The Trade Desk launches “Audience Unlimited” to overhaul digital ad data marketplace

New Delhi: The ad tech company, The Trade Desk, has announced a major revamp of the third-party data marketplace in digital advertising with the launch of Audience Unlimited, an AI-powered solution designed to make data both more effective and affordable for brands.

Historically, advertisers have been reluctant to use third-party data because of two issues: high costs and uncertainty about which data sources actually deliver results. Brands that did use data often spent nearly 20% of media budgets on it. Audience Unlimited addresses both pain points.

• The platform will use AI to score data segments based on relevance to a campaign.
  
  
• Advertisers will get access to thousands of curated segments from hundreds of trusted data providers.
  
  
• Instead of unpredictable a la carte fees, brands can now add multiple data sources at a much lower, inclusive cost, with consistent pricing and simpler reconciliation.
  
  

New trading modes

To maximise adoption, The Trade Desk is also introducing Koa Adaptive Trading Modes, powered by agentic AI:

• Performance Mode: Koa acts as a co-pilot, dynamically optimising bids and costs for efficiency, while still allowing advertisers visibility and overrides. In this mode, Audience Unlimited is included at no extra charge.
  
  
• Control Mode: Traders manage campaigns manually but can still access AI recommendations. Audience Unlimited is available here at tiered rates of 3.3% and 4.4% of impression costs.
  
  

To leverage Audience Unlimited, advertisers will pay tiered rates of 3.3% and 4.4% of impression costs within Control Mode. In Performance Mode, Audience Unlimited is included at no additional cost. In addition, advertisers will still be able to apply data with a la carte pricing if they so choose.

Implications for brands

For marketers, the overhaul could be significant:

• Cost efficiency: Bulk pricing and simplified structures mean advertisers can use richer data sets without budget blowouts.
  
  
• Performance gains: AI-driven scoring helps eliminate wasted spend on irrelevant segments, boosting ROI.
  
  
• Transparency & control: Brands can choose between full automation or manual oversight depending on campaign needs.
  
  
• Scalability: With access to hundreds of providers under one pricing model, brands can scale campaigns across devices and formats faster.
  
  

Audience Unlimited and the new trading modes will roll out for select agencies on The Trade Desk’s Kokai platform later in 2025, with a wider launch planned in early 2026.

“Audience Unlimited is going to transform the way marketers think about the value and cost of third-party data. Brands that leverage third-party data to optimise their campaigns consistently see significantly improved performance. However, the complexity of the data marketplace to date has made the deployment of data somewhat anaemic,” said Samantha Jacobson, Chief Strategy Officer, The Trade Desk. “By securing bulk pricing for data, The Trade Desk can pass on savings to advertisers, and our advanced AI will help advertisers understand the relevance of all data sources to their campaigns and layer in as much as they need to optimise performance.”

“The Trade Desk's Audience Unlimited represents a fundamental shift in how advertisers approach targeting,” said Michael Beebe, CEO, Dstillery. “By embedding AI-powered audience selection directly into campaign strategy, it transforms data from an afterthought into a core driver of performance. With hundreds of thousands of marketplace and custom segments available, advertisers finally have the tools to unlock the full potential of data and AI to power smarter, more relevant targeting.”

“Third-party data is an essential driver of growth, helping advertisers reach more audiences, uncover new insights, and make smarter marketing decisions,” said Anne Acker, SVP of Commercial Partnerships, LiveRamp. “Solutions like Audience Unlimited help pave the way for the future of media buying, taking the guesswork out of finding and building high-quality segments from trusted data sources. With the added power of AI, marketers can drive even more value and efficiency from the third-party data that best fits their unique business needs.”