At the unBoxed conference, Amazon moves AI from being a feature to playing a more central role in ad-buying and brings previously separate ad workflows together (Ronan Shields/Digiday)

Amazon is using AI to move beyond point features and into the core of ad buying, while also unifying previously fragmented ad workflows. For CIOs and technology leaders, this signals a broader shift toward AI-driven platform consolidation: tighter process automation, stronger dependence on integrated data and identity foundations, and greater leverage for Amazon in retail media and broader advertising budgets. IT organizations should expect more pressure to connect martech, adtech, and analytics systems cleanly while enforcing governance, measurement, and vendor-risk controls.