Google to update AdSense ad tech provider list in June

Google has announced a significant update to its commonly used set of ad technology providers for AdSense, scheduled to take effect on June 2, 2025. The announcement, made just yesterday on April 30, marks the first major overhaul of the list that will directly impact publishers utilizing the AdSense platform for monetization.

According to Google, "The commonly used set of ad technology providers will be updated on or after June 2, 2025 to reflect the ad technology providers that work most closely with publishers globally, based on data we've collected from all programmatic demand sources, as well as meeting our privacy standards."

This update represents a substantial shift in how Google manages its ad technology partnerships. The revision aims to create a more accurate representation of the companies that collaborate most extensively with publishers worldwide.

What's changing

The update will modify the list of ad technology providers that publishers work with through Google's advertising ecosystem. After June 2, Google will begin periodically refreshing this list, with publishers able to access the most current version through the "Ad technology providers" documentation page.

For publishers concerned about maintaining control over their ad partnerships, Google has implemented a solution. "If you want to prevent automatic updates, select Custom ad partners. This will create a custom list pre-filled with your current selections, which you can then modify as needed," states Google in its announcement.

Publishers can view the controls and the complete list of ad technology providers in their account settings under the European regulations settings page in Privacy & messaging.

Data-driven decisions

The updated list reflects a data-centric approach to determining which ad technology providers are most integral to the publisher ecosystem. Google has analyzed data from "all programmatic demand sources" to identify the companies that collaborate most extensively with publishers globally.

Beyond mere volume of collaboration, Google has emphasized that all providers must meet its privacy standards—a crucial criterion given the increasing focus on user privacy in digital advertising.

Market significance

The addition of major platforms like Meta to the commonly used list reflects the consolidation occurring within the digital advertising market. These large entities are becoming increasingly central to the advertising ecosystem, a trend that carries both opportunities and challenges for publishers.

On one hand, integration with these platforms may offer enhanced targeting capabilities and broader advertiser reach. On the other, it potentially increases publisher dependence on a smaller number of powerful ad tech providers.

The removal of numerous smaller or specialized providers from the commonly used list could signal challenges for these companies in maintaining market relevance. Publishers who found value in these providers' unique offerings will need to actively select them through the custom partners option to continue those relationships.# Google to update AdSense ad tech provider list in June

Google's refresh aims to better reflect global publisher partnerships while maintaining privacy standards

Google has announced a significant update to its commonly used set of ad technology providers for AdSense, scheduled to take effect on June 2, 2025. The announcement, made just yesterday on April 30, marks the first major overhaul of the list that will directly impact publishers utilizing the AdSense platform for monetization.

According to Google, "The commonly used set of ad technology providers will be updated on or after June 2, 2025 to reflect the ad technology providers that work most closely with publishers globally, based on data we've collected from all programmatic demand sources, as well as meeting our privacy standards."

This update represents a substantial shift in how Google manages its ad technology partnerships. The revision aims to create a more accurate representation of the companies that collaborate most extensively with publishers worldwide.

What's changing

The update will modify the list of ad technology providers that publishers work with through Google's advertising ecosystem. After June 2, Google will begin periodically refreshing this list, with publishers able to access the most current version through the "Ad technology providers" documentation page.

For publishers concerned about maintaining control over their ad partnerships, Google has implemented a solution. "If you want to prevent automatic updates, select Custom ad partners. This will create a custom list pre-filled with your current selections, which you can then modify as needed," states Google in its announcement.

Publishers can view the controls and the complete list of ad technology providers in their account settings under the European regulations settings page in Privacy & messaging.

Data-driven decisions

The updated list reflects a data-centric approach to determining which ad technology providers are most integral to the publisher ecosystem. Google has analyzed data from "all programmatic demand sources" to identify the companies that collaborate most extensively with publishers globally.

Beyond mere volume of collaboration, Google has emphasized that all providers must meet its privacy standards—a crucial criterion given the increasing focus on user privacy in digital advertising.

New additions and removals

A thorough comparison of the updated and current lists reveals significant changes to Google's ad tech partner ecosystem. After careful analysis, the following represents an accurate assessment of partners that are genuinely new to the updated list and weren't present on the current list:

Notable new additions include: 6Sense Insights, A Million Ads Limited, ABCS INSIGHTS, Acuityads, Ad Lightning, Ad360, Adelaide Metrics Inc, AdFalcon, AdKernel, AdTheorent, Adnami ApS, Adstra, Arpeely, Artsai, Bidease, Bigabid, Blue, Bridgewell, Chalk Digital, Cheq, clean.io, Clinch, Connected-Stories, CONTXTFUL, Coupang, DeepIntent, Digital Turbine Media, DISQO, Dynata, Epsilon, Eulerian Technologies, GO.PL, GroovinAds, gskinner, Happydemics, HockeyCurve, Intango Ltd, IQM, Jampp, Kayzen, Lacuna, LeadsRx, LinkedIn, Loblaw Media, Localsensor, Lucid, Madington, MarketCast LLC, MediaGo, MediaPal, Mercado Livre, Meta, MOBSUCCESS, Mobvista/Mintegral, Moloco Ads, Neodata Group, Netquest, Neural.ONE, OneTag, Optimize LCC D.B.A Genius Monkey, Outbrain Inc, Pangle DSP, Pelmorex Corp, Persona.ly, Pixalate, Playable Factory, PLAYGROUND XYZ, Preciso, Prism Partner, Rockerbox, Roku Advertising Services, Seedtag, Seenthis, Sharethrough, Somplo, Sonobi Inc, StackAdapt, Supership, TEEMO, TemuDSP, Throtle, TreSensa, Tuky Data, UNICORN, UnrulyX, Upwave, Wizaly, xpln.ai, Yahoo! Japan, Yandex, YieldMo, YouAppi, Zeta Global, and Zucks.

Conversely, the following partners were present on the current list but have been removed from the updated list: Adacado, advolution.control, Akamai, Arrivalist, Aunica, BDSK Handels GmbH & Co. KG, Betgenius, Blismedia, Booking.com, Cablato, Cloud Technologies, Commanders Act, CUBED, Demandbase, DENTSU, Dentsu Aegis Network, Digiseg, Dstillery, ebuilders, Effinity, emetriq, Ensighten, Fractional Media, GP One, Haensel AMS, hurra.com, IBM, Impact, intelliAd, Kochava, Lotame, Macromill group, MainADV, Manage.com, MindTake Research, Mobitrans, MSI-ACI, Nano Interactive, Navegg, NEORY GmbH, Objective Partners, Omnicom Media Group, Optomaton, Platform161, Primis, Protected Media, Publicis Media, Rakuten Marketing, Resolution Media, Resonate, RevJet, Roq.ad, Scenestealer, Scoota, Semasio GmbH, SFR, Spotad, STRÖER SSP GmbH, Taboola, TACTIC™ Real-Time Marketing, Tradedoubler AB, Travel Data Collective, TruEffect, usemax (Emego GmbH), Vimeo, Vistar Media EMEA, Vodafone GmbH, Waystack, Widespace, and ZMS.

Several partners are explicitly marked for removal from June 30, 2025, including advanced STORE GmbH, Cint, EASYmedia, LifeStreet, Solocal, Teads, and Verve Group, suggesting a transitional period for these partnerships.

Many companies appear on both the current and updated lists, including Google, Aarki, Adform, Adloox, AdMaxim, Adobe Advertising Cloud, Amazon, AppNexus (Xandr) Inc, AudienceProject, Avocet, Bannerflow, Basis Technologies, Beeswax, C3 Metrics, Celtra, Criteo, DoubleVerify, eBay, Evidon, Exactag, Exponential, Flashtalking by Mediaocean, Gemius, GfK, GroupM, Improve Digital, Index Exchange, Integral Ad Science, IPONWEB, Jivox, Kantar, Kobler, Liftoff, LiveRamp, LoopMe, Nielsen, On Device Research, OpenX Technologies, Oracle Data Cloud, OTTO, PubMatic, PulsePoint, Quantcast, Rackspace, Relay42, Remerge, RTB House, Salesforce DMP, Samba TV, Sift Media, Simpli.fi, Singular Labs Inc, Sizmek, Smaato, Smadex, Smart, Smartology, Sojern, The Trade Desk, travel audience – An Amadeus Company, TripleLift, TrustArc, Virtual Minds, White Ops, Yahoo, and several others. These companies maintain their position in the ecosystem across both versions of the list.

European regulatory implications

The timing of this update is particularly significant given the evolving regulatory landscape in Europe. With stringent data protection regulations like GDPR firmly established and the Digital Markets Act coming into force, Google's update suggests an adaptation to the changing compliance requirements.

The company explicitly mentions European regulations in connection with these changes, noting that publishers can access the controls through the "European regulations settings page." This highlights the continuing influence of European privacy frameworks on global digital advertising practices.

For publishers operating in European markets, these changes necessitate a review of their current compliance measures, particularly regarding user consent for data processing by third-party ad technology providers.

