AI Agents will ‘Reshape’ Media Buying, but Humans Still Set the Agenda
The advertising industry could be racing toward a future where autonomous software agents discover inventory, optimize campaigns, and execute buys with minimal human intervention. But even the most bullish practitioners acknowledge the technology is still in its infancy.
At a moment when media fragmentation has made it harder than ever to reach consumers efficiently, the promise of agentic buying is certainly seductive: let machines do the heavy lifting while strategists focus on diagnosis and creativity. The reality, at least for now, may be more cautious.
“We’re certainly in the early days of that, but that is where I see there’s going to be change for sure in the next couple of years when it comes to the utilization of agentic buying and the impact that’s going to have,” said Maureen Bosetti, chief investment officer, Omnicom Media, in this video interview with Beet.TV.
Consumer behavior first, channels second
Bosetti’s argument is that the sheer volume of available channels and platforms has made it tempting for brands to plan each medium in isolation. That approach, she suggested, inverts the proper order of operations.
“As media is becoming increasingly fragmented, it’s really important that brands and clients really start with the consumer first,” she said. “If you really keep the consumer and really start with the idea – what is the consumer, how is the consumer behaving, how does the consumer look at content, how does the consumer utilize different channels? – then you’ll really be able to take into account the most important channels, not try to be all things to all people.”
The point is not merely philosophical. Omnicom Media’s parent company unveiled a next-generation version of its Omni platform in January 2026, integrating 2.6 billion verified IDs, trillions of signals, and an expanded agentic AI framework designed to connect strategy, creative, planning, and activation.
Breaking down the silos
Convergence across streaming, social, and commerce has been a conference talking point for years, yet organizational silos persist. Commerce budgets may sit with one team, social with another, and public relations with a third.
Bosetti acknowledged the structural challenge but argued that upstream alignment can still produce downstream results. “When you have that front-end integration and alignment, that’s again where you can get a better downstream impact because you’re aligned upstream,” she said. “You’re focused on what the consumer, how the consumer is behaving, and then again, that can usually lead to a much more integrated and downstream impact.”
The industry appears to agree that AI will accelerate this integration. According to the IAB’s 2026 Outlook Study, 96% of buyers are now aware of agentic AI for ad buying, and roughly two-thirds are focused on agentic AI campaign execution. Adoption is strongest for performance analysis and creative testing; actual deal execution remains less mature.
Where agents fit in
Bosetti sees the greatest near-term opportunity in inventory discovery and activation speed. “We can utilize agents to really understand, where is the best inventory that we can utilize?” she said. “Using AI can give us that really quick turn in terms of we can go and find whether it’s through utilizing our SSP connections or other direct integrations that we have.”
AI is already reshaping analytics, recommendations, and optimization, but commercial authority – negotiations, client commitments, governance – remains largely in human hands. Gartner forecasts that by 2028, more than 70% of global ad spend will flow through self-serve platforms where AI materially influences buying, cost, and outcomes.
Omnicom Media has been building out its own agentic infrastructure. In April 2026, the company expanded its Adobe partnership to co-develop an enterprise-grade agentic operating model spanning strategy, creative, planning, activation, and measurement.
Creativity as the missing ingredient
Omnicom Media has been testing creative optimization in new environments. In June 2026, the company launched a dynamic contextual content solution with NBCUniversal.
Asked what advertisers are not paying enough attention to, Bosetti pointed to innovation and creativity. She suggested the industry has drifted away from making those values central to media planning.
“We want to make sure that creativity and innovation is still really core and essential to any media plan,” she said. “I think we’ve lost a little sight of that, truly having an innovation framework and making sure that’s part of our media planning and buying.”
The advertising industry could be racing toward a future where autonomous software agents discover inventory, optimize campaigns, and execute buys with minimal human intervention. But even the most bullish practitioners acknowledge the technology is still in its infancy.
At a moment when media fragmentation has made it harder than ever to reach consumers efficiently, the promise of agentic buying is certainly seductive: let machines do the heavy lifting while strategists focus on diagnosis and creativity. The reality, at least for now, may be more cautious.
“We’re certainly in the early days of that, but that is where I see there’s going to be change for sure in the next couple of years when it comes to the utilization of agentic buying and the impact that’s going to have,” said Maureen Bosetti, chief investment officer, Omnicom Media, in this video interview with Beet.TV.
Consumer behavior first, channels second
Bosetti’s argument is that the sheer volume of available channels and platforms has made it tempting for brands to plan each medium in isolation. That approach, she suggested, inverts the proper order of operations.
“As media is becoming increasingly fragmented, it’s really important that brands and clients really start with the consumer first,” she said. “If you really keep the consumer and really start with the idea – what is the consumer, how is the consumer behaving, how does the consumer look at content, how does the consumer utilize different channels? – then you’ll really be able to take into account the most important channels, not try to be all things to all people.”
The point is not merely philosophical. Omnicom Media’s parent company unveiled a next-generation version of its Omni platform in January 2026, integrating 2.6 billion verified IDs, trillions of signals, and an expanded agentic AI framework designed to connect strategy, creative, planning, and activation.
Breaking down the silos
Convergence across streaming, social, and commerce has been a conference talking point for years, yet organizational silos persist. Commerce budgets may sit with one team, social with another, and public relations with a third.
Bosetti acknowledged the structural challenge but argued that upstream alignment can still produce downstream results. “When you have that front-end integration and alignment, that’s again where you can get a better downstream impact because you’re aligned upstream,” she said. “You’re focused on what the consumer, how the consumer is behaving, and then again, that can usually lead to a much more integrated and downstream impact.”
The industry appears to agree that AI will accelerate this integration. According to the IAB’s 2026 Outlook Study, 96% of buyers are now aware of agentic AI for ad buying, and roughly two-thirds are focused on agentic AI campaign execution. Adoption is strongest for performance analysis and creative testing; actual deal execution remains less mature.
Where agents fit in
Bosetti sees the greatest near-term opportunity in inventory discovery and activation speed. “We can utilize agents to really understand, where is the best inventory that we can utilize?” she said. “Using AI can give us that really quick turn in terms of we can go and find whether it’s through utilizing our SSP connections or other direct integrations that we have.”
AI is already reshaping analytics, recommendations, and optimization, but commercial authority – negotiations, client commitments, governance – remains largely in human hands. Gartner forecasts that by 2028, more than 70% of global ad spend will flow through self-serve platforms where AI materially influences buying, cost, and outcomes.
Omnicom Media has been building out its own agentic infrastructure. In April 2026, the company expanded its Adobe partnership to co-develop an enterprise-grade agentic operating model spanning strategy, creative, planning, activation, and measurement.
Creativity as the missing ingredient
Omnicom Media has been testing creative optimization in new environments. In June 2026, the company launched a dynamic contextual content solution with NBCUniversal.
Asked what advertisers are not paying enough attention to, Bosetti pointed to innovation and creativity. She suggested the industry has drifted away from making those values central to media planning.
“We want to make sure that creativity and innovation is still really core and essential to any media plan,” she said. “I think we’ve lost a little sight of that, truly having an innovation framework and making sure that’s part of our media planning and buying.”
