AdCP certification program

AdCP certification program: three tiers (Basics, Practitioner, Specialist) taught by Addie, an AI teaching assistant. Free foundational modules, member-only advanced tracks.

AdCP certification program

AI is remaking advertising. The question is whether you’ll direct the change or react to it.

AgenticAdvertising.org’s vision is a Cre(ai)tive Economy where every brand and creator thrives through agentic collaboration. That economy needs people who understand how these systems work — not just technically, but strategically.

Agentic advertising is already here — AI agents negotiating media buys, optimizing creative in real time, managing campaigns across channels autonomously. The people who understand how to direct these systems will shape what comes next. Everyone else will be catching up. The certification program exists to build that expertise.

The AdCP certification program gets you there through interactive, AI-guided modules. No lectures. No multiple-choice tests. You learn by doing — discussing real scenarios, working with live sandbox agents, and building your own advertising agent.

Ready to start? Talk to Addie

Open Addie and say “I want to start the certification program.” No account required — the Basics track is free.

What learning with Addie feels like

Certification happens in conversation. Addie, your AI teaching assistant, adapts to your experience level — asking questions, explaining concepts, walking through real scenarios. It’s like having a knowledgeable colleague who never gets impatient.

Addie assesses your understanding the same way: through conversation. Can you explain concepts clearly? Can you apply them to real scenarios? Can you use the protocol tools correctly?

The program is designed for anyone in advertising — programmatic traders, media planners, brand managers, agency executives, and engineers alike. No prior programming experience is required. Three modules, about 50 minutes total, and you’ll have earned your first credential. Most learners finish the Basics track in a few lunch breaks.

Everyone builds

You don’t need to be an engineer to build an advertising agent.

At the Practitioner level, you’ll build a real, working agent — a buyer agent, a seller agent, or a platform agent — using an AI coding assistant like Claude Code or Cursor. This is vibe coding: you describe what you want to build in plain language. The AI coding assistant writes the code. You validate it against real AdCP schemas and iterate on the design with Addie.

The coding part is fast. The real assessment is whether you can specify what you need, reason about how it works, and improve it through iteration. These are skills every advertising professional should have.

By the end of the Practitioner track, you’ll have built your own working advertising agent.

Three-tier credential model

Level 1 — AdCP basics

Free and open to everyone. Complete three foundation modules to demonstrate you understand what agentic advertising is, how AdCP works, and the full protocol landscape.

Modules: A1, A2, A3

Level 2 — AdCP practitioner

Basics plus a role track — ending with building your own agent. Complete the Basics modules and one role track (publisher, buyer, or platform). The track culminates in a build project where you create a working advertising agent. No prior programming experience required.

Modules: A1–A3 + one track (B1–B4, C1–C4, or D1–D4)

Level 3 — AdCP specialist

Protocol mastery. Deep dive into a specific protocol area: media buy, creative, signals, governance, or sponsored intelligence. Combines hands-on lab and adaptive exam.

Requires: Practitioner + specialist module

How it works

Each module follows the same pattern:

1. Read — Review the reading list on this page to build context
2. Learn — Start the module with Addie for interactive, Socratic-style teaching
3. Practice — Work through exercises against live sandbox agents
4. Demonstrate — Show you can do 3–5 specific things that every learner must demonstrate

Every module has a set of required demonstrations — the same for everyone, regardless of experience. An ad tech veteran and a first-timer both verify the same core competencies. Addie adapts the teaching to your level, but the bar is consistent. See how we teach for details.

Learning paths

Basics (free)

Everyone starts here. All three modules are free — no membership required.

Module	Topic	Duration	Free?
A1	Why AdCP	15 min	Yes
A2	Your first media buy	20 min	Yes
A3	The AdCP landscape	15 min	Yes

Role tracks (choose your path)

After Basics, choose the track that matches your role. Each track is four modules culminating in a build project.

Track	For	Modules	Duration
Publisher / seller	Publishers, SSPs, supply-side platforms	B1–B4	~103 min
Buyer / brand	Brands, agencies, DSPs	C1–C4	~92 min
Platform / intermediary	Ad tech platforms, exchanges, data companies	D1–D4	~89 min

Specialist modules (protocol mastery)

Each specialist module combines a hands-on lab with an adaptive exam in a specific protocol area. Requires the Practitioner credential.

Specialist	Protocol area	Duration
S1: Media buy	Transactions, pricing, multi-agent orchestration	45 min
S2: Creative	Asset workflows, format compliance, cross-platform adaptation	45 min
S3: Signals	Signal discovery, activation, privacy, optimization loops	45 min
S4: Governance	Brand safety, supply chain compliance, content standards	45 min
S5: Sponsored Intelligence	Conversational brand experiences, session lifecycle	45 min

Get started

Start with module A1

Open Addie and ask to start the AdCP certification program. Addie will guide you through module A1 — no account required.