196. AI Meets Programmatic: How Media Buyers Can Optimize with AI
Release Date: 05/22/2026
207. The AI Middle Layer: The Next Brand Safety Battleground
Programmatic Digest
In this podcast episode, Dr. Cecilia Dones and Iesha White discuss the complex evolution of artificial intelligence within the marketing and advertising industries. They explore the shift of AI becoming a "middle layer" between brands and consumers, highlighting how automated systems can influence purchasing decisions using unverified information. These outstanding ladies distinguish between closed and open AI systems, warning that proprietary models often lack transparency and can lead to brand safety issues like hallucinations or data poisoning. They emphasize that while AI...
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206. A Discussion on The signal brief, AI Search, and Ozone
Programmatic Digest
AI-driven search is changing how people discover information, and challenging the intent-based funnel publishers and advertisers have relied on for years. In this episode of the Programmatic Digest Podcast, I sit down with Christian Robinson of Ozone to explore what this shift means for publishers, programmatic traders, and the future of the open web. Christian shares how Ozone helps advertisers reach audiences across trusted, premium publisher environments while reducing duplication and wasted media spend. We discuss why first-party data, authenticated audiences, and journalistically safe...
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205. Conversational Ad Ops, AI agents, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) with Rob Janes
Programmatic Digest
In this episode of the Programmatic Digest Podcast, host and guest Rob JAnes, Head of Product at AdButler, discuss the rapidly changing landscape of publisher monetization and programmatic ad operations heading into 2025. Check out the interview on YouTube here: They break down the industry-wide adjustments following Google's unexpected decision not to deprecate third-party cookies and the subsequent pivot to internal identity resolution systems. A major focus of the conversation is the existential crisis content creators face due to declining traffic, driven by generative...
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204. Martech Architecture Explained: The Missing Layer in Ad Tech
Programmatic Digest
🎧 Summary: In this episode of the Programmatic Digest Podcast, Hélène Parker sits down with Sanarr McLaughlin to unpack one of the most overlooked challenges in programmatic advertising and digital marketing: martech structure. From disconnected tools and messy integrations to reporting confusion and operational inefficiencies, Sanarr explains why many agencies, brands, and media teams are struggling under the weight of their own systems. Together, they explore how poor martech architecture impacts campaign execution, data accuracy, internal productivity, and ultimately business growth....
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203. Are We Optimizing for Bots? Unpacking AI, CTR, and Ad Fraud with Dr. Fou
Programmatic Digest
In this episode of the Programmatic Digest, Hélène Parker sits down with Dr. Augustine Fou, founder of Fou Analytics, to unpack the realities of ad fraud, attribution, AI, and programmatic optimization. Dr. Fou challenges some of the metrics and tools our industry has relied on for years, explaining how bots can manipulate signals like CTR and how algorithms can unintentionally optimize toward fraudulent inventory. The conversation also explores the limitations of traditional fraud detection, the importance of independent verification, and how traders can use more granular data, including...
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202. Mastering Audience Optimization & DSP Transparency with Jenn Ha and Ed Hackney from Pearl Diver
Programmatic Digest
In part two of this special episode of the Programmatic Digest podcast, host Hélène Parker welcomes back Ed and introduces Jenny, the Head of Customer Experience at Pearl Diver Building on the previous episode's focus on audience discovery, this conversation dives deeply into audience optimization and the critical role of true partnership in ad tech. Jenny and Ed share insights on the optimal times to introduce new audience segments, highlighting that the best time to test an adjacent audience is actually when current campaigns are already performing well They also discuss their...
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201. Activating High-Intent Audiences with Ed Hackney and Trinity Lawry from Pearl Diver
Programmatic Digest
Most advertisers focus on people who are ready to buy today. But what happens when that audience runs out? In this episode, I chat with Ed Hackney and Trinity Lawry from Pearl Diver about how to find high-intent audiences, why balancing every stage of the marketing funnel matters, and how AI is making audience discovery easier for media buyers. This podcast was made possible thanks to the incredible support from Pearl Diver. In This Episode Why focusing only on conversions can quickly exhaust your audience. How behavioral data helps identify where consumers are in their buying...
