• Performance-based ad placement
• Rapid budget reallocation
• Eliminates platform-specific commitments and provides platform-based optimization and agility
• Performance-based ad placement
• Rapid budget reallocation
• Eliminates platform-specific commitments and provides platform-based optimization and agility
• Coverage across all inventory sources
• Provides full visibility into spending
• Avoids the inability to pivot across platform as you’re not in a singular platform
• Provides full visibility into spending
• Avoids the inability to pivot across platform as you’re not in a singular platform
Fig. 1. How AI Digital helps during economic uncertainty.
Trend
What it means for marketers
Supply & demand lines are blurring
Platforms from Google (P-Max) to Microsoft are merging optimization and inventory in one opaque box. Expect more bundled “best available” media where the algorithm, not the trader, decides channel and publisher mix.
Walled gardens get taller
Microsoft’s O&O set now spans Bing, Xbox, Outlook, Edge and LinkedIn, which just launched revenue-sharing video programs to lure creators and ad dollars. (Business Insider)
Retail & commerce media shape strategy
Microsoft’s Curate lets retailers and data owners package first-party segments, an echo of Amazon’s and Walmart’s approaches. Agencies must master seller-defined audiences as well as buyer-side tactics.
AI oversight becomes critical
Closed AI bidding means fewer levers for traders. Independent verification, incrementality testing and commercial guardrails rise in importance.
Fig. 1. Platform trends and their implications.
Metric
Connected TV (CTV)
Linear TV
Video Completion Rate
94.5%
70%
Purchase Rate After Ad
23%
12%
Ad Attention Rate
57% (prefer CTV ads)
54.5%
Viewer Reach (U.S.)
85% of households
228 million viewers
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Inefficiency
Description
Use case
Description of use case
Examples of companies using AI
Ease of implementation
Impact
Audience segmentation and insights
Identify and categorize audience groups based on behaviors, preferences, and characteristics
- Michaels Stores: Implemented a genAI platform that increased email personalization from 20% to 95%, leading to a 41% boost in SMS click through rates and a 25% increase in engagement.
- Estée Lauder: Partnered with Google Cloud to leverage genAI technologies for real-time consumer feedback monitoring and analyzing consumer sentiment across various channels.
High
Medium
Automated ad campaigns
Automate ad creation, placement, and optimization across various platforms
- Showmax: Partnered with AI firms toautomate ad creation and testing, reducing production time by 70% while streamlining their quality assurance process.
- Headway: Employed AI tools for ad creation and optimization, boosting performance by 40% and reaching 3.3 billion impressions while incorporating AI-generated content in 20% of their paid campaigns.
High
High
Brand sentiment tracking
Monitor and analyze public opinion about a brand across multiple channels in real time
- L’Oréal: Analyzed millions of online comments, images, and videos to identify potential product innovation opportunities, effectively tracking brand sentiment and consumer trends.
- Kellogg Company: Used AI to scan trending recipes featuring cereal, leveraging this data to launch targeted social campaigns that capitalize on positive brand sentiment and culinary trends.
High
Low
Campaign strategy optimization
Analyze data to predict optimal campaign approaches, channels, and timing
- DoorDash: Leveraged Google’s AI-powered Demand Gen tool, which boosted its conversion rate by 15 times and improved cost per action efficiency by 50% compared with previous campaigns.
- Kitsch: Employed Meta’s Advantage+ shopping campaigns with AI-powered tools to optimize campaigns, identifying and delivering top-performing ads to high-value consumers.
High
High
Content strategy
Generate content ideas, predict performance, and optimize distribution strategies
- JPMorgan Chase: Collaborated with Persado to develop LLMs for marketing copy, achieving up to 450% higher clickthrough rates compared with human-written ads in pilot tests.
- Hotel Chocolat: Employed genAI for concept development and production of its Velvetiser TV ad, which earned the highest-ever System1 score for adomestic appliance commercial.
High
High
Personalization strategy development
Create tailored messaging and experiences for consumers at scale
- Stitch Fix: Uses genAI to help stylists interpret customer feedback and provide product recommendations, effectively personalizing shopping experiences.
- Instacart: Uses genAI to offer customers personalized recipes, mealplanning ideas, and shopping lists based on individual preferences and habits.
Medium
Medium
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