Performance Mode: Outcome-driven optimization — powered by AI

Manual optimization can only take traders so far in today’s programmatic environment. While automation has always been central to programmatic, modern campaigns span more signals and formats than ever before, making AI essential in helping you drive performance. When you opt in to Performance Mode (now available in closed beta testing), The Trade Desk’s AI, Koa, automatically applies outcome-driven capabilities, reducing manual effort while ensuring you get the most value out of the platform. 

• Get to know Performance Mode 

• Benefits for advertisers 

• A more performance-driven open internet 

Get to know Performance Mode 

Performance Mode is available exclusively within the Kokai platform and built for advertisers who want to optimize for efficiency and outcomes. It bundles Kokai’s advanced performance capabilities into a single workflow, which can save you time by optimizing toward your goals. 

While traders set up the strategy, AI handles campaign execution using advanced performance features that continuously adapt to real-time performance signals. 

Using Performance Mode is simple and intuitive: 

1. Start with your strategy. Traders define what success looks like and establish the guiding inputs and guardrails that guide optimization. That means that your goals, KPIs, campaign seed, and targeting parameters are the foundation. 

2. Amplify with AI. AI assists in evaluating every impression and activates performance features like Koa Optimizations, Audience Unlimited, Predictive Clearing, and Identity Alliance. Together, these capabilities expand audiences, connect identity signals, and automatically optimize price and allocation, meaning that campaigns can move toward your goals without manual tuning. 

3. Manage optimizations with confidence. Traders maintain visibility into what’s targeted, how bids and allocation are adjusted, which optimizations are applied, as well as where ads run and what’s driving performance. You can refine inputs and override Koa’s optimizations at any point, ensuring execution stays aligned with your strategy. 

This approach allows advertisers to benefit from AI-forward optimization while remaining hands-on with campaigns. 

Benefits for advertisers

Performance Mode is built to help advertisers pursue outcomes with confidence. 

• Designed to maximize outcomes automatically: AI applies advanced performance features to optimize toward the goals that you define.
• Adaptive optimization: Bids and allocation respond continuously as performance conditions change.
• Smarter audience expansion: Expand your existing audience based on your expressed targeting intent or use your campaign seed to find net new audiences based on relevance score.
• Clear visibility and control: Traders can review applied optimizations and adjust them when needed.
• Scalable execution: By applying a consistent, outcome-driven approach across campaigns and channels, efficiency improves as manual steps are reduced and time is recovered. 

These capabilities let teams focus less on day-to-day execution and more on guiding strategy.

A more performance-driven open internet

Performance Mode delivers value beyond individual campaigns. By automatically applying optimizations, AI can help drive stronger, more meaningful outcomes across the open internet, all while keeping trader strategy front and center.

While advertisers can pursue outcomes with greater confidence, the broader ecosystem becomes more efficient as quality supply connects with informed, outcome-driven demand.

Together, Performance Mode supports a more effective advertising environment where human expertise and AI-forward optimization work in concert.

Ready to use Performance Mode to deliver outcomes? Performance Mode is currently available through a closed beta user test. Reach out to your representative at The Trade Desk to learn more or use the form below to request access.

This information is provided solely for background and is not a representation or guarantee of any future performance.