• by Laurie Sullivan , 3 hours ago

The Trade Desk (TTD) has unveiled new agentic capabilities to create to makes its demand-side platform (DSP) simpler for planning, buying and measurement. The overhaul follows high-profile agency backlash and stock downgrades.

The newly branded system, dubbed Kokai Zuma, is an update of its Kokai platform, which was introduced in 2023.

Utilizing a redesigned interface and back-end system, the new version is intended to make the platform easier to navigate, learn and use.

Two weeks prior to the release, equities researchers at New Street Research downgraded TTD's stock price and valuation.

"Our target [share price] declines to $10 from $17 on significantly lower estimates and slightly lower valuation," New Street analysts wrote in a note sent to investors, which maintained the stock's "sell" rating.

New Street's note outlines the implications of TTD focusing on "decisioned-buying," a low-cost option, and how the disintermediation risk from Amazon Web Services or Google "Buyer Direct" continues to increase.

While the redesigned interface is the most visible change, in the background upgrades have been made to the forecasting engine and the AI infrastructure, enabling the platform to predict available inventory, model campaign outcomes and power Koa's agentic capabilities in real time.

Early results show improved modeling and forecasting capabilities with an average 32% improvement in cost per acquisition (CPA) performance.

Back-end investments are what make the workflow and campaign management improvements possible, the company said.

This marks a strategic shift in the way TTD is investing in the foundational platform.

The platform is supported by a virtual assistant -- "Koa" -- with AI capabilities across various programmatic functions including predictive clearing and real-time bid optimization.

Although Koa originally launched as an AI engine for campaign setup, it has evolved within the platform into a conversational assistant to streamline advertiser workflows.