Amazon’s annual unBoxed conference this November drew advertising professionals from around the world to Nashville, where the retail giant unveiled its most ambitious push yet toward AI-powered automation. Mindgruve attended the conference to gain firsthand insights into product launches poised to reshape how brands connect with shoppers across Amazon’s purchase journey. We’ll break down the most impactful announcements that we heard — innovations that automate execution and optimization, freeing up marketers to focus their talents on strategy, deeper creative storytelling, and lasting customer relationships.
Unified Ads Campaign Manager
Amazon’s new Campaign Manager consolidates two previously separate platforms — Amazon DSP and the Ads Console — into a single dashboard. Now everything from search campaigns to programmatic display lives in one place. That means advertisers no longer need to toggle between multiple interfaces or manually reconcile data across systems. Amazon reports that early testing shows marketers can get campaigns live in roughly one-third the time it used to take while spending considerably less effort on routine management tasks.
Sponsored Products Video
By the end of the year, videos will appear in Amazon product search results. Brands can upload one to five product feature videos per item, and shoppers will see up to three video thumbnails showing the most relevant features based on their search queries and browsing history. Early testing shows that Sponsored Products with video achieved a 9% increase in click-through rates compared to those without video. Our prediction? Based on its location at the top of search results, where purchase intent is highest, Sponsored Products Video will drive stronger sales and ROI than the existing Sponsored Brands video format (which appears mid-page in search results).
Ads Agent
Amazon has already integrated its Ads Agent into select accounts of early adopters, making it the first AI assistant built just for paid media. Describe your goals and the tool will:
- Adjust bids, budgets, and flight dates
- Suggest and implement new audience targeting tactics.
- Analyze performance when you ask questions conversationally.
Early adopters report that workflows that once took hours now take minutes.
Creative Agent
Amazon Creative Studio’s new AI tool is accessible to every advertiser at no cost. Creative Agent examines a brand’s existing digital presence — stores, product listings, website content — to understand its positioning and differentiation. From there, it can automatically develop creative concepts for display and audio advertising on its own. This includes Streaming TV and Sponsored TV formats, professional-quality placements that used to require expensive production teams.
Full-Funnel Campaigns
Coming in early 2026, this new campaign type will simplify how brands reach shoppers across the awareness, consideration, and conversion stages. The platform adapts in real time, using performance data to refine which audiences see which creative assets at what budget level — all aimed at hitting either sales targets or new customer acquisition benchmarks. Good news for marketers: You can manage everything from a single interface.
Sponsored Brands Reserve Share of Voice
Advertisers can lock in premium search positioning for their brand terms through upfront commitments, paying a set rate for a defined flight rather than competing in live auctions. The commitment requires at least five branded keywords and runs for 30–90 days, with prices ranging from $6,000–$100,000+ depending on keyword volume and competitiveness. Reserve Share of Voice helps brands capture the demand they’ve already created through other marketing efforts and convert shoppers into buyers — representing a powerful shift in how brands can secure visibility during high-intent searches.
Sponsored Conversational Prompts
Rufus, Amazon’s generative AI shopping assistant, offers brands a way to integrate their products into conversational responses. AKA “Sponsored Products Prompts” and “Sponsored Brands Prompts,” the format functions as a virtual product expert that presents relevant product details for customers. Right now, while the system learns which products to recommend in response to shopper questions, Amazon isn’t charging extra for these ads. Sponsored Conversational Prompts mark Amazon’s first step toward integrating advertising into AI-assisted shopping experiences, a channel that could reshape how shoppers discover products.
The future of Amazon advertising
By unifying platforms, deploying AI agents, and introducing innovative ad formats, Amazon is lowering the barrier to entry for advanced advertising capabilities. Features that once called for significant time investment or specialized agency expertise are now available to brands regardless of size or budget. As we head into 2026, sellers large and small will face a shared reality: Adapt to AI-powered advertising tools or watch competitors capture market share with more efficient, data-driven campaigns. The technology is here. The next step is up to you.
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