Programmatic and display advertising
Asked as “programmatic advertising platform”, and as “demand-side platform for display ads”, on behalf of a mid-market B2B software company. 58 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, six models each.
Standing · first-choice share
48%
Clear leader
48StackAdapt10The Trade Desk05Choozle36others
48% of first choices, clear leader.
Since September 2026▼−17Since September 2026: 61% → 44%, −17 points. Past the 12-point floor: movement. Read over the models both editions asked.StackAdapt held the lead, −17 points on 61%, past the floor.
The standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all six models, for a mid-market B2B software company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrantSince September 2026
01
StackAdapt48%10%60endorsed leader▼−17Since September 2026: 61% → 44%, −17 points. Past the 12-point floor: movement. Read over the models both editions asked.61% → 44%
StackAdapt48%10%60endorsed leader▼−17Since September 2026: 61% → 44%, −17 points. Past the 12-point floor: movement. Read over the models both editions asked.61% → 44%02
The Trade Desk10%41%59criticized challenger▲+1Since September 2026: 11% → 12%, +1 point. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.11% → 12%
The Trade Desk10%41%59criticized challenger▲+1Since September 2026: 11% → 12%, +1 point. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.11% → 12%03
Choozle5%0%11accepted challenger▼−1Since September 2026: 4% → 4%, −1 point. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.4% → 4%
Choozle5%0%11accepted challenger▼−1Since September 2026: 4% → 4%, −1 point. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.4% → 4%04
Demandbase3%4%28accepted challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 2% → 4%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 4%
Demandbase3%4%28accepted challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 2% → 4%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 4%05
Amazon DSP3%28%32criticized challenger▲+4Since September 2026: 0% → 4%, +4 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 4%
Amazon DSP3%28%32criticized challenger▲+4Since September 2026: 0% → 4%, +4 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 4%06
Meta Ads3%40%10criticized challenger▲+4Since September 2026: 0% → 4%, +4 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 4%
Meta Ads3%40%10criticized challenger▲+4Since September 2026: 0% → 4%, +4 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 4%07
Basis2%0%16accepted challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 0% → 2%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 2%
Basis2%0%16accepted challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 0% → 2%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 2%08
Google Display & Video 360 Lab in the set2%38%32criticized challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 0% → 2%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 2%
Google Display & Video 360 Lab in the set2%38%32criticized challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 0% → 2%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 2%09MediaMath2%45%11criticized challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 0% → 2%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 2%
Show the four products at 0%, ordered by negative rate
13DV3600%47%15criticized challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%
12
PubMatic0%9%11accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%
PubMatic0%9%11accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%10
LinkedIn Campaign Manager0%7%14accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%
LinkedIn Campaign Manager0%7%14accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%11
6sense0%0%11accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%
6sense0%0%11accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%The floor is 12 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one is noise, and both are shown. How the floor is measured
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its product page.
Google Display & Video 360 is made by Google, whose model Gemini 3.1 Pro is in the set. On the four share prompts that model made it the first choice zero times of 4; the other five models zero times of 20. Lab treatment is defined on the method page; the row is marked, not excluded.
Head to head
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
0102030405060708M09
101112D13
Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative60%
Key
01StackAdapt48%
StackAdapt48%02The Trade Desk10%
The Trade Desk10%03Choozle5%
Choozle5%04Demandbase3%
Demandbase3%05Amazon DSP3%
Amazon DSP3%06Meta Ads3%
Meta Ads3%07Basis2%
Basis2%08Google Display & Video 3602%
Google Display & Video 3602%09MediaMath2%
10LinkedIn Campaign Manager0%
LinkedIn Campaign Manager0%116sense0%
6sense0%12PubMatic0%
PubMatic0%13DV3600%
What they warned about
A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
The Trade Desk41%
24 of 59 labels negative · 10 of 6 models · 2 hard negative
“Enterprise DSPs like The Trade Desk ($50K+/month) ... aren't practical for small budgets” Grok 4.20, budget prompt
Google Display & Video 36038%
12 of 32 labels negative · 7 of 6 models · 2 hard negative
“($35K–$50K+/month, no self-serve) ... have high thresholds, complex contracts ... aren't practical for small budgets” Grok 4.20, budget prompt
Amazon DSP28%
9 of 32 labels negative · 6 of 6 models · 2 hard negative
“Amazon DSP ($35K+) have high thresholds, complex contracts, and are geared toward large-scale operations” Grok 4.20, budget prompt
DV360
47%
7 of 15 labels negative · 6 of 6 models
“mid-sized companies rarely have the $10,000–$20,000 monthly minimums required to secure a direct seat with Tier-1 enterprise DSPs like Google’s DV360 or The Trade Desk” Gemini 3.5 Flash, paraphrase prompt
What they cite
Citations exist only for the models that return a source list: fourteen of the six in this edition.
