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AdCP and OpenRTB are complementary standards that operate at different layers of the advertising stack. They are not competing — a platform can (and often will) implement both.

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What each standard does

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Where they overlap

Both standards touch media buying, but at different granularities:
  • OpenRTB handles individual impression decisions: “Should I bid on this impression, and how much?”
  • AdCP handles campaign-level decisions: “What inventory is available? Execute this campaign with this budget and targeting.”
A single AdCP create_media_buy task might result in thousands of OpenRTB bid requests over the campaign’s lifetime.

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Where they’re different

Scope. OpenRTB is focused on the auction — bid requests, bid responses, win notifications, and billing events. AdCP covers the full campaign lifecycle: product discovery, creative management, audience activation, campaign execution, and delivery reporting. Communication model. OpenRTB uses synchronous HTTP: a bid request arrives, and the bidder must respond within a few hundred milliseconds. AdCP is asynchronous: an agent submits a create_media_buy task, and the platform processes it on its own timeline, returning status updates. Participants. OpenRTB connects demand-side platforms (DSPs) to supply-side platforms (SSPs) in automated auctions. AdCP connects AI agents to any advertising platform — including but not limited to DSPs and SSPs. Data model. OpenRTB defines impression objects, bid objects, and deal objects. AdCP defines media products, media buys, creative formats, audience signals, and brand governance rules.

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How they work together

A typical integration uses both standards at different layers:
  1. A buyer agent uses AdCP to discover available products on a publisher’s platform (get_products)
  2. The agent creates a campaign via AdCP (create_media_buy) with budget, targeting, and scheduling
  3. The publisher’s ad server executes the campaign by sending OpenRTB bid requests to the buyer’s DSP for individual impressions
  4. The buyer agent checks delivery via AdCP (get_media_buy_delivery) to monitor overall campaign performance
In this model, AdCP handles the strategic layer (what to buy, how much to spend, who to target) and OpenRTB handles the tactical layer (which specific impressions to win).

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Other standards in the ecosystem

AdCP and OpenRTB exist alongside several other standards: AdCP uses MCP and A2A as transport layers. It references IAB content taxonomies and audience segment standards where applicable.

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Frequently asked questions

No. They serve different purposes. OpenRTB handles real-time impression auctions. AdCP handles campaign-level agent workflows. A platform can implement both.
No. AdCP works independently. A platform that doesn’t use real-time bidding (for example, a direct-sold publisher or a commerce media network) can implement AdCP without any OpenRTB integration.
Yes. When a buyer agent creates a media buy via AdCP, the sell-side platform can use any internal mechanism to fulfill the order — including OpenRTB auctions, direct insertion orders, or private marketplace deals.
No. AgenticAdvertising.org is an independent member organization. It is not a subsidiary, working group, or affiliate of IAB Tech Lab. However, AdCP is designed to be compatible with IAB standards.