Unity launches overhauled AI ad platform ‘Vector’ ahead of schedule

Unity Technologies has officially launched its new AI-driven advertising platform, Vector, during the company’s earnings call Wednesday morning, marking a major shift in how the company approaches ad delivery and optimization across mobile games. The platform, which exits beta roughly three months earlier than expected, is now fully integrated into Unity’s mobile ad network infrastructure for both Android and iOS traffic.

Vector replaces Unity’s earlier ad system, Audience Pinpointer, which faced reliability issues in 2022 after ingesting flawed data from a major client. That incident undermined the platform’s machine learning performance and prompted Unity to reengineer its ad tech from the ground up.

“We built Vector as a completely new system, not just an upgrade,” said Felix Thé, Unity’s SVP of product and engineering. He emphasized that the ad platform isn’t just a network—it’s a dynamic AI framework that adapts in real time to shifting user behavior and market conditions.

The new platform leverages Unity’s vast pool of gaming engagement data, collected through its game development tools used by studios worldwide. This allows the system to model in-app behavior, retention patterns, and user interactions to better predict which ads are likely to perform well for specific audiences.

Vector’s AI capabilities rely on a self-learning model that continuously refines its decision-making process. Thé explained that the model selectively incorporates new information, filters out statistical outliers, and retains useful legacy data. For instance, if a sudden spike in traffic from a specific region is detected, the system pauses to evaluate whether it’s a short-term anomaly or a sustainable trend before updating its algorithm.

Voodoo, the French gaming studio behind BeReal, was among the early testers of Vector during its beta phase. The company reported improved return on ad spend and more efficient user acquisition across platforms, without a corresponding increase in cost or drop in user quality.

Despite these improvements, transparency in AI decision-making remains a concern in the ad tech industry. Unity claims Vector offers detailed reporting by geography and user cohort, though the core decision-making remains automated and largely opaque—a common trait of machine learning models.

Looking ahead, Unity plans to enhance Vector further by incorporating more data sources through developer partnerships. These collaborations are expected to refine ad targeting and boost campaign performance in what Unity describes as the initial version of a long-term strategy.

“This is just the beginning,” Thé said. “We’re building a system that can evolve with the industry and our partners.”