The Trade Desk has announced Audience Unlimited, a sweeping update to its third-party data marketplace, which the company says will significantly improve accessibility and affordability for advertisers. The launch is planned for late 2025 across select agencies, with full availability expected in early 2026.
For many brands, third-party data is central to maximizing campaign targeting and identifying new opportunities. Still, adoption has lagged due to high expenses and the difficulty of sorting through countless providers to determine what information delivers true value. Current spend on this data can reach nearly 20 percent of a campaign’s media budget, making it a costly decision for marketers.
Marketing Technology Insights: PR Newswire Debuts Amplify, AI Platform for Modern PR and Communications
Audience Unlimited aims to resolve these challenges using artificial intelligence. The system evaluates thousands of data segments from hundreds of privacy-conscious partners, ranking them by relevance to a chosen campaign. Instead of purchasing access à la carte, advertisers can tap into all necessary datasets at one bundled price, making deployment simpler and savings easier to achieve.
“Audience Unlimited is going to transform the way marketers think about the value and cost of third-party data. Brands that leverage third-party data to optimize their campaigns consistently see significantly improved performance. However, the complexity of the data marketplace to date has made the deployment of data somewhat anemic,” said Samantha Jacobson, Chief Strategy Officer, The Trade Desk. “By negotiating bulk pricing for data, The Trade Desk passes savings to advertisers, while our advanced AI enables advertisers to assess the relevance of data sources to their campaigns and incorporate the optimal amount to enhance performance..”
The initiative is accompanied by new Koa Adaptive Trading Modes, which allow advertisers to choose between Performance Mode, where AI dynamically optimizes strategies while keeping decisions transparent, and Control Mode, where manual management prevails, enhanced by AI’s recommendations. Costs for Audience Unlimited are set at 3.3% and 4.4% of impression charges under Control Mode but are included at no additional expense in Performance Mode.
Marketing Technology Insights: Creator TV and MADCOOL Media Unite To Bring Creator Content to Television
“The Trade Desk’s Audience Unlimited represents a fundamental shift in how advertisers approach targeting,” said Michael Beebe, CEO, Dstillery. “By embedding AI-powered audience selection directly into campaign strategy, it transforms data from an afterthought into a core driver of performance. With access to hundreds of thousands of marketplace and custom segments, advertisers now have the tools to fully leverage data and AI for smarter, more precise targeting.”
“Third-party data is an essential driver of growth, helping advertisers reach more audiences, uncover new insights, and make smarter marketing decisions,” said Anne Acker, SVP of Commercial Partnerships, LiveRamp. “Solutions like Audience Unlimited help pave the way for the future of media buying, taking the guesswork out of finding and building high-quality segments from trusted data sources. By harnessing AI’s capabilities, marketers can extract greater value and efficiency from third-party data tailored to their specific business requirements.”
With these changes, The Trade Desk is positioning third-party data not as a challenge, but as an integral, cost-efficient driver of smarter digital advertising strategies.
Marketing Technology Insights: Kenect Unveils Voice AI To Boost Dealership Efficiency and Engagement
For media inquiries, you can write to our MarTech Newsroom at sudipto@intentamplify.com
