TLDR: The Sun, a U.K. tabloid under News Corp, is actively developing an in-house AI agent to bolster its programmatic advertising capabilities. This strategic move is a direct response to the growing trend of agentic media buying being adopted by demand-side partners and ad tech firms, aiming to ensure the publisher remains competitive in an evolving digital advertising landscape.
London, UK – In a significant move reflecting the rapidly evolving digital advertising ecosystem, The Sun, the prominent U.K. tabloid owned by News Corp, is currently in the process of building an advanced AI agent for its programmatic advertising business. This initiative is designed to preemptively adapt to the increasing adoption of agentic media buying by demand-side partners (DSPs) and major advertising technology players.
Dominic Carter, Executive Vice President and Publisher at The Sun, articulated the company’s forward-thinking approach at the Digiday Publishing Summit Europe in Lisbon on October 27. Carter emphasized that the development is a direct response to observing technological advancements and the rising demand for agentic trading from industry leaders such as ad tech firm Scope3 and agency holding group WPP. “This is coming,” Carter stated, highlighting the inevitability of AI-driven transactions in the advertising world. He added, “We are watching and building and making sure that we’re ready… It’s going to be down to client adoption. And we just have to be able to play in that space… You have to be able to work wherever the money is.”
The core objective for The Sun is to create an in-house AI agent capable of seamless communication and transaction with buy-side AI agents. This strategic imperative follows closely on the heels of the introduction of the Ad Context Protocol (AdCP), an open-source standard designed to provide a common language for AI agents across advertisers, publishers, and ad tech. Additionally, WPP’s launch of Open Pro, its agentic AI marketing platform, further underscores the industry’s shift towards automated, intelligent media buying.
Carter elaborated on the necessity of this development, noting that if DSPs begin to change their operational models, publishers must reflect that change to maintain their value. He previously remarked, “Ad tech firms like Scope3 — using AdCP — will ask the publishers to give them the audience that they’re looking for, which means that we have to really think about us having an AI agent that talks with their AI agent… We’ve got to build that pretty quickly [because] someone’s now talking about it.”
The Sun’s proactive stance is not isolated. Other large publishers are also exploring and experimenting with in-house AI models, actively seeking demand-side partners for testing. The broader application of AI in media operations, including tasks like RFP interpretation, audience and campaign optimization, and reporting, is already gaining traction through platforms like Permutive. Publishers are increasingly drawn to agentic media buying for its potential to streamline the supply path between them and advertisers, thereby reducing reliance on numerous ad tech intermediaries.
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Beyond programmatic advertising, The Sun is also leveraging AI to enhance its nascent subscriptions business, which launched in February. The publisher is employing AI to personalize the customer journey, tailoring offers and content based on reader acquisition channels and consumption patterns. While Carter did not disclose specific paid subscriber figures, this dual application of AI highlights a comprehensive strategy to innovate across both advertising revenue and reader engagement.
