AdCP Media Buy Protocol

This skill enables you to execute the AdCP Media Buy Protocol with sales agents. Use the standard MCP tools (get_products, create_media_buy, sync_creatives, etc.) exposed by the connected agent.

Buyer-side basics — idempotency replay, oneOf variants, async status:'submitted' polling, error recovery from adcp_error.issues[] — live in skills/call-adcp-agent/SKILL.md. This skill covers per-task semantics only.

Overview

3.2 preview: Targeting-aware discovery fields are available only when the seller serves AdCP 3.2+ and the installed SDK exposes the 3.2 schema. Check get_adcp_capabilities.adcp.supported_versions, pin the selected release in adcp_version, and validate the echoed served release before sending them. A missing release-precision declaration, a 3.1-or-earlier result, or a major-only declaration is not evidence of support: omit the 3.2 fields and use legacy targeting filters or explicit brief prose. Do not probe by sending unknown fields because a legacy open schema may accept and ignore them. The public training agent will implement this flow after the 3.2 beta SDK release; until then use its legacy brief exercise and do not treat ignored unknown fields as acceptance.

The Media Buy Protocol provides these common standardized tasks:

Task	Purpose	Response Time
list_products	Read matching offers without seller curation	~1-5s
request_proposals	Request seller-authored draft plans	~60s or async
refine_proposals	Revise drafts or finalize unchanged terms into inventory holds	~60s or async
decline_proposals	Record terminal buyer disposition	~1-5s
accept_proposal	Accept a finalized proposal into a MediaBuy	Minutes-Days
get_products	Use the 3.x compatibility facade for discovery and proposals	~60s
get_adcp_capabilities	See agent capabilities, supported protocols, and publisher properties	~1s
create_media_buy	Create direct buys or use the 3.x proposal adapter	Minutes-Days
update_media_buy	Modify campaigns	Minutes-Days
get_media_buys	Retrieve campaign state and status	~1-5s
sync_creatives	Upload creative assets	Minutes-Days
sync_catalogs	Sync product feeds and catalogs	Minutes-Days
list_creatives	Query creative library	~1s
get_media_buy_delivery	Get performance data	~60s
provide_performance_feedback	Share outcomes with publishers	~1-5s

Typical Workflow

1. Discover products: use list_products, or request_proposals with a brief
2. Verify the offer: inspect formats, pricing, forecast, overlay_support, and any targeting_resolution
3. Negotiate and hold: revise a draft as needed, then finalize it without changing terms
4. Accept or decline: call accept_proposal for the held snapshot or decline_proposals when the buyer stops pursuing it
5. Upload creatives: use sync_creatives to add creative assets
6. Monitor delivery: use get_media_buy_delivery to track performance

---

Canonical formats (AdCP 3.2)

Products carry format_options[]: a list of ProductFormatDeclaration entries describing the creative shapes the product accepts. Each declaration carries:

• format_kind — one of the 15 canonicals: image, html5, display_tag, image_carousel, video_hosted, video_vast, audio_hosted, audio_vast, audio_daast, sponsored_placement, native_in_feed, responsive_creative, agent_placement, seller_rendered_stateful_display, or coordinated_placements; use custom only with format_shape and format_schema
• params — per-canonical parameters narrowing the format (dimensions, durations, codecs, char limits, CTA enums)
• Optional format_option_id — disambiguates product options and identifies publisher-catalog declarations when paired with publisher_domain
• Optional v1_format_ref: [{agent_url, id}] — array linking this v2 declaration to one or more v1 named formats (for dual emission during the v1↔v2 migration). Multi-size declarations should carry one ref per size
• Optional seller_preference: "preferred" | "accepted" | "discouraged" — soft routing hint when a multi-format product has several options at the same price

Multi-format products. A flexible publisher slot is one product with N format_options entries — e.g., Pinnacle Media's homepage accepts image OR html5 OR display_tag at multiple sizes via three format_options, one per type. Buyer picks the creative type they ship.

Size flexibility. Display canonicals (image / html5 / display_tag) declare size in one of three modes: fixed (width+height), multi-size (sizes: [{w,h}] — mirrors OpenRTB banner.format[]), or responsive (min_width/max_width/min_height/max_height). Modes are mutually exclusive.