Sites the answers cite
74 of 84 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 14 of 6 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 1006 links across 279 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page. None of the 36 answers across every segment cited this index's own page for the category.
vendor site · Improvado39 answers · 51 citations · 9 models
vendor site · Demandbase37 answers · 46 citations · 13 models
34 answers · 41 citations · 12 models
vendor site · Madgicx28 answers · 32 citations · 11 models
vendor site · AdManage26 answers · 26 citations · 12 models
vendor site · Hey Sid21 answers · 26 citations · 12 models
vendor site · SmartyAds19 answers · 22 citations · 8 models
19 answers · 22 citations · 9 models
vendor site · ZoomInfo18 answers · 34 citations · 9 models
vendor site · Vibe.co18 answers · 19 citations · 10 models
16 answers · 16 citations · 7 models
vendor site · StackAdapt15 answers · 20 citations · 8 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
33 answers · 11 models
32 answers · 11 models
31 answers · 9 models
26 answers · 11 models
25 answers · 12 models
20 answers · 12 models
16 answers · 10 models
15 answers · 7 models
13 answers · 9 models
13 answers · 9 models
Search against answers
Each company's standing in the answers beside its site's footprint in Google search, one row a site: the products the models named on it with their shares, and the share they add up to; monthly searches on Google, and DataForSEO's estimate of AI search demand (modeled from search signals, directional, not a count of queries to any assistant), for the most-searched of the company's and its products' names (the name is in each row's hover text); estimated monthly organic visits to the site; and its best position in Google's top ten for “best programmatic advertising platform”, “programmatic advertising platform”. US estimates from DataForSEO and Google's Ads Transparency Center. A small company's site, or a mid-sized company's site for its flagship, is marked company; a product on a large parent's site (Google, Microsoft) has no site figures. A column with no figures for this category is left out, and an empty cell means none were seen, not none exist. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
| Company and products | Share | Own site cited | Name searches, Google | AI search demand, est. | Organic visits | Paid search a month, est. | Google ads, last 30 days | Best Google position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| StackAdapt stackadapt.com | 48% | 376 | 8,100 | 167 | 26,512 | $18,665 | 39 | 3 |
| The Trade Desk thetradedesk.com | 10% | 326 | 27,100 | 1,140 | 68,569 | $8,113 | 18 | |
| Google parent site Google Ads 3%, Google Display & Video 360 2%, Google Marketing Platform 2%, Google Ad Manager 0% | 7% | 168 | 550,000 | 15,818 | ||||
| Choozle choozle.com | 5% | 41 | 720 | 12 | 2,161 | $135 | 13 | |
| Vibe.co vibe.co | 5% | 71 | 1,900 | 4 | 13,556 | $75 | 60 | 1 |
| Demandbase demandbase.com | 3% | 672 | 5,400 | 211 | 42,531 | 34 | ||
| Amazon DSP amazon.com | 3% | 149 | 22,200 | 1,498 | 1,681,997,879 | $106,125 | 115 | 5 |
| AdRoll adroll.com AdRoll 3%, AdRoll ABM 0% | 3% | 214 | 2,900 | 50 | 52,273 | 18 | ||
| SmartyAds smartyads.com SmartyAds DSP 3%, SmartyAds 0% | 3% | 32 | 110 | 0 | 3,878 | 4 | ||
| Meta meta.com Meta Ads 3% | 3% | 171 | 49,500 | 1,504 | 9,891,853 company | $5,460 | 49 |
Google's top ten for the two searches hold 15 sites; 3 of them are among the sites the models cited here (improvado.io, stackadapt.com, vibe.co). The first result for “best programmatic advertising platform” is mediajel.com.
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.ShowHide
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ShowHideModelDirect“What is the best programmatic advertising platform for a mid-market B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which demand-side platform for display ads would you recommend to a mid-sized B2B company?”Comparative“What are the top programmatic advertising platforms and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best programmatic advertising platform for a company with a limited budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 500 person company evaluating a programmatic advertising platform. What should we look at?”Negative“Which programmatic advertising platforms should I avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Opus 5no first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Claude Opus 4.8no first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
GPT-6 Astrano first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
GPT-5.6 Solno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Gemini 3.1 Prono first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Perplexity Sonar Prono first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Bold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency. Full answer text is in the free responses file. Download the record
Zero rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
ShowHide
Category-scoped readings
Adform read as Adform DSP
Adobe read as Adobe Advertising
Adobe Advertising DSP read as Adobe Advertising
Facebook read as Meta Ads
LinkedIn read as LinkedIn Campaign Manager
Meta read as Meta Ads
Unresolved, counted raw
AdPersonam
Amazon Audience Network
Direct Digital Holdings
Evidon
Google Ad Exchange (AdX)
Google Ad Exchange / Ad Manager
Google Ads or DV360
Google Search Partners (GSP)
Google's ad-tech stack
GroupM
Havas
Kargo
LiveRamp RampID
Meta (Facebook) Ad Network
Microsoft Invest DSP (formerly Xandr)
OneView
Ozone
Ozone Project
Publicis Media
Spotware
TrustX
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.