One month after Amazon retired the Amazon DSP name, experienced buyers are still asking what replaced it. Destaney Wishon, CEO of Amazon advertising agency btr media, posted on LinkedIn that she is “still not 100% clear” on Amazon Ads Agent, DVA and where the old products went. The post quickly drew 48 reactions and 15 comments, many from people running Amazon campaigns for brands.
A rebrand that even insiders can’t map
Amazon has put the word Agent on the entire advertising platform, but the conversational AI agent it is named after remains in closed beta. Amazon DSP is now DVA, short for display, video and audio. Sponsored Display appears to be folded into DVA+, depending on which Amazon page you read. The result is that the automated buying route is the default, while the manual controls experienced buyers rely on are only available to a limited set of US advertisers.
Wishon’s post laid out what is known, then turned into questions about access, naming and whether DVA covers search. Her agency has a head of DSP, so this is not a newcomer struggling with self-serve tools.
The agent is still behind a velvet rope
Amazon first introduced Ads Agent in November 2025 as an assistant. At unBoxed on September 29, 2026, the name expanded to cover the whole ad-buying platform. Yet the conversational experience is still a rolling closed beta across 25 countries, and advertisers must request access through their Amazon Ads account team.
That creates a strange split: every advertiser sees the Agent brand, but only some can use the actual agent. Amazon’s own pages don’t reconcile this cleanly.
Defaults are doing the selling
Amazon says the restructure makes buying simpler. The automated DVA+ route is open with no minimum spend and no Amazon retail presence required. Advanced settings—audience targeting, deal IDs, frequency capping—sit behind a toggle available only to some US advertisers.
- Automated DVA+ is open to new advertisers.
- Manual DVA+ controls are rationed in the US.
- Full-Funnel Campaigns automate channel and audience choices.
If you cannot tell what a product is called, the easiest path is the one the interface offers first—and that path ends in automation.
The Trade Desk already ran this experiment
Amazon is not the first ad platform to push an AI-first overhaul. The Trade Desk launched Kokai in 2023, spent years moving buyers off Solimar, and faced buyer backlash. Its Q2 2026 revenue grew just 3% to $715 million, shares fell 24% after hours, and the company later cut about 575 jobs.
Amazon’s ad business is different: revenue grew 26% to $19.8 billion in Q2 2026, and its share of tracked programmatic spend has climbed toward 20%. Growth buys patience, but confusion has a cost.
What to do now
The practical advice from Wishon is about account control, not interface preferences. Brands should consider owning their own advertiser account and DSP seat, rather than leaving it with an agency, unless the agency floats media spend on better payment terms. Migrate campaigns after the holidays, and ask your account team for access to advanced settings before you move.
Also keep the trust context in mind: the FTC and 22 states sued Amazon in August 2026, alleging undisclosed auction reserve practices. Amazon rejects the case, but it makes the push toward letting Amazon’s AI decide even more sensitive.
Source: PPC Land
