unBoxed 2025: Amazon’s Full-Funnel Glow-Up

What This Means for Planning

If you’re US-based, you have access to the most advanced AI capabilities right now, but you’re also testing tools that other markets won’t see for months. Global brands need to plan for staggered rollouts, with US strategies potentially six months ahead of international markets.

Markets without AI tools need to build manual processes that replicate these capabilities. Budget allocation should account for capability gaps. US advertisers report 18% lower CPMs and 16% lower CPAs with Ads Agent targeting, creating a structural efficiency advantage that competitors in other markets simply don’t have access to yet. 

The 2026 timeline for Full Funnel Campaigns means you should continue building advanced cross-product strategies manually through Campaign Manager today. Whatever you do, don’t wait for automation that won’t arrive until next year.

Feature Availability by Market

Campaign Manager: One Console to Rule Them All

Amazon finally killed the “tab-hopping nightmare” and replaced it with a unified workspace. Think of it as the Marie Kondo of ad platforms: everything in one place, everything sparking joy.

• Smart search cuts workflow tasks by 26% (translation: fewer late nights clicking through menus).

• Guidance cards tell you what you’re screwing up, politely.

• Multi-account management means no more logging in/out like a hacker.

Pair it with Ads Agent and routine optimization suddenly feels less like punishment and more like actual productivity. The console now behaves like one system instead of a collection of separate parts that barely acknowledge each other’s existence. Sure, there’s a learning curve, but the efficiency gains are worth the initial adjustment period.

The AI Layer: Amazon’s New Frenemies

Creative Agent

Pulls info from Brand Stores and PDPs to spit out concepts, scripts, images, audio, and rough TV edits. Great for quick Sponsored Brands videos or seasonal campaigns.
Catch: Complex categories with layered benefits push it past its comfort zone. Streaming TV creative (particularly Prime Video and Thursday Night Football placements) still requires human oversight to ensure proper narrative weight and pacing. Treat it as a starter engine for rough cuts, not a complete creative solution

Ads Agent

Amazon’s AI assistant for campaign management. It brags about 18% lower CPMs and 16% lower CPAs. Also claims it can cut campaign setup time from an hour to 10 minutes.
Catch: It’s smart, but not that smart. Multi-step logic sometimes misfires and heavier queries can break. The placement inside the console feels one layer deeper than it should. It works best as an intelligence layer that highlights what deserves attention. Decisions tied to budgets, structure, and long-term planning still benefit from human judgment.

Performance+: Three Major Enhancements

Now with:
Consideration tactic (targets shoppers who are actually thinking about buying, not just window-shopping)
Streamlined creative workflow (70 clicks → 4 clicks, hallelujah)
Insights cards (time-to-convert metrics, shopper traits)
Catch: US-only. Sorry, rest of the world…you’re still stuck in the old version.

Full Funnel Campaigns: The 2026 Tease

Amazon’s promising one campaign type to rule them all — Sponsored Products, Brands, display, streaming TV, all optimized by AI. Once live, Full Funnel Campaigns will give brands a single entry point into holistic planning, making it easier to move into CTV and upper funnel placements without creating separate campaigns or managing multiple platforms. 
Catch: It’s vaporware until 2026. Keep grinding manually in Campaign Manager until then. Automation isn’t coming to save you… yet.

Premium Placements: Pay to Play

If bidding wars give you anxiety and you’d rather just throw money at guaranteed visibility, Amazon’s got you covered. These premium placements trade auction uncertainty for fixed-price peace of mind. Perfect for launches, seasonal peaks, or when you absolutely need to own the homepage. 

• Reserved Ads: Fixed-price homepage hero spots. Translation: guaranteed flex.
• Complete TV: Streaming campaign type that actually delivers on commitments. US-only.
• Inventory Hub: Cuts deal negotiation from weeks to days. Because who has patience anymore?

New Formats: Because Static Ads Are Boring

Static display ads had a good run, but Amazon clearly decided shoppers deserve better. These new formats let you show off products in motion, curate dynamically, and localize at scale. Basically everything you’d build yourself if you had unlimited dev resources and zero deadlines.

• Sponsored Products Video: Show off product features with interactive overlays. US-only.
• Sponsored Brands Collections: Dynamic curation worldwide. Lazy marketer’s dream.
• Reserve Share of Voice: Lock down top-of-search placements. Branded keywords go from 62% → 99% impression share.
• Location-Based Interactive Video: National ads with local flavor. US-only.
• Podcast Audience Network: Ads in podcasts. Because silence is overrated.

Measurement Glow-Up

Amazon’s measurement tools got a serious upgrade. Longer lookback windows, Prime Video viewing data, competitive benchmarking, and the ability to bring your own models.

• AMC lookback extended to 25 months (finally, year-over-year analysis without spreadsheets from hell).
• Prime Video Insights (because knowing what your audience binge-watches is apparently useful).
• Custom Models for Audience (bring your own algorithm, flex in Clean Rooms).
• Benchmarks tool (US-only, aka “see how badly you’re losing to competitors”).
• Bring Your Own Model for MMM (US/CA/EU5/JP).

What You Should Actually Do

US Advertisers
Play with Ads Agent now. Test Creative Agent. Reserve branded search terms before launches.

Canada
Use Inventory Hub. Build manual processes to mimic Ads Agent until it arrives.

Europe
Lean into Campaign Manager + AMC. Document everything so you can sprint when AI tools finally show up.

Other Markets
Use global features aggressively. Build playbooks. Accept that US advertisers have a structural advantage for now.

The System is Taking Shape

The industry is shifting quickly, and AI is becoming part of the everyday workflow. Taken together, Amazon’s announcements show a clear direction toward a more connected, efficient, and intelligent way of advertising.

Stronger tools create room for better storytelling. Smarter AI gives teams more space for strategy. Better signals drive better outcomes. An ecosystem that connects every part of the funnel is exactly the kind of a place where brands can grow.

But here’s the reality: the geographic rollout timelines mean that “Amazon Ads” in 2025 describes fundamentally different platforms depending on where you’re advertising. A US advertiser with full access to Ads Agent, Creative Agent and Performance+ enhancements is working with capabilities that a European advertiser relying on Campaign Manager and manual optimization simply doesn’t have.

The opportunity is real. The tools are powerful. The question is whether your market has access to them yet, and if not, how you’ll compete until they arrive.