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Amazon’s advertising revenue rose by 24% year-over-year, reaching $17.7 billion in the third quarter, according to the company’s latest earnings report. This result exceeded analysts’ expectations and confirms Amazon’s growing strength in the digital ad market, a sector that continues to perform well despite broader economic uncertainties caused by ongoing tariff issues.
The company’s results also echo similar trends seen across other major tech firms this week: big investments in artificial intelligence. AI is increasingly powering Amazon’s ad systems, helping the company drive more effective and profitable campaigns. Following the positive earnings news, Amazon’s stock price climbed.
Amazon introduced a new generative AI-powered assistant in September, embedded within its Creative Studio. This tool helps marketers streamline their entire ad creation process, from researching products and brainstorming concepts to generating visuals and sound, and finally rolling out campaigns across Amazon’s ad platforms. The system uses AI to produce images, videos, and audio assets, making it a powerful end-to-end solution.
The company has significantly increased its investment in AI, boosting its full-year capital spending forecast to $125 billion (up from $118 billion). Executives added that spending will likely grow even further in 2026, as competition in AI intensifies.
CEO Andy Jassy highlighted that Amazon now reaches over 300 million U.S. consumers through its ad-supported channels, a massive audience for brands. He also emphasized the rapid evolution of Amazon’s demand-side platform (DSP). Originally tied mostly to retail media, the DSP is now compatible with major platforms like Roku, Netflix, Spotify, and SiriusXM. Jassy noted that over the past 20 months, Amazon has filled key gaps in the DSP’s feature set, which is now considered “fully featured” by industry standards.
Amazon’s AI initiatives are also resonating with shoppers. Rufus, the company’s AI-powered shopping assistant, has already been used by 250 million active customers this year. According to Amazon, people who use Rufus are 60% more likely to make a purchase. The tool is expected to drive more than $10 billion in additional annual sales, clear evidence of how AI is helping Amazon boost both customer engagement and revenue.
