Programmatic advertising is the automated buying and selling of digital advertising using software and algorithms. It replaces manual negotiations with real-time bidding (RTB), where ad impressions are auctioned in milliseconds as a webpage loads.

Programmatic advertising uses data and machine learning to target specific audiences, optimise placements, and reduce waste. It includes display, video, mobile, and connected TV ads. Benefits include efficiency and precision, while challenges include ad fraud, brand safety, and transparency.

Key points

• Automated ad buying and selling
• Uses real-time bidding
• Targets audiences with data
• Efficient but faces fraud and safety issues