# Butler/Till extends agentic media buying tests into audio with iHeartMedia > Source: > Published: 2026-08-20 04:01:00+00:00 Join us Sept. 14-16 in Miami to connect with top publishing leaders [SECURE YOUR SEAT](https://digiday.com/events/digiday-publishing-summit-sep-26/?source=display&utm-source=display) # Butler/Till extends agentic media buying tests into audio with iHeartMedia AI media buying tests are expanding to audio. Rochester, N.Y.-based independent media agency Butler/Till and iHeartMedia have been testing the use of AI media buying agents on streaming audio and podcast inventory, Digiday has learned. The two companies piloted an agentic buying solution for a four-week campaign running between July and August, on behalf of a U.S. client in the agricultural sector that Butler/Till declined to identify. The system used AI agents to activate media buys totalling just under $10,000 during that time. It used two AI agents: one developed by Butler/Till and one by iHeartMedia, designed as a matched pair using an MCP server. A human planner provided the buying agent with a campaign brief, which it then took to the publisher’s agent. The pilot differed from earlier tests not only because it used audio inventory, but because it involved a direct buy between an agency and a publisher. [Previous pilots were run with middlemen like SSP Pubmatic.](https://digiday.com/media-buying/butler-tills-first-agentic-media-buying-tests-cut-media-and-supply-chain-costs/) “We’re moving away from the one-off test phase,” said Kristie Murphy, associate director of programmatic at Butler/Till. “Having audio in this mix now shows us there’s more potential for agentic, [that we’re] scaling beyond one channel.” She told Digiday the agency had run pilot schemes for agentic media buying with a dozen of its clients, across CTV and digital display inventory. According to Murphy, the test cut campaign CPMs by 42% when compared with the client’s own benchmark for direct buying. The test also succeeded in finding more premium placements than the traditional approach Butler/Till used as a comparison. Nearly half (48%) of the podcast impressions delivered came from premium non-skippable mid-roll placements, compared with 33% estimated for mid-roll in the traditional plan. ”This campaign demonstrates that AI can execute media buying within human-defined strategy and governance, creating a faster, smarter marketplace for advertisers and publishers alike,” said Scott Ensign, chief strategy officer at Butler/Till. The indie agency was one of the earliest to go public about its agentic media tests, but several agencies have been developing and testing the use of media buying AI agents [since late 2025](https://digiday.com/media-buying/media-agencies-test-ai-planning-agents-while-edging-towards-buying-tools/). [In addition to Butler/Till](https://digiday.com/media-buying/butler-tills-first-agentic-media-buying-tests-cut-media-and-supply-chain-costs/), WPP Media [has been building a buyer agent for video inventory](https://digiday.com/media-buying/humans-at-the-helm-agents-in-the-loop-wpp-is-testing-a-buyer-ageny-for-video-but-its-bigger-bet-is-on-governance/), while Omnicom boss John Wren revealed his company had been pursuing a similar tool [in its spring earnings release.](https://digiday.com/media-buying/that-is-an-objective-omnicom-tests-ai-agents-to-cut-out-the-ad-tech-middlemen/) More agencies still are developing AI agents for use in campaign set-up and media planning duties, including PMG, which is one of the companies working with Comcast adtech unit FreeWheel on the topic. “We feel really fortunate that agentic [media buying] is happening because it is getting audio a much bigger feature in the digital ecosystem,” said Lisa Coffey, chief business officer for iHeartMedia. While radio, streaming audio and podcast ads are often used by large advertisers, brands tend not to assign large portions of their budget to the channel; audio’s share of global advertising cash is thinning to around 3.95%, [per estimates published by WPP Media](https://digiday.com/media-buying/podcast-engagement-drives-brand-audio-spending-ahead-of-world-cup/). Coffey said that if agentic buying proves more efficient for clients, the company hopes to see overall spending by advertisers increase. “We want advertisers to be able to consider and activate channels like audio, podcast and broadcast as easily as they can activate large digital platforms. We don’t want buyers buying what’s easier to activate. We want them to buy what’s the best media choice,” she added. Currently, programmatic pipes only supply a small portion of audio ad spend. eMarketer analyst Ross Benes suggested that agentic applications for the channel would be limited until more radio and podcast inventory is made available for programmatic investment. “Just about one third of total digital audio is programmatic, whereas closer to 90% of total digital is — so the impact of agentic buying, which is a subset within a subset of media buys, will be limited for a while,” said Benes. “But it is an interesting test case of what could become more common in the future.” iHeart plans to make broadcast radio inventory available for agentic media buying later this year. Its Audiograph solution will become available through Amazon’s DSP from mid-September, per Coffey. “Agentic media could help democratize access and level out the playing field if iHeart uses it for the benefit of advertisers,” said Gartner marketing analyst Nicole Greene in an email. “The question is how this might scale beyond the initial partnership?” For ad agencies, the technology promises the ability to process more campaigns at greater speed, enabling them to potentially take on more clients and free up media buying experts for less procedural tasks. “Agents helping with planning and buying creates an environment where adaptability, contextual reasoning, or autonomous decision making add measurable value,” said Greene. For Butler/Till, the test is further proof agentic media buying can deliver for clients — and potentially narrow the gap between the capabilities of indie agencies and large holding company-backed rivals. “It gives us an advantage in terms of how our people work,” said Murphy. “[Agents] can allow us to have more speed, efficiency, adaptability of campaign execution — and work harder on strategy.” ### More in Media Buying #### [ ‘Waste in the system’: Why Georgia-Pacific is holding out on buying agents ](https://digiday.com/media-buying/waste-in-the-system-why-georgia-pacific-is-holding-out-on-buying-agents/) According to its senior director of digital media Paras Shah it’s less that the tech isn’t ready and more that online advertising isn’t. #### [ Media Buying Briefing: How ‘outcomes’ has become the latest term to be overused ](https://digiday.com/media-buying/media-buying-briefing-how-outcomes-has-become-the-latest-term-to-be-overused/) After throwing around transformation for the last few years, holdcos are now obsessed with delivering outcomes — but it’s not as easy as they make it sound. #### [ Moloco launches an agency partner program, in part to expand beyond mobile programmatic ](https://digiday.com/media-buying/moloco-launches-an-agency-partner-program-in-part-to-expand-beyond-mobile-programmatic/) Although not a pure-play DSP, Moloco is expanding beyond into CTV and other media realms, building on its mobile and app base.