Independent buy-side ad platform Sizmek has announced that it has completely overhauled its demand-side platform (DSP) to deliver an evolved user experience that provides clients with new screens and workflows for added transparency, control and efficiency when managing budgets and programmatic spending.

These enhancements are designed to ensure agencies have greater insight into their advertising campaigns, enabling them to identify and optimise their media strategy, gain a clearer picture of whats working and whats not, and how to best take action in real-time.

The new DSP is powered by Sizmeks AI, which integrates into the platform to provide agencies with an intuitive recommendation and optimisation engine that will improve the performance of media. In order to avoid the black box approach that AI and machine learning are often based on, Sizmek has ensured that all buyers retain full control over campaign execution and when to use AI, for instance whether to AI-optimise or manually allocate daily tactic budgets. The DSP also designs data for discovery and provides transparency into key learnings with data visualisation reports that show how attributes contributed to campaign success over time.

“We heard our clients feedback, and worked with them hand-in-hand to design the new DSP,” said Mark Grether, CEO of Sizmek. “Agencies want more control and efficiency, and demand the offerings from technology partners strengthen their overall value proposition. More than that, we often hear the misconception in our industry that AI can replace people. Our DSP and products are all about enabling our clients to make smarter decisions and differentiate themselves in the market. Our success is rooted in how we bring data, creative and media together – all powered by AI.”

The DSP brings together the Rocket Fuel AI and DSP that Sizmek acquired in 2017 with its existing independent ad server, and aims to create an open and independent alternative to Google. GroupM and AudienceX are among the initial customers using the DSP, and have already reported positive results.

“The UI redesign was thoughtful, as all key features can be accessed quickly and let us edit and update specific items without additional clicks in sub-menus,” said Axel Jonuschies, managing partner for global trading – programmatic at GroupM. “The new UI gives us greater efficiencies, and reduces the frustration of a slow front-end.”