Amazon didn’t kill its demand-side platform. It just changed the door advertisers walk through.
At unBoxed 2026 on September 29, Amazon retired the Amazon DSP name and introduced a three-part stack: Amazon Ads Agent, DVA+ and Full-Funnel Campaigns. An October 1 analysis from trade newsletter ADOTAT argues the real shift isn’t a removed feature—it’s which buying path sits in front of advertisers.
What’s actually in the new stack
- Amazon Ads Agent: a conversational interface covering sponsored and programmatic buys.
- DVA+: a simplified workflow where you set an objective, creative and budget; Amazon handles targeting, inventory, formats and bids.
- DVA+ advanced settings: the old DSP controls—audience targeting, deals, publisher lists, frequency and bidding.
- Full-Funnel Campaigns: one budget across sponsored ads, display, video and streaming TV, starting at $100 a day.
Amazon says the old engine is still there. Its own product page states: “The programmatic capabilities you used in Amazon DSP are all available within DVA+ using advanced settings.”
Why the default matters
ADOTAT’s point is about sequence. Full-Funnel Campaigns is the product already live for eligible US advertisers, while the controlled DVA+ tier was still in a US closed beta as of October 1. The most automated, least controllable option is therefore the one switched on first.
Kelly MacLean, Amazon Ads VP of engineering, science and product, told MediaPost: “With DVA+, we have brought the power of programmatic to advertisers of all sizes.” That’s the promise. The tension, as ADOTAT puts it: “Defaults are destiny. The toggle is for the people Amazon already has. The default is for the people it wants.”
What performance teams should watch
The $100 daily floor puts a 30-day entry point around $3,000—close enough for sellers who run Sponsored Products but never touched a DSP. Amazon’s assistant can plan, execute and optimise, then benchmark performance against peers using Amazon’s own data. That’s a real verification problem: the same platform selects inventory, optimises budgets and writes the report card.
The FTC context sharpens the stakes. On August 31, the FTC and 22 states sued Amazon over about $20 billion in alleged hidden ad surcharges. Amazon disputes the case, and no court has ruled. But advertisers now have a reason to demand exportable, independently checkable numbers.
Your move
- Check which Amazon Ads path your campaigns are actually in.
- Use DVA+ advanced settings if you need audience lists, frequency caps or deal IDs.
- Start Full-Funnel tests at the $100 floor, then verify incrementality before scaling.
Open beta for DVA+ is expected in late October 2026, with general availability targeted for 35 markets in Q1 2027. That release will show how much manual control actually reaches advertisers beyond Amazon’s invitation list.
Source: PPC Land
