DPG Media opens its Ad Manager to AI agents, Belgian company D'Ieteren among first testers

On 29 October 2026, DPG Media announced that its Ad Manager platform is now open to AI agents used by advertisers and media agencies. The new tool, called Ad Manager Agentic, lets an AI agent create and manage advertising campaigns without going through the usual interface. Belgian company D'Ieteren is among the first businesses testing it, alongside media agencies. For Belgian companies buying ad space on the group's platforms, the way campaigns are run is starting to change.

1. An AI agent plugged directly into campaigns

Until now, launching a campaign on DPG Media's sites and apps meant going through a classic interface built for a human user. With Ad Manager Agentic, announced on 29 October 2026, an advertiser or its agency can connect its own AI agent to the platform through the Model Context Protocol, an open standard that lets an AI system talk directly to an external tool.

In practice, the agent can create a campaign, adjust its targeting and pull results in real time, without a person clicking through every screen. DPG Media now offers its tool in three ways, the classic interface, an API, and this direct route for AI agents.

2. Human guardrails kept in place

The group has built in what it calls human guardrails. Strategic decisions, budget approval and the actual launch of a campaign still require sign off from a person on the advertiser's or agency's side. Belgian company D'Ieteren is one of the testers in this closed beta phase, alongside Belgian and Dutch media agencies. A phased rollout is planned for the fourth quarter of 2026, ahead of a wider launch expected in early 2027.

3. What this means for Belgian advertisers

For a Belgian company buying ad space on the group's platforms, nothing changes immediately, since the tool is still in closed testing. But the direction is clear, managing display and video campaigns is increasingly going to run through automated systems able to act fast on targeting and bidding. The question is no longer whether automation is coming, but who supervises it and under what rules.

4. Questions to ask before adopting it

An AI agent that adjusts a campaign on its own raises real governance questions. Who checks that targeting stays consistent with the brand? Who is responsible if a budget is spent faster than planned? DPG Media's guardrails answer part of this, but every company still needs to check, in its own contracts with media owners and agencies, where the line sits between what the agent can decide alone and what needs human sign off.

The AI lens, humans first

On this kind of tool, artificial intelligence executes clearly defined, repetitive tasks such as building campaigns, adjusting targeting and pulling results in real time. It should not, however, decide on its own to change media strategy, raise a budget, or approve a message that affects a company's image. Those choices remain a human judgement call, one that the speed of AI agents should not be allowed to bypass. AI executes. Expertise decides, and keeps watch.