WTF is vector-based ad targeting?

This article is a WTF explainer, in which we break down media and marketing’s most confusing terms. More from the series →Traditional text-based ad targeting will always have its place. But in an ad marketplace run by AI agents, it may need to be replaced as the primary method of aiming ads.Imagine, instead of having to pick out keywords or check off audience segments, an advertiser could simply set a single value representing the specific content or audience it wants to target and then assign a radius for how narrow or broad it’s willing to expand a campaign’s reach from that defined point, or vector.

“I would love it as a vendor if [Meta] had vector-based buying. So instead of doing keywords, I actually want to buy this vector,” said Jon Morra, chief AI officer at brand suitability platform Zefr. He added, “I think that could be the future of agentic buying.”

WTF is vector-based ad targeting?

Vector-based ad targeting is taking a vector and—

Hold on. What’s a vector?