Ad Context Protocol (AdCP)

The Ad Context Protocol (AdCP) is an open standard that enables AI agents to automate advertising workflows — discovering inventory, activating audiences, managing campaigns, and more — using a shared protocol that works across platforms.

AdCP defines structured tasks across eight domains: Accounts, Media Buy, Creative, Signals, Governance, Sponsored Intelligence, Brand Protocol, and Registry.

Classify implements the Signals domain, accessible via MCP (Model Context Protocol) transport — meaning any MCP-compatible AI assistant can connect to Classify's Signals Agent directly.

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Classify as a Signals Agent

Classify operates as a Marketplace Signal Agent within the AdCP ecosystem. When an AI agent — whether it's embedded in a DSP, an agency planning tool, or a standalone assistant — needs contextual targeting segments, it can query Classify's Signals Agent to discover and activate them.

Classify offers two catalog types:

Catalog	Description
Public	Pre-built IAB and seasonal segments available across open marketplaces
Personalized	Custom segments built for specific clients using Classify's segment creation capabilities

Supported tasks

Task	Status	Description
get_signals	Available	Discover segments matching a natural language campaign brief
activate_signal	Available	Activate a discovered segment for use in a campaign

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How it works

1. An AI agent describes what it needs — using natural language (e.g., "contextual segments for electric vehicle enthusiasts")
2. Classify searches its catalog — matching against public and personalized segments using the description and any filters provided
3. Classify returns matching signals — each with a name, description, deployment status across DSP platforms, and pricing
4. The agent activates a signal — Classify pushes a Deal ID to the target platform so the buyer can use it in their campaign

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get_signals

Discover signals matching campaign criteria. The agent sends a natural language description of the targeting it needs, along with where the signals should be deployable.

Request

{
  "signal_spec": "Contextual segments for electric vehicle enthusiasts, including EV reviews, charging infrastructure, and battery technology",
  "deliver_to": {
    "deployments": [
      {
        "platform": "the-trade-desk",
        "account": "buyer-seat-abc123"
      }
    ]
  },
  "max_results": 5
}

Request parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
signal_spec	string	Required	Natural language description of the desired targeting signals
deliver_to	object	Required	Where the signals need to be activated
deliver_to.deployments	array[object]	Required	List of DSP platforms and accounts to check availability against
deliver_to.deployments[].platform	string	Required	Platform identifier (e.g. "the-trade-desk", "amazon-dsp", "google-dv360")
deliver_to.deployments[].account	string	Required	Buyer seat or account ID on the platform
deliver_to.countries	array[string]	Optional	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes for geo targeting
max_results	number	Optional	Maximum number of signals to return
filters	object	Optional	Additional filters to refine results
filters.max_cpm	number	Optional	Maximum CPM price filter
filters.catalog_types	array[string]	Optional	Filter by catalog type: "marketplace", "custom", "owned"

Response

{
  "message": "Found 3 contextual segments matching your electric vehicle criteria, available on The Trade Desk.",
  "context_id": "ctx-a1b2c3d4",
  "adcp_version": "1.0.0",
  "signals": [
    {
      "signal_agent_segment_id": "clsfy-seg-1042",
      "name": "Electric Vehicles & EV Technology",
      "description": "Pages covering electric vehicle reviews, EV market trends, battery technology, charging infrastructure, and the transition from internal combustion engines. Includes automotive publications, technology outlets, and energy industry content.",
      "signal_type": "marketplace",
      "data_provider": "Classify",
      "coverage_percentage": 2.4,
      "deployments": [
        {
          "platform": "the-trade-desk",
          "account": "buyer-seat-abc123",
          "is_live": true,
          "scope": "platform",
          "decisioning_platform_segment_id": "ttd-ctx-1042",
          "estimated_activation_duration_minutes": 0
        }
      ],
      "pricing": {
        "cpm": 1.50,
        "currency": "USD"
      }
    },
    {
      "signal_agent_segment_id": "clsfy-seg-2187",
      "name": "Sustainable Transportation",
      "description": "Broader sustainability-focused content including electric vehicles, public transit innovation, cycling infrastructure, and urban mobility. Reaches readers interested in reducing transportation emissions.",
      "signal_type": "marketplace",
      "data_provider": "Classify",
      "coverage_percentage": 3.1,
      "deployments": [
        {
          "platform": "the-trade-desk",
          "account": "buyer-seat-abc123",
          "is_live": true,
          "scope": "platform",
          "decisioning_platform_segment_id": "ttd-ctx-2187",
          "estimated_activation_duration_minutes": 0
        }
      ],
      "pricing": {
        "cpm": 1.50,
        "currency": "USD"
      }
    },
    {
      "signal_agent_segment_id": "clsfy-seg-3305",
      "name": "EV Charging & Infrastructure",
      "description": "Focused on EV charging networks, home charging solutions, fast charging technology, and government incentives for charging infrastructure buildout.",
      "signal_type": "custom",
      "data_provider": "Classify",
      "coverage_percentage": 0.8,
      "deployments": [
        {
          "platform": "the-trade-desk",
          "account": "buyer-seat-abc123",
          "is_live": false,
          "scope": "account",
          "decisioning_platform_segment_id": null,
          "estimated_activation_duration_minutes": 120
        }
      ],
      "pricing": {
        "cpm": 2.00,
        "currency": "USD"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Response fields

