In the Kokai platform experience, the "seed" is a foundational data input – ideally derived from converted customers or CRM data – that functions as the trajectory-setter for the entire campaign. This seed powers relevance calculations and provides the AI with a profile of the "ideal customer" to clone across the open internet, ensuring all decisions are informed by advertisers' most valuable signals.

TTD utilizes sophisticated tracking tags (pixels), which are pieces of HTML or JavaScript code placed on web pages to monitor visitor activity for reporting and attribution purposes. The Universal Pixel is a particularly powerful tool that allows for the management of multiple processes through a single integration, supporting real-time web tracking and cross-device retargeting in a privacy-compliant manner.

The platform is built as an "open system," utilizing enterprise APIs and the Campaign Connector to facilitate a seamless flow of data between the DSP and external tools. This allows clients to build custom integrations that automatically sync campaign data with internal reporting systems, Google Analytics, or CRMs, enabling a unified and longitudinal view of the entire customer journey.

Media buyers have access to a marketplace containing hundreds of thousands of segments from third-party providers, which can be easily searched and compared within the Data Marketplace tile [Dm]. TTD surfaces unique relevance and value scores for these segments – relevance predicts similarity to the advertiser's seed audience, while the value score helps them identify the most cost-efficient segments relative to their impact.

Through massive partnerships with global leaders like Walmart, Lidl, Kaufland, and Ocado, TTD provides access to deterministic, purchase-based data. This allows advertisers to target based on verified purchase history and loyalty program signals; for example, CPG brands using this retail data have seen a 72% reduction in cost per unique household reach.

TTD spearheaded Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) and its European counterpart EUID, which are open-source identity frameworks designed to preserve relevant advertising on the open internet without relying on third-party cookies. These frameworks use hashed and salted email addresses or phone numbers to create privacy-safe identifiers, enabling precise targeting and cross-device frequency management while giving consumers better data controls.

Introduced in 2018, Koa is a proprietary AI engine that functions as an expert assistant, adding superhuman processing power to a media buyer's strategic intuition. Koa continuously monitors campaign patterns to identify inventory opportunities traders might miss and predicts campaign performance before significant budget is even expended.

The platform's AI evaluates up to 15 million ad opportunities every second, calculating each impression's unique value to the specific campaign based on KPI predictions and relevance. This allows for dynamic bidding, where the AI stack-ranks qualifying impressions and can bid slightly higher for high-value users or lower when it recognizes equivalent value is available at a lower price.

Within the Budget Allocation tile [B], advertisers can opt for an automated strategy where the AI monitors the performance and relevance of various ad groups mid-flight. The system then automatically reallocates funds toward the most valuable placements, a feature that contributed to a 103% increase in ROAS for a prominent food and drink brand.

This supply path optimization initiative provides a direct, simplified connection to premium publishers, effectively cutting out unnecessary middleman fees. By creating "clean pipes" directly into publisher inventory, OpenPath improves transaction economics and has been shown to increase ad fill rates by up to 4x for major publishers like Hearst.

TTD is developing Open Ads, an open-source auction model designed to raise the bar for auction integrity. This model is intended to reduce duplication and detect obfuscation by sellers, ensuring that advertisers can trust the referee of the digital marketplace.

PubDesk improves the supply chain by allowing the sell-side to see what TTD values so they can adjust their inventory accordingly. Meanwhile, Deal Desk uses AI to predict how a one-to-one deal will perform relative to the open market, giving traders the tools to avoid poor-performing deals.

This partnership connects advertisers with highly engaged audiences across Europe via Sky Deutschland and RTL+. It provides access to premium Addressable TV, linear TV, and SAVOD assets, leveraging unique first-party broadcaster data for precise genre and lifestyle targeting.

Programmatic Digital Out-of-Home (pDOOH) enables access to premium billboard networks, train stations, and malls via native SSP integrations like Ströer, VIOOH, and Hivestack. These outdoor campaigns become a seamless part of omnichannel strategies, allowing for real-time triggers based on weather, footfall, or events.

The Sellers and Publishers 500+ offers one-click access to a curated list of premium placements to reach high-value audiences at scale. Furthermore, TTD now brings onsite retail media inventory (such as sponsored product ads) to advertisers through integrations like Koddi, allowing brands to drive conversions directly at the point of purchase on retailer sites like Gopuff.

By matching ad exposure directly to verified online and in-store sales from retail partners, TTD allows brands to close the loop between media spend and actual purchases. Tools like the Retail Sales Index (RSI) aggregate data across various retailers to provide a unified view of total revenue and ROAS, replacing modeled estimates with deterministic outcomes.

The platform features unique metrics like the TV Quality Index (TVQI), which quantifies Connected TV performance – a channel where traditional metrics like clicks don't apply. Additionally, the Quality Reach Index (QRI) helps users grade their targeting tactics by comparing how well their reach matches their "seed" audience of most valuable customers.

The Kokai user interface reorganizes the programmatic universe into a single-screen interface that surfaces top-line performance data directly next to decision-making tiles. For deeper analysis, users can download multi-dimensional Excel reports in seconds, which include more detailed data cuts than are shown in the primary UI and are refreshed daily.