Formats & creative · also called DCO, dynamic creative
DCO (dynamic creative optimization)
DCO (dynamic creative optimization) is technology that assembles ads automatically from templates and data, changing images, text, offers or prices for each viewer or context and learning which versions perform best.
DCO turns one ad into thousands of variations. A designer builds a template with interchangeable parts; a data feed (products, prices, weather, location, audience segment) and rules decide which parts appear for each impression. An optimisation engine then tests combinations and shifts delivery toward the best-performing ones.
Classic uses are dynamic retargeting, which shows the products you viewed, and localised ads that show the nearest store, local language or live prices. Travel, retail and automotive brands use DCO heavily. DCO is offered by ad servers, specialist creative platforms and walled gardens, where features like Meta's Advantage+ creative automate similar work.
Generative AI is expanding what DCO can do, from swapping assets to generating new copy and images. The core challenges remain: managing brand consistency, creative approvals and measurement, since with thousands of variations, it is hard to know what really drove results.
Think of it like this
DCO is like a sandwich shop that builds each sandwich from the same ingredients but in the combination each customer is most likely to enjoy.
An example
An airline's DCO ad shows "Delhi to Dubai from ₹12,999" to viewers in Delhi and "Mumbai to Singapore from ₹15,499" to viewers in Mumbai, updating prices hourly from a feed.
Related terms
Creative
A creative is the actual ad content a person sees or hears, such as an image, video, audio spot, HTML5 animation or native text, delivered into an ad slot.
Retargeting
Retargeting is showing ads to people who have already interacted with a brand, for example by visiting its website, using its app or adding a product to a cart without buying.
Generative AI in advertising
Generative AI in advertising is the use of AI models that create text, images, video, audio or code to produce ads, variations, targeting and campaign setups, often automatically at scale.
Rich media
Rich media ads are interactive or animated ads, such as expanding banners, video-in-banner, games or carousels, that invite user engagement beyond a static image or simple click.
Advertiser ad server
An advertiser ad server is the system brands and agencies use to host their ad creatives centrally, serve them into publishers and DSPs, and track delivery and results across all of them.