📰 Microsoft Advertising, LinkedIn Ads, TikTok Ads and Amazon Ads news

At unBoxed 2026, Amazon announced Amazon Ads Agent, a unified platform with agentic AI combining the former Ads Console and Amazon DSP, along with new Full-Funnel Campaigns and DVA+.

Amazon announced Sponsored Services to connect shoppers with local service providers (with Yelp as the anchor partner) and generative AI creative tools built directly into the Amazon Ads Agent conversational experience.

Optimization experiments now cover Search, Shopping, Audience and Performance Max campaigns, with a unified side-by-side results page to compare against the original setup and apply winning changes. LinkedIn company lists were also expanded from 1,000 to 10,000 names.

Full-Funnel Campaigns combines sponsored ads, display, video and streaming TV into a single AI-managed campaign, and is now available to all US advertisers selling on Amazon.

The FTC and 22 state attorneys general are suing Amazon, alleging it secretly overcharged advertisers in its search ad auctions for more than seven years, rising from 30-40% of auctions in 2021 to about 80% by 2024.

Amazon and OpenAI launched a managed-service pilot placing Amazon DSP ads inside ChatGPT responses, with product feed ads auto-generated from Amazon catalogs, US-only at launch.

Amazon Ads introduced a new tier of tools on its Ads MCP Server allowing third-party AI agents to access specialized capabilities; the first, the AMC SQL Generator, translates natural-language requests into validated Amazon Marketing Cloud SQL queries and is now in closed beta in the US.

Amazon Ads unveiled its new "Amazon Ads Agent" platform at unBoxed 2026, replacing the former Ads Console and Amazon DSP with three campaign types: Sponsored Ads, Display, Video and Audio+ (DVA+), and Full-Funnel Campaigns, all powered by AI with a natural-language chat experience.

For the first time, advertisers can see the overall health status of their campaigns directly in TikTok Ads Manager, labeled Good, Fair, or Poor, with clear guidance to improve and qualify for available coupons and incentives.

TikTok evolved its Agency Badging Program with a new two-tier model to highlight best-in-class agency performance.

Starting January 12, 2027, Microsoft Advertising will remove access to the MaxCpc field in the API for new campaigns and existing campaigns that do not currently use it. Advertisers relying on scripts, bulk uploads, or bid management tools using MaxCpc should review their setups ahead of the deadlin

TikTok updated its advertising policy for alcohol-related establishments to require approval and certification from local regulating authorities, and explicitly prohibited certain surgeries, including weight loss and aesthetic genital surgeries, in ads.

Microsoft has removed the limited release restriction for Excluded content terms within its Microsoft Advertising platform. Advertisers can now block ads from appearing alongside unwanted page titles by specifying up to 1,000 terms at account or campaign level. Campaign-level terms apply across all

Microsoft Advertising has updated its bid strategies to allow setting a maximum CPC for portfolio strategies. The prior restriction to campaign-level only configurations has been lifted, and the eligible strategies list has been removed. Previously, maximum CPC was limited to campaigns using Enhance

TikTok introduced a new Agentic Hub that automates reporting, audience management, and budget optimization via AI, alongside a Pulse Mentions feature, though rollout timing to all markets remains unclear.

Starting August 10, Amazon Sponsored Products campaigns began serving inside Amazon Influencer Program creator content with no advertiser action required, sparking controversy over the lack of clear notice about the expansion.

Microsoft Advertising's recent API update introduces several enhancements, particularly for tool builders and script users. Among the changes, a new Search Term Landing Page Report has been added, providing deeper insights into ad performance. Additionally, the update allows for campaign-level devic

Amazon Ads launched location-based interactive video ads and 'Next Up' ads that appear between episodes on Prime Video, expanding its streaming advertising offering in Australia.

Microsoft Advertising is testing Copilot Audience Generation, a new feature available in closed beta for Audience campaigns in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. Advertisers can use natural language to describe their ideal customer, and Copilot will generate a custom AI-driven audience along with it.

At its 2026 Upfront, Amazon Ads highlighted its authenticated audience graph covering 90% of U.S. households and being named the only leader in omnichannel advertising by Forrester, alongside growth in Prime Video viewership.

Bing is testing a "Top Pick" label on its sponsored result product carousels, highlighting a potential new way for products to stand out in search results. The "Top Pick" label is prominently displayed in the product carousel, potentially drawing more eyes to specific listings. This update was shared.

TikTok unveiled expanded measurement and ad integrity solutions along with new advertiser controls, aiming to build a more transparent, measurable, and trusted advertising ecosystem.

Microsoft Advertising has launched a HubSpot integration designed to connect advertising activity with CRM data and enable closed-loop marketing. Advertisers can track, measure, optimize, and report on Microsoft Advertising activity directly within HubSpot, opening up several new possibilities for shared users.

LinkedIn added a 180-day attribution window option for conversion types like Purchase, Lead and Qualified Lead in its Conversions API, alongside richer company intelligence data and CREATIVE_NAME support in dynamic UTM tracking.

The Microsoft Advertising API's GetEditorialReasonsByIds service now supports ImageAsset and TextAsset types alongside the existing Ad and Keyword entities. This lets advertisers programmatically retrieve disapproval reasons for these assets, improving workflows for managing Responsive Search Ads and other asset-based formats.

Amazon Ads announced that its Amazon Ads MCP Server is now available in open beta, aiming to reduce advertising workflow complexity through AI agent integration.