Field	Type	Description
message	string	Human-readable summary of the results
context_id	string	Session identifier for follow-up requests
adcp_version	string	AdCP specification version
signals	array[object]	Matching signals (see below)

Signal object

Field	Type	Description
signal_agent_segment_id	string	Classify's unique identifier for this signal
name	string	Human-readable segment name
description	string	Detailed description of what the segment targets
signal_type	string	"marketplace" (public IAB/seasonal), "custom" (Classify-built), or "owned" (client-specific)
data_provider	string	Always "Classify"
coverage_percentage	number	Estimated audience coverage as a percentage
deployments	array[object]	Deployment status per requested platform
pricing	object	cpm (number) and currency (string, e.g. "USD")

Deployment object

Field	Type	Description
platform	string	DSP platform identifier
account	string	Buyer account on that platform
is_live	boolean	Whether the signal is currently active and targetable
scope	string	"platform" (available platform-wide) or "account" (specific to this buyer)
decisioning_platform_segment_id	string | null	The platform's segment ID for targeting. null if not yet activated.
estimated_activation_duration_minutes	number	Minutes until the signal is live. 0 if already active.

---

activate_signal

Once you've discovered a signal via get_signals, use activate_signal to make it targetable on a specific platform. Activation creates a Deal ID that the buyer can target in their DSP.

Request

{
  "signal_agent_segment_id": "clsfy-seg-3305",
  "deliver_to": {
    "deployments": [
      {
        "platform": "the-trade-desk",
        "account": "buyer-seat-abc123"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Request parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
signal_agent_segment_id	string	Required	The signal ID returned by get_signals
deliver_to	object	Required	Deployment target (same structure as get_signals)
deliver_to.deployments	array[object]	Required	Platform and account to activate on

Response

{
  "message": "Signal 'EV Charging & Infrastructure' is being activated on The Trade Desk for account buyer-seat-abc123.",
  "context_id": "ctx-a1b2c3d4",
  "adcp_version": "1.0.0",
  "activation": {
    "signal_agent_segment_id": "clsfy-seg-3305",
    "deal_id": "classify-ttd-3305-x7k9m",
    "platform": "the-trade-desk",
    "account": "buyer-seat-abc123",
    "status": "activating",
    "estimated_activation_duration_minutes": 120
  }
}

Once active, the deal_id can be used directly in the buyer's DSP campaign setup as a targeting parameter.

REST alternative

If you prefer to activate segments via a traditional API rather than through AdCP, see the Segment Activation API for the REST endpoint.

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Signal types

Type	Description
marketplace	Pre-built segments available in open marketplaces — IAB content categories, seasonal segments, and other broadly applicable targeting
custom	Custom segments built by Classify based on specific targeting criteria — prompts, seed URLs, or topic descriptions
owned	Segments the client created directly via the Segment Creation API — they own these segments, as opposed to pre-built marketplace or custom-built segments

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Connecting to Classify's Signals Agent

Classify's AdCP endpoint is accessible to any AI agent or platform that supports the Ad Context Protocol. To connect:

1. Obtain an API key — contact Classify or sign up at clsfy.me
2. Configure your AdCP client to point at Classify's Signals Agent endpoint
3. Send get_signals requests using your API key for authentication

For details on the full Ad Context Protocol specification, see the official AdCP documentation.