If you’ve been frustrated by opaque third‑party data fees and mixed results from prebuilt segments, The Trade Desk’s new Audience Unlimited aims to change the calculus. According to the official Business Wire announcement, The Trade Desk announces a major overhaul of its digital advertising data marketplace (Sept 29, 2025), introducing AI‑scored audience selection and clearer pricing tied to trading modes. Disclosure: We are not affiliated with or compensated by The Trade Desk; this is an independent review.
In short, Audience Unlimited (AU) is an AI‑powered layer inside The Trade Desk’s Kokai platform that scores and ranks thousands of third‑party datasets from hundreds of providers, aiming to surface the most relevant audiences for your objective. The announcement describes support across channels including CTV, retail media, web, and mobile, along with a rollout beginning with select agencies in late 2025 and broader access in early 2026, as detailed in the The Trade Desk investor news detail on the launch (2025).
Two AI “Koa Adaptive Trading Modes” sit alongside AU:
Trade press coverage consistently echoes these changes and timing, with summaries such as the Campaign Asia breakdown of AI scoring and pricing tiers (2025) and the PPC Land recap of the data marketplace overhaul (2025).
One standout element here is transparent pricing in Control Mode:
Why this matters: Most DSPs bundle or negotiate third‑party data fees within curated packages, making apples‑to‑apples cost comparisons difficult. AU’s explicit percentages let you forecast the CPM impact with simple math (see below).
To sanity‑check the cost implications, convert percentage fees to a CPM add‑on:
Historically, many a la carte third‑party datasets effectively added dollars to CPMs rather than cents. AU’s structure could reduce the “data tax” materially—but the real question is whether AI‑scored audiences also deliver equal or better performance (CPA/ROAS, reach quality) for your specific goals. As of late 2025, no public case studies quantify AU’s lift; evidence is largely limited to official descriptions and trade coverage (insufficient public performance data to cite).
Audience Unlimited lives inside The Trade Desk’s broader identity‑enabled ecosystem. While AU’s press materials don’t spell out identity specifics, it’s relevant context that The Trade Desk pioneered Unified ID 2.0 (UID2), an open, consented identifier framework designed for the open internet. For background, see the UID2 overview documentation (maintained by the UID2 community). This helps frame how deterministic identity can power addressable reach in channels like web, apps, and CTV. Note: the launch materials do not explicitly claim “AU integrates UID2”; treat UID2 as ecosystem context rather than an AU feature promise.
You don’t need to wait for third‑party studies to evaluate AU. Structure a clean pilot and measure it rigorously:
Tip: Before you pick audiences, align targeting with your buyer personas and funnel goals. If you need a refresher on upstream audience thinking, this primer on SEO explained for audience intent offers helpful groundwork that applies beyond organic. For broader planning, see how to structure a CMI‑style marketing strategy to keep paid and owned efforts in synch.
What impressed us
What gives us pause
Below is a practical, non‑exhaustive comparison using criteria that matter to media buyers. Because competitors’ fee schedules are often confidential or bundled, the emphasis is on transparency and workflow implications rather than exact price parity.
Criterion | Audience Unlimited (TTD) | Google DV360 | Amazon DSP | Yahoo DSP |
---|---|---|---|---|
Data pricing transparency | Explicit 3.3%/4.4% in Control; included in Performance Mode | Generally bundled/opaque within curated packages; partner add‑ons vary | Often bundled or negotiated; public rate cards uncommon | Often bundled/negotiated; limited public detail |
AI audience assistance | AU scores/ranks third‑party datasets; Koa optimization modes | ML‑driven features like Optimized Targeting and audience expansion (details vary by tactic) | Amazon first‑party insights with predictive audiences; specifics vary | Identity and audience products exist; AI features vary |
Channels | CTV, retail media, web, mobile (per launch) | Display, video, CTV, audio; strong YouTube/partners | Display, video, CTV across Amazon‑owned and third‑party inventory | Display, video, mobile, CTV |
Identity context | Lives within TTD’s UID2/EUID ecosystem context (not an AU‑specific claim) | Google privacy‑safe signals; limited cookie reliance | Robust logged‑in shopper identity | Yahoo first‑party identity signals |
Measurement transparency | Standard DSP reporting; AU‑specific lift evidence not yet public | Mature reporting; partner integrations | Mature reporting; retail media attribution options | Mature reporting; partner integrations |
Interpretation
Weights reflect what matters most to performance buyers. Where public evidence is missing, we note “Insufficient data.” These are provisional and should be updated after pilots.
Provisional total: 73/100 (subject to change with real‑world results). Note: Scores will be revised when independently auditable data emerges.
Recommended to pilot if any of the following apply:
Consider waiting or limiting scope if:
Audience Unlimited is one of the clearest attempts to demystify third‑party data buying in a major DSP. The explicit 3.3%/4.4% Control Mode fees—and inclusion in Performance Mode—make cost modeling refreshingly straightforward. The open question is performance: will AI‑scored segments consistently beat your baseline audiences on CPA/ROAS and reach quality? With no public benchmarks as of late 2025, the prudent move is to run a structured pilot in both Koa modes, track cost‑per‑outcome rigorously, and keep your procurement path flexible until you see lift.
If AU’s AI ranking materially improves efficiency at cents‑on‑the‑dollar CPM add‑ons, it could become a default switch‑on for many campaigns. If not, you’ll still have learned precisely where AI‑assisted audience discovery fits in your playbook—without guesswork.
References and evidence anchors in this review include the 2025 Business Wire launch press release detailing AU and pricing, The Trade Desk’s investor news page outlining modes and rollout, Campaign Asia’s coverage of AI scoring and pricing tiers, PPC Land’s recap of the overhaul and timing, BestMediaInfo’s summary of pricing and modes, and the UID2 community’s overview documentation for identity context.