Audio & DOOH · also called DAI
Dynamic ad insertion (DAI)
Dynamic ad insertion (DAI) is technology that inserts ads into audio or video content at the moment it is downloaded or streamed, so different listeners or viewers can receive different, up-to-date ads.
With dynamic ad insertion, ads are not fixed in the content file. Instead, the content has marked ad breaks, and when someone presses play or downloads an episode, a server chooses ads and stitches them in. That means an episode published in 2022 can carry a 2026 ad, and a listener in Mumbai can hear a different ad from one in London.
In podcasting, DAI is how most shows monetise their back catalogue and connect to programmatic audio demand. In streaming video and CTV, the equivalent is typically SSAI (server-side ad insertion), which stitches ads into the video stream so they play smoothly and are harder to block.
DAI enables targeting by geography, time and device and more accurate delivery, but it also concentrates trust in the insertion server. Because the server makes ad requests on behalf of the listener or viewer, it passes along the device and IP details; if those are faked, as in SSAI spoofing, buyers can be tricked into paying for ads nobody heard or watched.
Think of it like this
Dynamic ad insertion is like a radio host who can slot a different local sponsor message into the same show for each town it airs in.
An example
A 2023 true-crime episode is downloaded 30,000 times this month; DAI inserts this month's ads, and listeners in Brazil hear a Portuguese-language ad for a local bank.
Related terms
Podcast advertising
Podcast advertising is paid messages placed in podcast episodes, either read by the host or produced separately, sold per thousand downloads and increasingly inserted dynamically or programmatically.
SSAI (server-side ad insertion)
SSAI (server-side ad insertion) stitches video ads directly into the content stream on a server before it reaches the viewer, creating seamless, TV-like playback that ad blockers find hard to detect.
Programmatic audio
Programmatic audio is buying and selling audio ads, on music streaming, digital radio and podcasts, through automated platforms and real-time or deal-based auctions.
SSAI spoofing
SSAI spoofing is CTV and video fraud in which fraudsters imitate a server-side ad insertion system, sending fake ad requests that appear to come from real viewers watching real streams.
CTV (connected TV)
CTV (connected TV) is any television connected to the internet, such as a smart TV, streaming stick, games console or set-top box, and the advertising shown in streaming apps on it.