In adtech, is “agentic” a friend or foe?

Earlier this month, a coalition of companies launched a proposed standard meant to usher in a new era of agentic advertising. The goal? To make advertising and adtech compatible with AI agents.

But as I read the announcement, I couldn’t help but to wonder: what if agents don’t just change advertising? What if they replace it entirely?

After all, agentic systems, at their core, are designed to eliminate the need for ads. Why interrupt a user when their agent can already:

• Find what they want
• Remember what they like
• Proactively surface what they need

That’s the whole point. The agent does all of this autonomously for the user.

An Ad-Free Challenge

A week after the standard’s launch, OpenAI rolled out its own browser, Atlas. Agent-enabled, OpenAI claimed the launch was “a step toward a future where most web use happens through agentic systems.” Notably, Atlas also launched completely ad-free. While positioned as an alternative to Chrome and Safari, it is equally a direct challenge to the ad-supported web itself.

The industry, however, doesn’t seem ready to confront this—or perhaps, it just can’t right now. In today’s market, every adtech company needs to be agentic, after all. Startups chase it to land funding. Public companies discuss it on earnings calls to reassure shareholders. The narrative has quickly shifted from AI-powered to agentic-powered, because being AI-powered simply isn’t enough. I understand the pressure.

But that doesn’t change the fact that agentic systems and adtech may be fundamentally misaligned.

So, while the adtech world applauds the rise of agentic, it may also be cheering on its own demise.

OpenAI’s Philosophy

Additionally, consider this: OpenAI—which is likely to become the industry’s agentic leader—has made no secret of its dislike of ads. Frankly, Sam Altman seems disgusted by them. This aversion is obvious across OpenAI’s product lineup, as ChatGPT, Sora, and now Atlas are all intentionally ad-free by design.

This is, in part, why OpenAI is winning. Like Steve Jobs, Altman understands product packaging as well as product innovation. OpenAI’s products are designed to feel premium—and premium PLUS ads has rarely been viewed as premium. So, yes, agentic systems may make advertising obsolete, and the idea that OpenAI would suddenly cram ads into its products doesn’t really track.

Of course, many will argue that Atlas must support ads eventually, as the economics are too powerful to ignore. Sure. But even if that’s true, we’re heading toward a world where ads, once again, are tolerated, not embraced. (And are fundamentally reshaped in the process.)

If that’s the future, initiatives like the newly proposed standard may feel like the adtech industry is trying to exert control over something it simply doesn’t control anymore. The consumer experience is changing entirely—and we’re trying to build systems that align with the new technology, but not with the new experience.

The Questions Adtech Must Answer

As the industry talks about an agentic future, being prepared to grapple with these very real and understandable questions will be important.

• What happens if AI companies seek to replace advertising entirely?
• What does the launch of Atlas say about where the web is headed—and how should adtech respond?
• Does agentic commerce displace advertising?
• How can adtech companies walk the line—embracing agentic while confronting the existential issues it presents?
• What is our overall philosophy on agentic advertising?
• What adtech companies will be best positioned in the agentic era and are you one of them?

Unfortunately, the agentic era won’t wait for adtech to catch up. Adtech must evolve fast enough to deserve a meaningful place in whatever comes next.

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👉 Building your company’s AI narrative? Reach Chris Harihar on X (@chrisharihar), LinkedIn, or by email.

Chris Harihar is a 15-year adtech PR expert who has helped leading companies go public and guided up-and-comers to break through in a crowded market. Clients include DoubleVerify, Yahoo DSP, and more.