Episode 195: Scott Messer Answers the Question, Is There Crying in Ad Tech?

Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi welcome Scott Messer, founder of Messer Media and co-founder of AdTech Therapy, to discuss the challenges facing digital publishers as AI reshapes advertising and the open web. They explore declining publisher traffic, AI content licensing, Google's antitrust ruling, and how agentic advertising could transform direct media buying by reducing programmatic fees. The conversation also covers Apple's Safari privacy changes, Prebid's potential role in a unified auction, OpenAI's advertising strategy, the future of agentic commerce, and emerging retail media partnerships involving Uber, TripleLift, and Instacart. Takeaways: Declining Open Web Traffic: Scott Messer explains how AI and declining search traffic are forcing publishers to rethink their business models, prioritize audience loyalty, and diversify revenue streams. AI Content Licensing: Publishers are exploring bot restrictions, licensing agreements, and regulatory action to protect their content and secure compensation from AI platforms. Agentic Advertising: AI-powered direct media buying could reduce DSP and SSP fees, streamline reservations, and create more efficient transactions between advertisers and publishers. Google Antitrust and Prebid: Google's antitrust ruling could reshape programmatic advertising by opening opportunities for Prebid Server and alternative ad-serving technologies. AI Advertising and Privacy: The hosts examine OpenAI's behavioral targeting approach, Apple's Safari restrictions, and the implications for publisher monetization and consumer privacy. Retail Media and Agentic Commerce: Partnerships involving Uber, TripleLift, and Instacart highlight new opportunities for commerce data, while retailers continue to evaluate AI shopping agents. Chapters: 00:29 Introduction to Scott Messer and Ad Tech Therapy 01:08 Upcoming Ad Tech Events and Apparium Summit 02:16 Scott Messer on Fixing Broken Ad Tech Operations 05:23 Declining Open Web Traffic and Publisher Challenges 06:37 Building Publisher Loyalty and Protecting Content from AI 08:03 AI Bots, Content Licensing and Publisher Compensation 13:12 Advertising to AI and the Future of Sponsored Content 17:08 The Ethics of Advertising to AI Agents 18:37 Google's Antitrust Ruling and Prebid's Future 22:49 How Publishers Can Benefit from Agentic Advertising 25:11 Reducing Programmatic Fees Through Agentic Direct Buying 28:29 Prebid Summit and Ad Tech M&A Outlook 30:01 Apple's Safari Privacy Changes and Publisher Revenue 33:43 Character.AI and the Risks of AI Advertising Inventory 37:49 OpenAI's Advertising Strategy and Behavioral Targeting 41:24 Google's Search Scraping Defense and Data Co-op 45:06 Retailers Blocking AI Shopping Agents 47:00 Agentic Commerce and AI-Powered Product Discovery 49:04 Uber, TripleLift and the Future of Retail Media 51:31 Will Retail Media Become Programmatic? 52:04 Closing Remarks Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Scott Messer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices