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Amazon generated around 19,6 billion US dollars in advertising revenue in the third quarter 2026. At the same time, currency-adjusted growth compared with the previous year slowed from 26 percent in the second quarter to 12 percent. CEO Andy Jassy added a second message when presenting the figures on October 29: external AI shopping agents are currently taking almost no business away from Amazon Ads. Amazon is investing in its own AI assistants, which bring product search, purchase and advertising closer together.
19,6 billion dollars in advertising – and an unusual quarterly comparison
According to Amazon's quarterly report, reported advertising revenue rose from 17,70 to 19,64 billion dollars. That is eleven percent more in nominal terms, or twelve percent without currency effects. For comparison, in the second quarter Amazon had still reported 26 percent growth in currency-adjusted terms.
Amazon cites concrete reasons: in major markets Prime Day moved from Q3 into the second quarter, which significantly shifted the comparison base. The company puts this timing effect at 8,5 percentage points in the sequential comparison of annual growth rates. There were also the NBA broadcasts in the second quarter and a prior-year effect from Amazon's own search engine marketing activities. For Q4, Amazon expects advertising growth to return to the high double-digit range.
The figure remains remarkable: Amazon now earns almost 20 billion dollars in just three months from Sponsored Ads, display and video advertising. The ad inventory has long since extended beyond product search – for example to Prime Video and streaming inventory. Our look at Thursday Night Football and full-funnel advertising shows how Amazon links sports broadcasts with purchase data.
Amazon's answer to AI shopping: control the purchase journey yourself
On the earnings call on October 29, Jassy said external horizontal AI agents have so far had no noticeable impact on the advertising business. Still, comparatively few people actually buy through third-party assistants. Amazon expects partnerships but relies on its own shopping assistant.
Its reach is growing strongly: according to the company, more than 400 million customers used Alexa for Shopping over the past twelve months; interactions rose by 570 percent. In the US, users of the assistant spent on average 50 percent more per order than other customers, according to Jassy. Alexa can compare products, check price trends, collect gift ideas and accompany purchases.
The strategic point is simple: whoever runs product search and checkout also decides where brands appear and which ad formats fit the purchase. That is the bigger story behind Amazon's Branded Conversations in Alexa and explains the competition with Meta's shopping assistant Muse.
Amazon Ads Agent takes on more work in the campaign account
Amazon is also building its own AI layer for advertisers. With the Amazon Ads Agent, presented in September, the company brings Sponsored Ads, full-funnel campaigns and display, video and audio formats together in one interface. Media planning, audience recommendations, performance analysis and optimisation are increasingly to be controlled in natural language.
According to Amazon, the dialogue-based beta is also planned for eligible advertisers in Germany. The new full-funnel campaigns, however, were explicitly described in the quarterly report as being introduced for all US advertisers. Our background piece on the Amazon Ads Agent and DVA+ explains what this means for approvals and the work of media buyers.
Why this matters for German brands
For retailers and agencies, a new division of labour is emerging: Amazon's AI can set up campaigns, while Amazon's own shopping assistant becomes more important for product discovery. If you sell products on Amazon, you should therefore maintain product data, prices and availability just as consistently as bids and creatives. Ad reports should also clearly distinguish between Store ads and streaming formats.
The real competition of the coming years thus takes place in two places: who recommends the product – and who sells the advertising alongside the recommendation? Amazon wants to occupy both positions. Its latest quarterly figures show how large this business already is.
Sources: Amazon Q3 2026, 29.10.2026; Amazon earnings call transcript; Amazon Ads Agent, product announcement; Amazon Ads, beta availability; Adweek, original reporting occasion.
Image: Amazon Ads, official product screenshot of the AI-powered advertising platform.