Industry impact

This update arrives during a transitional period for the digital advertising industry. With third-party cookies facing obsolescence and increasing regulatory scrutiny worldwide, advertisers and publishers are adapting to new paradigms for user targeting and measurement.

The revised list may signal Google's strategic positioning in this changing environment. By curating relationships with ad technology providers that meet both performance and privacy standards, Google appears to be preparing its ecosystem for sustained compliance and effectiveness.

Publishers heavily reliant on AdSense for revenue will need to evaluate how these changes might affect their monetization strategies. Those working with partners being removed from the commonly used list may need to take additional steps to maintain those relationships through the custom partners option.

Impact for removed vendors

For vendors being removed from the commonly used list, the implications are significant and potentially business-critical. When publishers rely on the commonly used set without creating a custom list, ad technology providers no longer on this list will effectively lose access to a substantial portion of the publisher ecosystem.

The most immediate impact relates to user consent and ad delivery. For removed vendors, if publishers don't explicitly add them to a custom list, user consent will no longer be automatically requested for these companies. According to Google's documentation, this means ads using these vendors will not be shown to users in regions where consent is required, particularly in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the UK under GDPR regulations.

This creates a cascading effect: without proper consent mechanisms in place, these vendors cannot legally process user data for personalized advertising. Without data processing capabilities, their ads become significantly less effective or cannot be served at all, resulting in reduced visibility, diminished campaign performance, and ultimately lower revenue.

For smaller ad tech providers being removed from the list, this change could substantially impact their market position. The technical and operational burden shifts to these providers, who must now convince individual publishers to manually include them in custom lists—a significant disadvantage compared to vendors who remain on the commonly used set.

This change effectively creates a two-tier system where providers on the commonly used list enjoy streamlined integration and consent management, while removed vendors must overcome additional hurdles to maintain their publisher relationships and market presence.

For publishers working with these removed vendors, this means carefully evaluating whether to create custom lists to maintain these relationships or to shift focus to partners remaining on the commonly used list. The decision involves weighing the unique value these vendors provide against the additional compliance and management overhead required to continue working with them.

Privacy considerations

Privacy remains a central theme in these changes. Google explicitly states that providers must meet its privacy standards to be included in the commonly used list. This criterion reflects the company's stated commitment to user privacy within its advertising ecosystem.

For publishers, this emphasis on privacy compliance provides some reassurance that working with the providers on the commonly used list will help maintain regulatory compliance. However, it also underscores the need for vigilance in managing user consent for data processing by ad technology partners.

Publisher actions required

Publishers using AdSense should review the updated list to understand how these changes might affect their advertising operations. Those who wish to maintain relationships with providers being removed from the commonly used list will need to select the "Custom ad partners" option.

Google notes that selecting this option will create "a custom list pre-filled with your current selections, which you can then modify as needed." This gives publishers the flexibility to continue working with preferred partners while also adapting to the changing ecosystem.

The automatic updates to the commonly used list that will begin after June 2 represent a shift toward a more dynamic approach to managing ad technology partnerships. Publishers who prefer stability in their ad tech relationships may want to consider the custom option to maintain control.

The announcement made on April 30, 2025, indicates that changes will take effect "on or after June 2, 2025." This provides publishers with approximately one month to prepare for the transition.

After this date, the list will be "periodically updated," suggesting an ongoing process of refinement rather than a one-time change. Publishers will need to stay informed about these updates or select the custom option if they prefer to maintain control over their partner selections.

The implementation appears straightforward, with publishers able to access the controls through the "European regulations settings page in Privacy & messaging" in their AdSense accounts.

Google's update to its commonly used set of ad technology providers represents a significant adjustment to the AdSense ecosystem. By focusing on providers that work most closely with publishers globally while meeting privacy standards, Google is adapting its platform to the evolving digital advertising landscape.

For publishers, these changes necessitate a review of current ad technology partnerships and potential adjustments to ensure continued effective monetization. The option to create a custom list provides flexibility for those who wish to maintain specific relationships outside the commonly used set.

As the digital advertising industry continues to navigate privacy regulations, technical changes, and market consolidation, updates like this highlight the dynamic nature of the ecosystem and the need for publishers to remain adaptable.

Timeline

• April 30, 2025: Google announces update to commonly used set of ad technology providers
• June 2, 2025: Changes take effect, with periodic updates beginning thereafter
• June 30, 2025: Several partners including advanced STORE GmbH, Cint, EASYmedia, LifeStreet, Solocal, Teads, and Verve Group to be removed
• After June 2, 2025: List will be periodically updated with current version available on "Ad technology providers" documentation page