Discovering publisher catalogs. Call GET https://agenticadvertising.org/api/registry/publisher?domain=<publisher_domain> for publisher-origin → AgenticAdvertising.org community-catalog → fail-closed resolution and provenance. Add &include=placements for provenance-labeled placement summaries with resolved canonical format options. The lookup's top-level formats[] remains a lossy display summary; fetch the returned raw registry or hosting URL when you need custom schema fields or other omitted declaration fields. Do not infer publisher authority from a seller's product catalog. Seller-specific deliverability comes from that seller's Product.format_options[].

Conversion tracking lives elsewhere. Pixel-firing, conversion events, and attribution belong on sync_event_sources / event_log (campaign-scoped), NOT on creative format declarations. Sending pixel_id in platform_extensions on a format is a category error.

Error codes specific to canonical formats. FORMAT_PROJECTION_FAILED, FORMAT_DECLARATION_DIVERGENT, FORMAT_DECLARATION_V1_AMBIGUOUS, FORMAT_CAPABILITY_UNRESOLVED, FORMAT_DECLARATION_V1_LOSSY_MULTI_SIZE — all non-fatal advisories surfaced via the response errors[] array. See static/schemas/source/enums/error-code.json for full recovery semantics.

See docs/creative/canonical-formats.mdx for the full vocabulary, narrowing rules, and worked examples.

---

Task Reference

get_products

Discover buyable product configurations. Choose each request surface by what it means:

• brief: goals, context, semantic audience intent, preferences, and requirements without a structured representation.
• filters: hard offer filters such as metadata, dates, budget, availability, commercial fit, and reporting support. They decide which products may be returned and apply in brief, wholesale, and refine.
• targeting_overlay: exact delivery constraints known now. Use this for countries, ages, placements, properties, collections, and other typed targeting so availability, price, and forecast already reflect them.
• required_overlay_support: targeting dimensions whose values will be chosen independently on packages later. This requests capability, not one product per value.

Prefer a structured field whenever one exists. It uses fewer tokens, is applied by code, and avoids lossy inference. Explicit hard targeting written only in a brief is still binding; when a seller extracts a structured predicate from prose that materially affects eligibility, pricing, or forecasting, require one response-level confirmation in GetProductsResponse.targeting_resolution.brief_targeting.

Request:

{
  "buying_mode": "brief",
  "brief": "Premium video for a developer-tool launch; prioritize engineering and open-source contexts",
  "brand": {
    "domain": "example.com"
  },
  "filters": {
    "channels": ["olv", "ctv"],
    "delivery_type": "guaranteed",
    "pricing_currencies": ["USD"]
  },
  "targeting_overlay": {
    "geo_countries": ["US"],
    "demographics": {
      "age": { "min": 18, "max": 44, "include_unknown": false }
    }
  },
  "required_overlay_support": {
    "geo_metros": { "systems": ["nielsen_dma"] }
  }
}

Key fields:

• buying_mode (string): "brief", "wholesale", or "refine"
• brief (string): Natural-language curation input; hard statements remain requirements
• brand (object): Brand identity - { "domain": "acmecorp.com" }
• filters (object, optional): Hard offer filters that decide which products may be returned
• targeting_overlay (object, optional): Concrete targeting applied during discovery and carried into purchase
• required_overlay_support (object, optional): Dimensions the product must allow packages to select later

Response contains:

• products: Array of matching products with product_id, name, description, pricing_options
• Each product includes canonical format_options[] and targeting capabilities
• overlay_support: binding product-scoped dimensions selectable later
• targeting_resolution.modifications: sparse differences from the requested structured overlay; selecting the product accepts them
• Response targeting_resolution.brief_targeting: the seller's single structured interpretation of hard targeting inferred from prose
• No targeting_resolution means exact acceptance of the structured overlay only; it does not prove how prose was interpreted

Treat product_id as the opaque identity of this configured offer. Keep it within the same discovery/refinement context and purchase it before expires_at; do not assume it is a permanent cross-session ID.

---

create_media_buy

Create an advertising campaign from selected products.

