5 Startups Using AI Agents to Automate Ad Ops and Marketing Tasks
Startups are betting that AI agents—technology that carries out tasks on behalf of humans—can take over the unglamorous grunt work of ad operations, and investors are buying in.
This year alone saw a new crop of startups, including Olyzon and Swivel, that automate media buying tasks like trafficking line items, rewriting video creatives for dozens of audience segments, and reallocating budgets in real time. While the human touch isn’t redundant yet, these bots promise to be faster, cheaper, and—according to their creators—more precise than the actual hands on keyboards.
In 2025, agentic AI startups have raised a whopping $700 million, according to Crunchbase, as investors bet on the next wave of AI-fueled productivity. Big tech players aren’t sitting out either, with giants like Google and Salesforce releasing their own agents for rote marketing tasks. By 2028, 33% of business software applications will incorporate AI agents, according to a 2024 Gartner report, signaling a broader shift toward automation in daily operations.
“Historically, ad ops have been a services business done in-house or by specialized consultants, so it makes sense to expect AI agents to replace and augment this business,” Sim Blaustein, early-stage VC Investor, 1745 Ventures, told ADWEEK. “[The question remains] if these agents will be able to achieve the margins and moats of classic software [or SaaS] businesses, or will they resemble the services businesses they replace?”
Here are five startups, listed alphabetically, using AI agents to automate the repetitive tasks behind modern marketing campaigns.
MarkeTeam
What its AI agents do: MarkeTeam equips mid-market brands with AI agents that act as extensions of in-house marketing teams. These agents integrate with internal systems—social media, analytics, and ad platforms—to monitor trends, analyze competitors, and make real-time optimizations. The startup, staffed by five AI agents, uses its digital workforce for content creation, SEO, and brand management.
