AI and Ads: Addressing the Elephant in the Room

There’s an elephant in the room, and no, it’s not the one who’s been served 27 retargeting ads for the same pair of glasses. It’s AI. Everyone’s either terrified that it’s going to replace them, or convinced it’s going to solve everything from campaign optimisation to making the morning coffee.

The truth? As usual, it’s somewhere in between. But when it comes to advertising, I’m going to say it: the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Why AI Isn’t the Villain of This Story

I’ve read the rants. AI makes ads creepier. AI takes away creative jobs. AI is just another buzzword that agencies slap on decks to justify higher fees. And yes, some of that is true. We’ve all seen lazy AI copy and generic imagery that makes you wonder if the robots are just as bored as we are.

But here’s the flip side:

• AI can eliminate the wastage that’s haunted programmatic for years.

• AI can personalise at scale without burning through human hours.

• AI can detect fraud faster than any spreadsheet ever could.

• AI can optimise bids in real-time so advertisers aren’t shouting into the void.

The villain isn’t AI. Bad implementation is.

Scroller Tip #1: Don’t blame the tool. Blame how it’s used.

The Shopper’s Perspective: Ads That Actually Help

Let me put my consumer hat on (the one I bought on sale and never wore). When an ad knows me well enough to save me time like reminding me about a subscription renewal or surfacing a discount on something I was genuinely hunting for, that’s not creepy. That’s convenient.

AI makes those moments smarter. Instead of stalking me endlessly with the same product, it can learn when to back off, when to reframe the message, and when to offer me something entirely new.

Imagine programmatic that feels less like a shouting match and more like a helpful nudge. That’s where AI is taking us.

Scroller Tip #2: Relevance is respect. The right ad at the right time isn’t noise. It’s SERVICE.

Programmatic, Evolved by AI

So how does AI make programmatic better? Three big shifts:

1. Smarter Targeting, Less Guesswork

   No more “spray and see what sticks.” AI analyses signals across channels to predict intent, not just behaviour. Think fewer wasted impressions, more meaningful reach.

2. Creative That Adapts in Real-Time

   AI can test headlines, visuals, even formats in the wild and adjust on the fly. Not six weeks later when the campaign’s already burnt through budget.

3. Supply Path Optimisation on Autopilot

   Remember the hidden delta! The gap between what advertisers spend and what publishers get? AI is closing it by constantly choosing the cleanest, most efficient path. Lower fees, higher yields, happier everyone.

Scroller Tip #3: Programmatic with AI isn’t about more ads. It’s about better ads.

Why This Is Good News for Publishers

Let’s not forget the other side of the equation: publishers. AI doesn’t just optimise demand, it safeguards supply. Fraud detection, brand safety, yield maximisation, all turbocharged by machine learning.

Translation: publishers finally get rewarded for quality content instead of losing out to clickbait farms.

Enter Alkimi

Here’s where it gets exciting. With Alkimi’s transparent blockchain infrastructure and AI-powered optimisation, the future isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about trust. Every impression, every bid, every result is on-chain, verifiable, and fraud-resistant.

That means advertisers can spend smarter. Publishers can earn fairer. And users (like me, doomscrolling at 1am) can finally see ads that feel like they belong.

Scroller Tip #9: You need to check out the Alkimi DSA!

Final thoughts, I am going to close this one early.

No, AI isn’t here to kill advertising and no it won’t be the ultimate fix to it either. But being a layer on top of blockchain, it can make programmatic more efficient, more relevant, and more transparent. It has the potential to undo the very things that broke the internet in the first place.

If you work in advertising (brand, agency or publisher), the question to keep you awake at night shouldn’t be “Will AI take our jobs?” but “Will we use AI to make advertising worth our time again?” At Alkimi, that’s exactly the bet we’re making.

Write to sales@alkimi.org for a DSA demo!