Amazon DSP Brand+ & Performance+ Update Explained

Amazon Ads has released its latest Amazon DSP Brand+ and Performance+ update, and it is one of the clearer signals yet of where the platform is heading. Ten new capabilities land across both products, and almost all of them point in the same direction: give the AI more to work with, then let it optimise harder.

That framing matters. This is not automation for its own sake. It is Amazon feeding its models richer data, better context and sharper signals, while keeping advertisers in a position to influence how campaigns are optimised.

For brand owners and marketplace teams who already know the fundamentals, the interesting question is not whether to switch these features on. It is knowing where they fit, what to feed them, and how to run them alongside human strategy rather than instead of it.

What actually changed

The update spans Brand+ and Performance+, Amazon's two AI-led campaign types within Amazon DSP. Between them, the ten capabilities cover audiences, inventory, remarketing and, most importantly, outcomes.

The headline additions include:

• First-party audience signals that guide the AI's optimisation, so your own data shapes who the models prioritise
• Expanded audio inventory across both Brand+ and Performance+
• Smarter remarketing using recency, frequency and dwell-time signals to judge genuine intent
• Prime Video behavioural signals to improve ad relevance
• Brand Outcome Optimisation, which moves campaigns beyond reach towards real actions
• Expanded Streaming TV supply through automatic deal selection

Individually, each is useful. Together, they tell a bigger story about how Amazon expects performance to be driven from here.

Brand Outcome Optimisation is the one to watch

Of everything in this release, Brand Outcome Optimisation is the most strategically significant. Historically, upper-funnel and brand-building campaigns have been measured on reach and impressions. Useful, but blunt.

Brand Outcome Optimisation shifts the goal towards actions that actually indicate brand momentum: branded searches, detail page views and add-to-basket events. In other words, it optimises towards signals that sit much closer to purchase intent, without abandoning the brand-building job entirely.

For FMCG and consumer brands, where the gap between awareness and a basket can feel invisible, that is a meaningful change in how upper-funnel spend can be judged.

The real shift: from automation to informed automation

It is easy to read a list of ten features as ten new buttons. The more accurate read is a change in philosophy.

For the last few years, Amazon's AI story has largely been about doing the work for you: automating bidding, automating placement, automating optimisation. This update is different. The emphasis is on giving the AI more signals, more data and more context so it can make better decisions in the first place.

First-party audience signals are the clearest example. Rather than letting the models optimise in a vacuum, you can now point them at your own understanding of who matters. The remarketing changes work the same way, using recency, frequency and dwell time to separate genuine interest from idle scrolling.

The AI is not being handed the keys. It is being handed better information, and advertisers still get to influence the direction of travel.

Why this matters now

Amazon DSP is no longer a niche channel for large brands with big budgets and specialist teams. It is becoming the connective tissue between awareness and conversion, spanning Streaming TV, audio, Prime Video and standard display.

As more of that activation becomes AI-led, the advantage stops being "we run DSP" and becomes "we run DSP well". The brands that pull ahead will be the ones feeding the models the right inputs and reading the outputs with a commercial eye.

This is also where the line between Amazon DSP and Sponsored Ads becomes worth revisiting. They do different jobs, and this update widens what DSP can be accountable for. If you are still weighing where each fits, our view on Amazon DSP vs Sponsored Ads is a useful starting point.

What this means for brands

The temptation with any AI release is to switch everything on and assume the algorithm will handle the rest. That is the fastest way to spend more without learning more.

Here is where we would focus.

Decide what you are actually optimising towards

Brand Outcome Optimisation is only as good as the outcome you choose. Branded search growth, detail page views and add-to-basket all mean different things for different brands. Pick the action that reflects your real commercial objective, not the one that looks best in a screenshot.

Feed the AI your best data, not your leftover data

First-party audience signals reward brands that have done the groundwork. If your audience strategy is thin, the models have less to work with. This is where AMC audiences and considered segmentation start to pay off, particularly now that Amazon has removed the paywall on its most powerful AMC datasets.

Treat automation as a lever, not a replacement

The point of informed automation is that it frees your team to think, not to stop thinking. Human strategy still decides budget allocation, creative direction, funnel structure and how success is defined. The AI executes within that.

Match the inventory to the intent

Expanded audio, Prime Video signals and Streaming TV supply give you more places to show up. More reach is not automatically more value. The expanded CTV opportunity, including work like the Amazon DSP and Channel 4 CTV integration, is powerful when it maps to a clear audience and outcome, and wasteful when it does not.

FAQ

What is the difference between Brand+ and Performance+?

Both are AI-led campaign types within Amazon DSP. Broadly, Brand+ leans towards brand-building and reach-oriented goals, while Performance+ leans towards lower-funnel performance and conversion. This update strengthens both, and Brand Outcome Optimisation notably narrows the gap by letting brand campaigns optimise towards intent-led actions.

Do I lose control if I use these AI features?

No. The defining idea of this update is informed automation. Amazon is giving its models more signals and context, but advertisers still influence how campaigns are optimised, from the audiences you supply to the outcomes you select. Control has moved, not disappeared.

Is Amazon DSP only worth it for large brands now?

Not any longer. Expanded inventory across audio, Prime Video and Streaming TV, combined with smarter optimisation, makes DSP relevant to a much wider set of consumer brands. The differentiator is how well it is run, not the size of the logo.

How does Advanced Partner status affect how these features get used?

It reflects a depth of platform access and expertise that shapes how effectively new capabilities are activated. If you want the detail, we have written about what Advanced Partner status really means.

Getting more from an increasingly automated platform

The Amazon DSP Brand+ and Performance+ update rewards brands that treat AI as a capable operator working from good instructions, not a shortcut past strategy. The features are the easy part. Knowing where they fit, what data to feed them and how to read the results is where the return lives.

As an Amazon Ads Advanced Partner, Toucan's Advertising team helps brands navigate exactly this: from Sponsored Ads and Amazon DSP through to full-funnel strategy, AMC audiences and advanced campaign activation.

If you want to put this update to work properly, talk to our Advertising team.