Request:

{
  "brand": {
    "domain": "acme.com"
  },
  "packages": [
    {
      "product_id": "prod_configured_us_18_44",
      "pricing_option_id": "cpm-standard",
      "budget": 10000,
      "targeting_overlay": {
        "geo_metros": [
          { "system": "nielsen_dma", "values": ["501"] }
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "start_time": "asap",
  "end_time": "2024-03-31T23:59:59Z"
}

Key fields:

• brand (object, required): Brand identity - { "domain": "acmecorp.com" }
• packages (array, required): Products to purchase, each with:
  • product_id: From get_products response
  • pricing_option_id: From product's pricing_options
  • budget: Amount in dollars
  • bid_price: Required for auction pricing
  • targeting_overlay: Package targeting permitted by the selected product's overlay_support; it composes with targeting already bound during discovery and must not silently broaden it
  • creative_ids or creatives: Creative assignments
• start_time (string, required): "asap" or an ISO 8601 datetime (e.g., "2024-06-01T00:00:00Z")
• end_time (string, required): ISO 8601 datetime

Response contains:

• media_buy_id: The created campaign identifier
• status: Current lifecycle state — pending_creatives (no creatives assigned yet), pending_start (waiting for flight date), or active (serving immediately)
• packages: Created packages with their IDs

---

update_media_buy

Modify an existing campaign.

Request:

{
  "idempotency_key": "update-mb-abc123-2024-04-pause",
  "media_buy_id": "mb_abc123",
  "updates": {
    "budget_change": 5000,
    "end_time": "2024-04-30T23:59:59Z",
    "status": "paused"
  }
}

Key fields:

• media_buy_id (string, required): The campaign to update
• updates (object): Changes to apply - budget_change, end_time, status, targeting, etc.

---

sync_catalogs

Sync product catalogs, store locations, job postings, and other structured feeds to a seller account. Supports inline items or external feed URLs. When called without catalogs, returns existing catalogs (discovery mode).

Request:

{
  "account": {
    "account_id": "acct_123"
  },
  "catalogs": [
    {
      "catalog_id": "winter-collection",
      "name": "Winter 2025 Collection",
      "type": "product",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "sku-001",
          "name": "Wool Coat",
          "price": 299.99,
          "currency": "USD"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Key fields:

• account (object, required): Account that owns the catalogs — { account_id }
• catalogs (array, optional): Catalog objects to sync. Omit for discovery mode.
  • type (string, required): offering, product, inventory, store, promotion, hotel, flight, job, vehicle, real_estate, education, destination, app
  • items (array): Inline catalog data (mutually exclusive with url)
  • url (string): External feed URL (mutually exclusive with items)
  • feed_format (string): google_merchant_center, facebook_catalog, shopify, linkedin_jobs, custom
• delete_missing (boolean, optional): Remove catalogs not in this sync (use with caution)
• dry_run (boolean, optional): Preview changes without applying

---

sync_creatives

Upload and manage creative assets.

Request:

{
  "creatives": [
    {
      "creative_id": "hero_video_30s",
      "name": "Brand Hero Video",
      "format_kind": "video_hosted",
      "format_option_ref": {
        "scope": "product",
        "format_option_id": "video_30s"
      },
      "assets": {
        "video": {
          "url": "https://cdn.example.com/hero.mp4",
          "width": 1920,
          "height": 1080,
          "duration_ms": 30000
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "assignments": {
    "hero_video_30s": ["pkg_001", "pkg_002"]
  }
}

Key fields:

• creatives (array, required): Creative assets to sync
  • creative_id: Your unique identifier
  • format_kind: Canonical format accepted by the selected product
  • format_option_ref: Product or publisher option when format_kind alone is ambiguous
  • assets: Asset content (video, image, html, etc.)
• assignments (object, optional): Map creative_id to package IDs
• dry_run (boolean): Preview changes without applying
• delete_missing (boolean): Archive creatives not in this sync

---

list_creatives

Query the creative library with filtering.

Request:

{
  "filters": {
    "status": ["active"]
  },
  "limit": 20
}

---

get_media_buys

Retrieve media buy state: status, valid_actions, creative approvals, pending formats, and optional delivery snapshots or revision history.

