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SAN FRANCISCO—Instacart has launched a suite of AI-driven automation tools designed to optimize ad campaign performance and help brands of all sizes achieve their business objectives.
The newly introduced Universal Campaigns feature leverages machine learning algorithms to analyze performance data and automatically adjust the mix of ad formats, including sponsored product and shoppable display ads. With Universal Campaigns, advertisers can create a single campaign with a unified budget that dynamically optimizes across multiple ad formats in real time. This innovative approach allows brands to focus on their business goals while Instacart’s technology optimizes budget allocation and format.
Thorvardur de Shong
“At Instacart, we're motivated to use the latest technology to help our brand partners succeed in an increasingly complex advertising landscape,” said Ali Miller, VP of Ads Product at Instacart. “As the retail media space continues to mature, brands face more choices than ever about where and how to reach consumers. We're investing in AI-powered automation that can cut through some of that complexity – reducing manual setup and allowing advertisers to maximize performance aligned with their business objectives through automatic optimization across formats and placements. Ultimately, these innovations benefit consumers too, creating more personalized discovery experiences that help them find new products they'll love. We've developed these tools hand-in-hand with our advertising partners, and we're excited to see them drive meaningful growth for brands across the Instacart Ads ecosystem.”
Brands testing the Universal Campaigns feature have already reported positive outcomes. Rescue Dog Wines, for instance, saw an increase in new-to-brand sales compared to its previous single-format campaign approach.
“Universal campaigns are particularly useful for new customer acquisition,” said Rescue Dog Wines's CEO Blair Lott. “As a mission-driven brand, we value solutions that allow us to focus on what matters most – creating great wines that support the placement of rescue dogs into loving homes. We've seen an increase in first-time purchases since implementing Instacart's new capability, allowing us to introduce more customers to our wines while furthering our mission. The automation handles complex campaign decisions in real-time, giving our team the freedom to concentrate on strategic growth and brand storytelling rather than managing tactical campaign adjustments.”
"Instacart Universal Campaigns have been a game-changer for our brand,” said Mike Zirngibl, Marketing Director, 1st Phorm. “The ability to seamlessly target high-intent consumers across the platform has driven significant sales lift and solid ROAS while keeping our products top-of-mind at the moment of purchase. The automation and optimization features make campaign management effortless. If you're looking to maximize retail media impact, Instacart Universal Campaigns are a must.”
In addition to Universal Campaigns, Instacart is rolling out AI-Powered Landing Pages. These pages allow brands to create shoppable brand destinations in minutes. Using AI, they generate customized product showcases and marketing copy. Early adopter Celsius has already seen a 20% increase in campaign-attributed sales using this tool.
Instacart’s latest automation suite includes:
- Universal campaigns: A single campaign optimized across multiple ad formats in real-time.
- AI-Powered Landing Pages: AI-generated, shoppable brand pages for increased consumer engagement.
- Recommendations in Ads manager: Actionable insights that advertisers can implement with a single click.
- Enhanced product library: Tools designed to streamline large-scale product information management.
AI-powered landing pages are now available to all CPG advertisers, while the other automation tools are currently in a pilot phase with select brands, with broader availability expected in the coming months.
