Amazon Ads and Agentic AI: all the unBoxed 2026 highlights for sellers

On 5 May 2026, Amazon Ads held its annual unBoxed event in Milan. The event brought together advertisers, agencies and partners with a clear message: making full-funnel advertising accessible to everyone by simplifying complexity through artificial intelligence.

For Amazon sellers who invest in advertising — or who are considering doing so — the new features presented at unBoxed Milan should not go unnoticed.

Why the advertising landscape has changed

The first thing to observe is the context that has driven Amazon Ads in this direction. The behaviour of European consumers has profoundly changed in recent years. Streaming TV, social media, online search and shopping are no longer separate channels. Rather, they should be seen as elements that intertwine in fluid and often unpredictable purchase journeys.

Amazon itself cites an internal study (Beyond the Buy) according to which 44% of Italian consumers consider entertainment to be an integral part of their shopping experience. In other words: a person watching a series on Prime Video can be influenced in their purchasing choices by what they see on screen, even without actively searching for a product.

The implications for sellers are very interesting. Advertising is no longer just about the moment when a customer searches for a product on Amazon. It is about the entire journey that leads to that search. Being present consistently throughout this journey (from the inspiration phase through to conversion) is what Amazon rebrands as the full-funnel approach. And the new features from unBoxed Milan are designed precisely to make this feasible even for those without a major brand budget.

Ads Agent is the AI that manages campaigns in natural language

The most significant new feature for sellers is the geographic expansion of Ads Agent, the AI assistant based on agentic technology. Ads Agent is accessible through a conversational interface. It allows you to manage campaigns on Amazon DSP and Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) simply by describing what you want to achieve.

In practice, it works like this. An advertiser can upload a media plan in spreadsheet format. Or they can select one directly from Ads Planner. Then they can ask Ads Agent to transform it into launch-ready campaigns. The system reads the budget, dates, objectives, inventory and targeting, automatically generates the campaign and ad group structures (with names, budgets, pacing and targeting) and presents them to the advertiser for review.

Nothing is published without approval. The seller therefore retains full control and can modify every element before proceeding.

Performance+ and Brand+: automatic predictive optimisation

Alongside Ads Agent, Amazon has consolidated two AI-powered tools based on predictive AI that work in a complementary way:

• Performance+ automatically optimises campaigns to maximise conversions. It identifies consumers with the highest probability of purchasing at any given moment. The system works across billions of behavioural signals to refine targeting in real time. It requires no continuous manual intervention.
• Brand+ is designed for those who want to build brand awareness and consideration over time, not just generate immediate sales. Through predictive AI, it identifies the audiences most receptive to brand messaging. It also optimises ad distribution accordingly.

Prime Video Insights: connecting streaming TV to purchases

One of the most innovative new features is advertiser access to Prime Video Insights within Amazon Marketing Cloud. The feature allows the viewing behaviour of customers on Prime Video to be connected to their browsing and purchasing behaviour on Amazon.

Let’s look at a practical example. An advertiser can discover that customers who watch a particular type of content on Prime Video (for example a food show or a travel series) have a higher propensity to purchase in certain product categories. This data can then be used to build customised audiences. And, from there, to reach them with targeted campaigns, within an environment that Amazon defines as “privacy-safe”.

For sellers with more structured budgets who already use Amazon DSP, this opens up the possibility of targeting audiences based on content interests, not just on purchase history or recent searches. This is a level of specificity in audience building that until now had been reserved for major advertising investors.

Cross-media measurement: a topic that concerns everyone

Another topic of interest at unBoxed was the measurement of campaigns across different channels. And, in particular, the difficulty of having consistent data when investing in both traditional channels and streaming TV.

Amazon Ads organised for the first time a panel with representatives from the leading European Joint Industry Committees:

• AGF for Germany, Barb for the United Kingdom
• Médiamétrie for France
• Audicom for Italy.

The goal is to build technologically neutral measurement standards that allow advertisers to compare results across all video channels with reliable and comparable data.

AI lowers the barrier to advanced advertising

Beyond the individual tools summarised above, a very clear message emerges. Amazon Ads is investing to make advanced advertising accessible to advertisers of every size — not just major brands with dedicated teams.

Historically, tools like Amazon DSP or Amazon Marketing Cloud were accessible primarily to specialist agencies or large companies with significant budgets and in-house technical expertise. The combination of Ads Agent, Performance+ and Brand+ significantly lowers this barrier. AI handles the complex operational work, while the seller or advertiser focuses on objectives and strategy.

For all sellers who are not large-scale operators and who until now have limited themselves to Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands campaigns, now is the right time to start exploring more advanced tools!

How to integrate these new features into your advertising strategy

The new features from unBoxed don’t require you to completely overhaul your advertising strategy. But they do invite reflection on some concrete questions:

• Are you measuring your campaigns comprehensively? Many sellers stop at the ROAS of individual campaigns without having a view of the complete journey that leads the customer to purchase. Tools like Amazon Marketing Cloud allow you to connect different touchpoints (from the first impression to conversion) to understand which investments are truly generating value.
• Have you ever tried Amazon DSP? If you have only used Sponsored campaigns so far, consider testing DSP with a limited budget. With Ads Agent simplifying configuration, the learning curve has been significantly reduced.
• Are you building a brand or just generating immediate sales? The distinction between Performance+ and Brand+ reflects a strategic question every seller should ask themselves. Investing only in short-term conversion leaves competitors room to build a brand advantage over time.

ZonWizard: manage your account performance while AI optimises your campaigns

With increasingly automated tools managing campaign optimisation, the seller’s added value shifts to the ability to read data and make strategic decisions. Knowing which products are performing best, which have the strongest margins worth investing in advertising, and how campaigns impact the overall profitability of your account is essential.

ZonWizard gives you a complete, real-time view of your business performance on Amazon: sales, margins, PPC, ranking and much more, all in a single dashboard designed for sellers.

👉 Try ZonWizard for free HERE. The best advertising strategy always starts with clear data on your products and your margins!