Request:

{
  "media_buy_ids": ["mb_abc123"],
  "include_snapshot": true,
  "include_history": 5
}

Key fields:

• media_buy_ids (array, optional): Specific media buy IDs to retrieve
• account (object, optional): Filter to a specific account
• status_filter (string or array, optional): Filter by status — pending_creatives, pending_start, active, paused, completed, rejected, canceled. Defaults to ["active"] when no IDs provided.
• include_snapshot (boolean, optional): Include near-real-time delivery snapshots per package
• include_history (integer, optional): Include the last N revision history entries per media buy

Response contains:

• media_buys: Array with media_buy_id, status, valid_actions, packages, creative approval state
• Optional snapshot per package (impressions, spend, pacing)
• Optional history entries (revision, timestamp, actor, action, summary)

Relationship-scoped indicators

Before querying indicators, read get_adcp_capabilities.media_buy.supported_indicator_types. Indicators may appear at three levels:

• buy: get_media_buys.media_buys[] (budget_constrained)
• package: packages[] (creative_diversity_low, audience_saturation, inventory_shortfall_forecast, pacing_risk, budget_constrained)
• assignment: creative_approvals[] and the matching list_creatives.assignments.assigned_packages[] (creative_fatigue, creative_quality_opportunity)

indicators omitted means unknown. A present array requires indicator_types_evaluated and indicators_as_of; empty means clear only for those named types and coverage. scope narrows an assertion; indicators_evaluated_scope declares partial publisher/placement coverage. Creative-library sellers advertise list_creatives in relationship_notifications.projection_tasks; those sellers include media_buy_id, approval state, and any approval_scopes on every reverse assignment row. Every seller repairs through get_media_buys.

For portfolio discovery, call list_creatives with filters.indicator_types, include_assignments: true, assignment_projection: "matching", a bounded assignment_limit, fields: ["creative_id", "assignments"], and cursor pagination. The seller still returns the released required creative envelope; fields limits optional payload. Check assignments_truncated; use get_media_buys for complete repair. Key evaluated state by seller + media_buy_id + package_id + creative_id + type + normalized placement scope.

Never clear from filtered disappearance or failure. Reread directly without indicator_types; clear only a named evaluated type in covered scope from a strictly newer snapshot. Equal-timestamp conflicts are no-ops. Direct assignment deletion retires its keys.

Indicator polling through get_media_buys does not require webhooks. Sellers may additionally declare indicators.changed and may independently declare creative.assignment_changed; creative-library sellers may advertise the bounded list_creatives reverse projection. Subscriptions are prospective, so establish a complete get_media_buys baseline after activation by enumerating known IDs or requesting every media-buy status and exhausting pagination, without indicator_types. Verify, dedupe, and reread get_media_buys; webhook payloads are invalidations, not state. Timestamp-only reevaluation does not fire, while material in-place creative updates invalidate prior assignment evaluations. Root warnings[] on completed buy_products, accept_proposal, or control_media_buy calls are immediate receipts; create_media_buy and update_media_buy facades mirror them. Inventory and pacing warning codes require the matching advertised durable indicator type.

---

provide_performance_feedback

Submit one compact optimizer-ready assertion. Measurement agents call a buyer-controlled orchestrator gateway; the orchestrator authenticates and normalizes provider output, then calls each seller under the buyer's identity. Measurement providers do not receive seller-account grants.

Request:

{
  "idempotency_key": "feedback-mb-abc123-2025-01-final",
  "media_buy_id": "mb_abc123",
  "measurement_period": {
    "start": "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "end": "2025-01-31T23:59:59Z"
  },
  "performance_index": 1.2,
  "baseline": "campaign_target",
  "metric": {
    "scope": "standard",
    "metric_id": "conversions"
  },
  "producer": { "domain": "pinnacle-measurement.example" },
  "methodology": "deterministic_attribution",
  "final": true
}

Key fields:

• idempotency_key (string, required): Stable key for this logical assertion; retries reuse the same key and payload
• media_buy_id (string, required): Publisher's media buy identifier
• measurement_period (object, required): Time period with start and end (ISO 8601)
• performance_index (number, required): Normalized score — 1.0 equals baseline, lower underperforms, higher outperforms. Use observed/baseline for higher-is-better ratios and baseline/observed for lower-is-better ratios such as CPA.
• baseline (string, required for compact-contract producers): campaign_target, control_group, seller_history, buyer_portfolio, market_benchmark, or other
• package_id (string, optional): Specific package for package-level feedback
• creative_id (string, optional): Specific creative for creative-level feedback
• metric (object, optional): Standard/vendor metric identity; preferred over deprecated metric_type
• producer (BrandRef, conditionally required): Measurement provider that produced the analysis; required when methodology or methodology_version is present. The orchestrator verifies it against provider identity before preserving it on seller submissions
• methodology, methodology_version (string, optional): Provider-scoped open identifiers
• study_ref (string, optional): Opaque correlation reference, never an experiment-execution instruction
• evidence / evidence_ref (optional): Small inline summary and provider-hosted detail
• final, as_of, supersedes_feedback_id (optional): Maturation and immutable revision fields

Sellers declaring media_buy.performance_feedback also list measurement.core in top-level experimental_features and return feedback_id. When reports_application_status is true, inspect application_status: accepted is not an application claim; applied means the signal entered optimizer inputs; not_applied includes a reason. Do not confuse this with the response envelope's task status.

Do not send raw measurement datasets through this task or through report_usage. In the first gateway tier the provider reads delivery through the orchestrator's get_media_buy_delivery task and returns only the compact decision signal through provide_performance_feedback.

---

get_media_buy_delivery

Retrieve performance metrics for a campaign.

Request:

{
  "media_buy_id": "mb_abc123",
  "granularity": "daily",
  "date_range": {
    "start": "2024-01-01",
    "end": "2024-01-31"
  }
}

Response contains:

• delivery: Aggregated metrics (impressions, spend, clicks, etc.)
• by_package: Breakdown by package
• timeseries: Data points over time if granularity specified

---

Key Concepts

Brand identity

Brand context is provided by domain reference:

{
  "brand": {
    "domain": "acmecorp.com"
  }
}

The agent resolves the domain to retrieve the brand's identity (name, colors, guidelines, etc.) from its brand.json file.

Canonical format options

Products declare their closed accepted set directly:

{
  "format_option_id": "display_image_300x250",
  "format_kind": "image",
  "params": { "width": 300, "height": 250 }
}

Buyers select the option with format_option_refs[] on the package and submit a manifest using format_kind plus format_option_ref. Compound named format IDs are deprecated in 3.2.

Pricing Options

Products include pricing_options array. Each option has:

• pricing_option_id: Use this in create_media_buy
• pricing_model: "cpm", "cpm-auction", "flat-fee", etc.
• price: Base price (for fixed pricing)
• floor: Minimum bid (for auction)

For auction pricing, include bid_price in your package.

Asynchronous Operations

Operations like create_media_buy and sync_creatives may require human approval. The response includes:

• status: "pending" - Operation awaiting approval
• task_id - For tracking async progress

Poll or use webhooks to check completion status.

---

Error Handling

Common error patterns:

• 400 Bad Request: Invalid parameters - check required fields
• 401 Unauthorized: Invalid or missing authentication token
• 404 Not Found: Invalid product_id, media_buy_id, or creative_id
• 422 Validation Error: Schema validation failure - check field types

Error responses include:

{
  "errors": [
    {
      "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
      "message": "budget must be greater than 0",
      "field": "packages[0].budget"
    }
  ]
}

---

Testing Mode

Use sandbox mode for testing without real transactions. Sandbox is account-level — once a request references a sandbox account, the entire request is treated as sandbox with no real platform calls or spend.

Check whether the agent supports sandbox via get_adcp_capabilities:

{
  "account": {
    "sandbox": true
  }
}

To enter sandbox mode, set sandbox: true on the account reference:

{
  "account": {
    "brand": { "domain": "acme-corp.com" },
    "operator": "acme-corp.com",
    "sandbox": true
  }
}

Some sync tasks (sync_creatives, sync_catalogs) also support a dry_run parameter that previews changes without applying them. This is orthogonal to sandbox — you can use dry_run in both sandbox and production accounts.

See Sandbox mode for full details.