LinkedIn now allows advertisers to target audiences based on LinkedIn profile data within Search and Audience campaigns, improving B2B targeting precision.

Microsoft Advertising has expanded its Customer Match partner list to include several new customer data platforms (CDPs), effectively doubling the number of available partners to 20 and giving advertisers more options for syncing customer data. New additions include Adobe Real-Time CDP, among others.

Starting October 1, 2026, new non-portfolio campaigns using Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value, or Maximize Clicks will lose the Max CPC cap option, while campaigns created before that date keep the setting.

Amazon Ads officially announced that its flagship unBoxed 2026 conference will take place from September 28–30 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, expected to bring new ad formats, AI capabilities, and measurement tools. The event will gather advertisers, agencies, and developers to learn about upcoming platform innovations.

Microsoft emailed advertisers notifying them that Microsoft Advertising will update UTM auto-tagging beginning on September 2, 2026, to improve how campaign performance is measured in third-party analytics platforms like GA4. Format-specific UTM tags will be applied automatically, with no action required from advertisers.

Microsoft Advertising has published a dedicated help page outlining transparency rules for AI-generated and synthetic content. Advertisers are now required to disclose AI use in their ads, preserve metadata, and avoid deepfakes in order to maintain consumer trust. Read the official announcement, spotted by Hana Ko.

TikTok continues strengthening requirements for brands and agencies to operate from a verified, official presence on the platform, expanding formal agency recognition based on managed spend.

Amazon Ads confirmed its flagship unBoxed 2026 event will take place September 28-30 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, where it will unveil new AI-powered advertising products.

Microsoft introduced Curate, a tool that helps publishers and data owners turn proprietary assets into scalable revenue through programmatic curation, announced on September 10, 2026.

Amazon Ads announced a partnership with OpenAI to enable conversational advertising within ChatGPT, with select U.S. advertisers currently testing the format as part of a pilot.

Microsoft sent emails confirming that Max CPC will no longer be available when creating new non-portfolio campaigns using Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value, or Maximize Clicks after October 1, 2026; existing and portfolio-strategy campaigns keep the setting.

Starting Oct. 1, Microsoft Advertising will stop allowing advertisers to set Max CPC limits on new campaigns using several standalone automated bidding strategies. Existing campaigns with Max CPC won't immediately lose it, but removing it after that date will be irreversible.

Starting October 1, Microsoft will remove the Max CPC setting from new campaigns using Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value, or Maximize Clicks, pushing advertisers toward budget and CPA/ROAS-based controls instead. Existing campaigns created before that date will keep the setting.

Amazon Ads announced that Prime Video advertising will be introduced in Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Turkey during 2026, expanding its streaming ad inventory in Europe.

Microsoft Advertising has published its 2026 Holiday Playbook, outlining six key global trends advertisers need to keep on their radar heading into the holiday season. The guide puts a strong focus on AI's growing influence on shopping behavior, with 76% of U.S. shoppers saying they plan to use AI to help with their holiday purchases.

Microsoft Advertising has rolled out new average target metrics to help advertisers track performance more accurately as their targets shift over time. These metrics are now available in the Campaign overview, Campaign grid, and portfolio bid strategies, giving advertisers a cleaner way to analyze trends and measure results against fluctuating goals.

LinkedIn announced new ad options including Reserved Ads to maximize impact, ad personalization, and AI-generated ad variants.

Microsoft Advertising is rolling out a Dual-ID requirement to strengthen account security when linking accounts. Advertisers managing multiple accounts will now need to provide two identifiers instead of one. For Manager account (CID) linking, both identifiers must be included to complete the process — reducing the risk of unauthorized account access.

Microsoft has updated its advertising guidelines for the Xbox Dash placement within the Microsoft Audience Network. The revised rules significantly expand the list of prohibited ad categories — including credit cards and other sensitive verticals — and introduce new requirements specifically for non-endemic campaigns running on the placement.

Starting August 1, a specific group of Amazon advertisers contacted directly lost the ability to use a credit card as their primary ad payment method, with costs now deducted from seller/vendor account balance or via Pay by Invoice. Amazon clarified the change is narrow and does not affect most advertisers, who were already paying via account balance deduction.

The FTC and 22 state attorneys general filed suit against Amazon alleging it secretly inflated prices in its advertising auctions after 2019 rule changes, potentially costing advertisers more than $20 billion.

Microsoft Advertising unveiled the finalists for its annual Partner Awards across multiple global regions, recognizing innovation and client impact within its partner ecosystem.

Microsoft Advertising unveiled the finalists for its 2026 Partner Awards, recognizing achievements, innovation and client impact across its North American partner ecosystem.

TikTok Ads introduced Mini Series, an in-app episodic storytelling feature for brands and marketers, paired with Growth Max to amplify automated ad performance.

TikTok published its ad policy change log updated through September 2026, with accumulated modifications across categories like financial services, alcohol, prediction markets, and adult content.

Amazon Ads invited advertisers to its annual flagship conference, where it will share how AI and new advertising solutions aim to make it easier for brands of every size to drive results.

TikTok introduced Growth Max: Mini Games, a new way to promote games directly within the app, letting users engage without ever leaving TikTok.

TikTok announced an update to its Financial Services ad policy allowing Contracts for Difference (CFD) ads in Canada and the United States, subject to strict compliance and prior approval from a TikTok sales representative.

TikTok announced that SMB advertisers can now choose full, partial, or manual automation control over audience, budget, placements, and catalog within Smart+, with new visual labels in the interface.