Amazon Unboxed Toronto 2026: Key Announcements That Will Define Retail Media This Year
Amazon Unboxed Toronto just wrapped, and the announcements from yesterday are already reshaping how brands will compete on the platform this year.
The barrier to sophisticated Amazon advertising just collapsed. More brands will have access to enterprise-level capabilities. And the competitive advantage is shifting from execution to strategy.
Here’s everything that matters.
What Amazon Announced
Four launches will reshape Amazon advertising in 2026:
- Ads Agent – AI assistant that pre-drafts targeting strategies, optimizes campaigns through plain English commands, and makes AMC accessible without SQL coding
- MCP Server – Integration allowing Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini to connect directly to Amazon Ads APIs
- Brand+ and Performance+ Enhancements – Enhanced AI models with integrated creative optimization delivering 71% more new customers
- NBA on Prime – Exclusive live NBA games expand premium streaming inventory with direct tracking from ad view to Amazon purchase
Let’s break down what each actually does.
Announcement #1:
Ads Agent - AI-Powered Campaign Assistant
What it does:
Pre-Drafts Audience Strategies
Ads Agent analyzes your campaign settings and automatically pre-drafts targeting strategies, eliminating hours of manual audience research.
Makes AMC Accessible Through Natural Language
This is the biggest unlock.
Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) provides complete customer journey data and cross-campaign attribution, but it required SQL coding expertise.
Now you ask questions in plain English:
- “Which campaigns drive the most new-to-brand customers?”
- “What’s the overlap between my paid audiences and organic shoppers?”
Ads Agent translates to SQL, runs the query, returns the answer.
Why this matters:
When we found that 18% of Amazon ad budgets overlap with organic traffic (paying to reach people who would’ve bought anyway), that insight came from AMC. Previously, only brands with data analysts could find this. Now any brand can ask and get the answer in seconds.
AI-Powered Campaign Insights
Ads Agent delivers 67% faster campaign launches and significantly reduced daily management time through AI-powered search capabilities.
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Announcement #2:
MCP Server - The Integration That Changes Everything
What it does:
Amazon launched the MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server this week, allowing AI platforms like Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini to connect directly to Amazon Ads APIs.
Before MCP: Every AI workflow required custom integration. Want Claude to pull reports? Custom build. Want ChatGPT to create campaigns? Different custom build.
With MCP: One integration connects AI platforms to the full Amazon Ads API.
Pre-Built Tools for Complex Workflows
MCP Server includes pre-built tools that orchestrate multi-step operations:
- Account expansion: Expand campaigns to new countries with a single prompt
- Campaign creation: Create end-to-end Sponsored Products campaigns in one workflow (normally requires 3+ separate operations)
- Report generation: Pull performance data across accounts
- Billing management: Access financial data through natural language
These tools act as an instruction manual, turning complex advertising operations into simple actions an AI agent can execute.
Why this matters
Amazon just opened their platform to AI innovation beyond what they can build internally. Every agency, tech provider, and brand with development resources can now build specialized AI solutions on top of Amazon’s infrastructure.
Announcement #3:
Brand+ and Performance+ Enhancements
What changed:
Brand+ and Performance+ campaigns now feature enhanced AI models with integrated creative optimization built directly into the campaign workflow.
The results speak for themselves:
Advertisers running Brand+ and Performance+ together are seeing significant performance gains:
- 71% more new customers compared to running Performance+ alone
- 64% more purchases overall
- 150% lift in conversion outside of Amazon (driving traffic to brand websites)
- 34% boost in return on ad spend in Amazon stores
- 68% improvement in customer acquisition performance
What This Means
Before: You set up creative separately, then applied it to campaigns. Brand+ focused on awareness, Performance+ focused on conversion, but they were managed as separate efforts.
Now: Creative optimization is integrated directly into the campaign setup workflow. The enhanced AI models work together to optimize Brand+ (awareness) and Performance+ (conversion) as a coordinated system.
Why this matters: The data proves full-funnel works. Brands running both Brand+ and Performance+ together dramatically outperform those running Performance+ alone. This isn’t just about having both products. It’s about the AI now optimizing them as one interconnected strategy.
Announcement #4:
NBA on Prime - Premium Streaming Inventory Expansion
What it does:
Prime Video will stream exclusive live NBA games in the 2025-26 season, expanding Amazon’s premium sports inventory beyond Thursday Night Football.
Why This Matters for Advertisers
High-Intent Audiences at Scale
NBA viewership brings millions of engaged viewers who are:
- Actively watching (not passive background viewing)
- Tuned in for 2-3 hours (extended engagement window)
- Demographically valuable (sports audiences typically have higher purchase intent)
Premium Streaming Inventory
Unlike traditional TV or lower-tier streaming, Prime Video sports offer:
- No ad skipping
- Full-screen, high-attention environment
- Viewers who chose to be there (subscription-based)
Integration with Amazon’s Ad Ecosystem
NBA on Prime isn’t just video inventory. It integrates with:
- Amazon’s shopping data (targeting based on purchase behavior)
- AMC for customer journey analysis (did they see your NBA ad, then buy on Amazon?)
- Performance+ campaigns (connecting awareness during games to conversion later)
Why this matters
Most brands treat streaming video and ecommerce advertising as separate channels. Amazon just made them one integrated system. You can now measure the direct path from someone seeing your ad during an NBA game to purchasing your product on Amazon.
What This Actually Means
1. The Execution Barrier Disappeared
A $5M brand can now execute strategies that previously required $50M enterprise scale.
Implication: More brands will compete at advanced levels in 2026. If you’re not already using DSP, AMC, and full-funnel strategies, you’re about to fall behind fast.
2. Strategy Is the Only Competitive Advantage Left
When AI handles campaign building, SQL queries, and bid optimization automatically, what’s left?
The only advantage: Knowing what to build, who to target, and why.
AI optimizes for patterns in data. Humans optimize for outcomes that matter to specific business goals.
3. AMC Becomes Non-Negotiable
With Ads Agent making AMC accessible through plain English, every brand now has access to:
- Customer journey analysis
- True incrementality measurement
- Audience overlap detection
- Cross-campaign attribution
The brands using AMC strategically will identify inefficiencies competitors miss.
4. The MCP Server Opens New Possibilities
Amazon just enabled agencies and tech providers to build AI solutions on their platform.
In 6-12 months, there will be dozens of specialized AI agents:
- Category-specific optimization tools
- Predictive budget allocation systems
- Automated competitive intelligence
- Cross-retailer campaign orchestration
Brands partnering with agencies building on MCP Server will have capabilities competitors can’t match.
5. NBA on Prime Creates New Full-Funnel Opportunities
Sports streaming isn’t just awareness advertising anymore. With Amazon’s integrated ecosystem, you can now:
- Run ads during NBA games
- Track viewers who later visit your Amazon storefront
- Retarget them with product ads
- Measure exact ROI from streaming to purchase
The opportunity: Most brands can’t connect TV advertising to ecommerce results. Amazon just made that possible.
THE BOTTON LINE
Amazon Unboxed Toronto 2026 didn’t just announce new features. It announced the end of execution as a competitive advantage.
AI now handles:
- Campaign building
- Optimization
- SQL queries
- Performance analysis
AI can’t handle:
- Strategic direction
- Business context
- Creative judgment
- Cross-channel orchestration
The brands winning in 2026 will master AI-augmented strategy: using automation for speed, using human expertise for direction, and combining both into systematic competitive advantage.