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200. Behind 200 Episodes: The Real Work, the Real Joy, and the Real Impact with Manuela Cortes and Hélène Parker
Programmatic Digest
Celebrating 200 Episodes: Community, Representation, and the Future of Programmatic Digest Reaching 200 episodes is more than a milestone. It's a celebration of the incredible community that has supported Programmatic Digest from day one. In this special episode, Hélène Parker and Manuela Cortez reflect on the journey that brought them here, the lessons they've learned along the way, and the vision they're building for the future. From expanding the podcast into Spanish to creating opportunities for more diverse voices in ad tech, this conversation is a reminder that meaningful change...
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198. Performance Advertising in Programmatic
Programmatic Digest
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199. How To Be A Performance Marketer in Programmatic Media
Programmatic Digest
info_outlineIn this episode of the Programmatic Digest, Hélène Parker and Assetou Kone dive into the evolving role of AI in programmatic advertising and campaign optimization. The conversation explores how media buyers and traders can use tools like ChatGPT and Claude to streamline workflows, analyze campaign data more efficiently, and uncover deeper optimization insights.
Hélène opens the session by reframing optimization as more than simple “bid up, bid down” tactics. Instead, she explains how successful optimization requires hypothesis testing, strategic thinking, and understanding how DSP algorithms redistribute spend based on performance signals. Using practical examples, she demonstrates how removing underperforming inventory can improve overall campaign efficiency by reallocating budget toward higher-performing placements.
Assetou walks through the fundamentals traders need before introducing AI into their workflows, emphasizing the importance of understanding campaign objectives across awareness, consideration, conversion, and loyalty stages. She explains how campaign goals directly influence which metrics traders should prioritize and optimize toward.
The heart of the workshop focuses on prompt engineering and practical AI usage. Assetou demonstrates how traders can use AI to analyze site lists, identify inefficient domains, generate allow/block lists, surface top-performing inventory, and extract geo-level insights tied to real-world audience behavior. She also highlights how combining AI-generated insights with industry knowledge creates stronger strategic recommendations for clients.
Throughout the discussion, Hélène and Assetou address common fears around AI and job security, explaining why traders who learn how to leverage AI tools will become more valuable — not less. They close by discussing the future of agentic AI within DSPs and how automation can help traders spend less time buried in spreadsheets and more time focusing on strategy and insight generation.
🧠 About Us:
We help historically excluded individuals break into programmatic media buying and land jobs they love. Through our Reach and Frequency® program, coaching, and community, we make learning programmatic clear, practical, and welcoming.
Our mission is simple: DSP access and education should be for everyone, not just a few. That’s why we teach new talent and support independent agencies and brands through my work at Infillion (MediaMath), helping more people access the MediaMath DSP.
Join once, stay learning forever. Past workshops, paid gems, and every new recording + resource added as we go. This library isn’t a one-time thing, it’s the full vault plus all future trainings, recordings, and guides.
Access it here: https://www.heleneparker.com/library
⏱ Timestamps:
• [00:00] – Welcome and workshop introduction
• [03:45] – Why optimization is more than bid adjustments
• [08:20] – Thinking like a scientist in programmatic optimization
• [13:10] – Understanding awareness, consideration, and conversion KPIs
• [19:30] – Optimization workflows and prioritization strategies
• [25:00] – Introduction to AI prompt engineering for traders
• [31:40] – Using ChatGPT and Claude for campaign analysis
• [38:15] – Building allow lists and exclusion lists with AI
• [44:50] – Geo insights and audience intelligence using AI
• [50:20] – AI, automation, and the future of programmatic trading
• [56:00] – Final thoughts and Q&A
👤 Meet Our Guest:
Assetou Kone – Programmatic Marketing Specialist and Consultant
Assetou Kone is a programmatic marketing expert with experience across multiple industries, including pharmaceuticals, retail, gaming, finance, and e-commerce. Her expertise focuses on campaign optimization, data analytics, audience strategy, and helping brands use AI-powered workflows to improve media buying efficiency and performance.
📎 Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/assetou-kone
💻 Meet The Team:
Hélène Parker – Chief Programmatic Coach
🌐 heleneparker.com
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helene-parker/
Manuela Cortes – Co-Host, Programmatic Digest en Español
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuela-cortes-/
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