Publishers still treat agentic advertising as a test-and-learn bet, not proven revenue

Key points

• Many publishers say agentic media buying remains experimental and has not yet delivered proven returns, per Digiday's Advertising Week New York interviews.
• The Economist's Jamie Jouning says it would be hard to get leadership investment for agentic buying, and the company will test in the background.
• Newsweek CRO Danielle Varvaro says the company is still evaluating deals and asks how ROI would be measured for brands.
• Media agencies are moving agentic buying into real campaigns, while publishers prioritize near-term revenue such as B2B and video, per KPI Village's Amit Grover.

Why it matters for marketers: Content and sales teams should expect slow publisher uptake of agent-led buying and plan for ROI measurement questions in test campaigns.