On September 29, 2026, at unBoxed, Amazon announced that its ads console and Amazon DSP are now one platform: Amazon Ads Agent. The "Amazon DSP" name is retired as a product name. Programmatic buying now lives inside a campaign type called DVA+, short for Display, Video and Audio.
If you found the announcement confusing, that is understandable. This guide explains what a DSP is, what Amazon changed, what stayed the same, and how to decide whether programmatic belongs in your Q4 plan.
The short version
- A DSP (demand-side platform) lets you buy ads programmatically, reaching shoppers across websites, apps and streaming services, including shoppers who are not searching right now.
- Amazon DSP is now part of Amazon Ads Agent. Its programmatic capabilities are available through DVA+, with "advanced settings" for full manual control.
- Existing Amazon DSP campaigns continue to run. Settings, audiences, creatives, deals and performance history carry forward, and no action is required.
- DVA+ is still rolling out. As of mid-October it is in a US closed beta, with a wider open beta expected in late October.
What is a DSP, in plain English?
Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands show your ads to people who are already searching on Amazon. A DSP shows your ads to people who are not searching yet, or who left without buying.
Amazon's DSP buys display, video and audio placements on Amazon-owned properties such as Prime Video, Fire TV, Twitch and Amazon.com, as well as thousands of third-party sites and apps. Targeting uses Amazon's shopping signals: people who viewed your product, people who bought from a competitor, people in-market for your category.
Two practical differences from sponsored ads:
- Pricing. Programmatic is bought on a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) basis. Sponsored ads are cost-per-click.
- Retargeting reach. A DSP can follow shoppers after they leave your listing, on and off Amazon.
What Amazon actually changed
Amazon Ads Agent is now the single platform for sponsored ads and programmatic. Inside it there are three ways to build campaigns:
- Sponsored Ads: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display, the search-driven formats you already know.
- Full-Funnel Campaigns: one budget and product list, with Amazon's AI handling targeting, creative and pacing across sponsored and programmatic inventory. Reporting is at the format level.
- DVA+: a four-step builder (objective, products, creative, budget) for display, video and audio. Amazon's AI manages targeting and bidding by default.
The controls DSP users are used to (audience targeting, frequency caps, publisher lists, deal management, bidding strategy) have not disappeared. They sit behind advanced settings in DVA+, which you can open when you want hands-on control.
What did not change
- Your existing campaigns. They keep running without disruption.
- Your data. Campaign settings, audience segments, creative assets, deals and performance history are carried forward.
- Your access. Login credentials, account structure and team permissions stay the same.
- Your certification. Existing Amazon DSP certifications remain valid, and Amazon encourages (but does not require) recertification.
- Pricing structure. Amazon says current pricing carries forward: programmatic stays CPM, and sponsored ads stay CPC with no minimum spend.
What is still unclear
Honesty matters here, because some details are still moving.
- Availability. DVA+ is currently in a US closed beta, and Amazon's own pages describe advanced-settings access as limited for now, with expansion planned. Open beta is expected in late October, with broader general availability targeted for 2027 according to industry coverage.
- Minimum spend. Amazon's DVA+ page lists no minimum spend. Other coverage notes that fees and minimums for DVA+ have not been fully detailed, and that during the closed beta payment is by invoice. Confirm current terms with Amazon or your agency before planning budget.
- Audio. Audio is listed as coming soon.
Why this matters for Q4
Search is expensive in Q4. Cost-per-click climbs into Black Friday and stays elevated through December. Programmatic gives you levers that search does not:
- Retargeting. Shoppers browse heavily in October and November and buy later. Following people who viewed your listing and did not convert keeps you in the consideration set.
- Reach before the rush. Streaming TV and video placements in late October build familiarity, so your brand is recognized when the shopper searches your category in the final weeks.
Programmatic is not right for every account. If your listing conversion is weak, sending more traffic will not help; fix the detail page first. If your sponsored ads are already efficient and you are running out of room to scale on search, programmatic is typically the next lever to test.
How to test it without the learning curve
Aakaar has its own DSP seat. Our team can run programmatic campaigns for your brand through it, so you do not have to learn a new interface in the middle of your busiest quarter, and you keep full visibility into what runs and what it returns.
We are also offering free DSP experiments to a small number of brands this Q4: a retargeting or awareness test on your account, run through the holiday window, with a results walkthrough at the end.
FAQ
Sources: Amazon Ads (Amazon DSP and DVA+ product pages); industry coverage of unBoxed 2026 from PPC Land, Trellis and Relevant Audience. Details are accurate as of October 13, 2026 and may change as Amazon expands the rollout.
