AEO for media buying platforms: AI search visibility ranking
How AI search engines rank media buying platforms by visibility and citations. 20 brands measured quarterly across Google AI Mode: which brands the AI names in answers, which domains it cites as sources, and how the leaders compare. Media buying platforms used to plan, buy, optimize, and measure digital advertising across display, video, CTV, mobile, and programmatic channels. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
Download this AEO ranking as a PDF
We'll email it to you. One-off send — no list, no follow-up, no surprise marketing.
When buyers ask AI engines about Media buying platforms, Basis emerges as the leader with an impressive visibility score of 12.5 percent. Following closely are StackAdapt and The Trade Desk, both proving to be strong contenders. These platforms consistently rank high in buyer inquiries, showcasing their prominence in the industry.
The rankings are shaped significantly by the sources AI engines cite most often. For Basis, top mentions come from basis.com, while other key sources include epom.com and galeforcedigital.com. The presence of aggregator and review sites like prnews.io and adstellar.ai suggests that AI engines rely heavily on third-party reviews to evaluate these platforms.
For buyers exploring this page, one essential factor to consider is how recent and relevant third-party validation influences AI rankings. Platforms with up-to-date reviews and strong topical authority in specific subcategories will naturally perform better. This underlines the importance of choosing a platform recognized by AI engines for its comprehensive and current feedback.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Basis holds the top composite score at 31.2, nearly ten points ahead of StackAdapt at 21.2 and almost double The Trade Desk at 17.5. That gap matters because it reflects a structural advantage in how Google AI Mode is treating Basis as a trusted source, not just a named brand. The remaining 17 brands in the category sit below a composite score of 9, meaning the top three are pulling most of the answer engine weight while the field barely registers.
The most striking divergence in this category sits between visibility and citation. The Trade Desk appears in 25.0 percent of responses but holds a 0.0 percent citation rate, meaning AI Mode names it without linking to it. Skai shows the opposite pattern, with 0.0 percent visibility but a 25.0 percent citation rate, suggesting it is being used as a reference source behind the scenes without being surfaced as a recommended brand. Basis is the only top-five brand where both metrics are meaningfully positive.
Google AI Mode is the sole engine recorded across all 20 brands in this audit, so all AEO performance here is Google-specific. The cited source list is revealing: alongside basis.com, the AI is anchoring on third-party review and agency sites including epom.com, galeforcedigital.com, brentonway.com, and prnews.io. Well-known platforms such as Display and Video 360 and Amazon DSP, despite recent visibility gains of 12.5 points each, are not appearing in the cited source list at all, suggesting brand scale alone does not drive citation authority in this category.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
StackAdapt 12% → 25% · rank #3 → #2+12pp
-
Display & Video 360 0% → 12% · rank #9 → #4+12pp
-
Amazon DSP 0% → 12% · rank #10 → #5+12pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
Basis 25% → 12% · rank #1 → #1-12pp
-
The Trade Desk 38% → 25% · rank #2 → #3-12pp
The AEO ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
basis.com
|
12% | 75% | Google AI Mode |
Basis leads all brands with a composite score of 31.2 and a 75.0 percent citation rate, more than six times the category average of 6.2 percent, despite visibility falling 12.5 points this period. |
||||
| 2 |
stackadapt.com
|
25% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
StackAdapt sits at 25.0 percent visibility, five times the category average of 5.0 percent, but its 12.5 percent citation rate suggests it is named far more often than it is trusted as a source. |
||||
| 3 |
thetradedesk.com
|
25% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
The Trade Desk matches StackAdapt on visibility at 25.0 percent but holds a 0.0 percent citation rate, the largest visibility-to-citation gap among the top five brands. |
||||
| 4 |
marketingplatform.google.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Display and Video 360 jumped five rank positions this period with a 12.5-point visibility gain, but its 0.0 percent citation rate means it is named in responses without being cited as a reference. |
||||
| 5 |
advertising.amazon.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Amazon DSP also rose five rank positions with a 12.5-point visibility increase, yet like Display and Video 360 it records a 0.0 percent citation rate and does not appear in the top cited sources list. |
||||
| 6 |
simpli.fi
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
skai.io
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
moloco.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
viantinc.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
quantcast.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
xandr.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
mediamath.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
smartyads.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
yahooinc.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
adform.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
criteo.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
liftoff.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
jampp.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
amobee.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
choozle.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on media buying platforms, these are the domains Google AI Mode cited most often. If you're not on this list — or if your competitors are — that's a concrete PR / linkbuilding target.
How to read this AEO ranking
Four things worth knowing before you act on the numbers above. These are the same definitions across every industry page — for category-specific observations, see the What we observed section above (where available) and the per-brand insights inline in the ranking.
Visibility = being named
A brand's visibility % is the share of AI answers that mention it by name in the response prose. This is who AI engines actively recommend to the buyer. More on visibility →
Citation rate = being trusted
Citation rate is the share of AI answers that include the brand's domain as a clickable source link. This is what the AI treats as authoritative evidence, different from being named. More on citation rate →
Top engine differs by brand
The "top engine" column shows which AI surface each brand performs best on. Big gaps between a brand's score across engines usually points to specific content or schema gaps. How AI engines pick sources →
AEO rankings move month to month
AI engines re-crawl and re-rank on shorter cycles than classical search. We re-audit every brand on this list at least every 90 days and refresh this page automatically. How AI search ranking works →
Run an AEO audit on your own media buying platforms brand
The brands above were curated from public market-leader lists. Want the same answer engine optimisation measurement against your own brand — including the queries you appear on, which competitors get named instead, and a prioritised fix list? Run a free preview.
Frequently asked about AEO for media buying platforms
Who leads AEO in Media buying platforms?
Basis leads with a composite score of 31.2 and a citation rate of 75.0 percent, well ahead of second-placed StackAdapt at 21.2 and 12.5 percent respectively.
What sources does AI cite most for Media buying platforms research?
Google AI Mode anchors on a mix of brand and third-party domains including basis.com, epom.com, galeforcedigital.com, prnews.io, and brentonway.com, suggesting agency and review sites carry significant citation weight in this category.
Can a brand have high visibility but low AEO citation authority in this category?
Yes, The Trade Desk appears in 25.0 percent of responses but has a 0.0 percent citation rate, showing that AI Mode can name a brand regularly without treating its own domain as a citable source.
Which brands are improving their AEO position in Media buying platforms?
StackAdapt, Display and Video 360, and Amazon DSP each gained 12.5 visibility points this period, with Display and Video 360 and Amazon DSP both rising five rank positions.
Does brand size guarantee strong answer engine optimisation performance in this category?
Not according to this data: Amazon DSP and Display and Video 360 are large platforms but both record 0.0 percent citation rates and do not appear in the top cited sources list, while smaller brands like Skai and Moloco do earn citations.
How concentrated is AEO performance across the 20 brands in this category?
Highly concentrated: the top three brands hold composite scores of 31.2, 21.2, and 17.5, while 17 brands score below 9.0 and several including Viant and Quantcast record scores of 0.0.