Why Marketers Are Targeting AI-Cited Publishers Now
Evertune partners with Index Exchange and The Trade Desk to let marketers retarget users clicking AI-cited sources. New GEO strategy targets the 12% of AI users verifying recommendations.
Evertune, a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AI marketing platform, announced partnerships with Index Exchange and The Trade Desk on February 11, 2026, enabling marketers to run programmatic ad campaigns on publishers cited in AI model responses.
New Partnerships Connect AI Intelligence to Ad Campaigns
The integrations expand Evertune's Partner Connect platform into programmatic advertising. Marketers can now identify which publishers influence AI recommendations in their category, then launch retargeting campaigns on those exact sources through Index Exchange or The Trade Desk.
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The strategy targets a specific user behavior: approximately 12% of AI users click through to cited sources after receiving AI recommendations, according to Gener8, a global panel tracking real-user AI interactions. These users visit publishers to verify information and compare options, creating what Evertune calls a "crucial moment" for reaching potential buyers.
"We're connecting the dots between AI visibility intelligence and media activation," said Brian Stempeck, CEO of Evertune. "Through Evertune, marketers know which publishers are shaping AI recommendations in their category. With Partner Connect, they can turn that intelligence into action by running programmatic ad campaigns on those exact sources."
Index Exchange, one of the largest independent supply-side platforms, and The Trade Desk, the largest independent demand-side platform, both provide access to premium publisher inventory at scale. The platforms offer pre-built contextual strategies and private marketplace deals for over 250 product categories.
Growing Programmatic Market in Asia-Pacific
The partnerships arrive as Asia-Pacific's programmatic advertising market embraces AI and machine learning as default capabilities. Early adopters of AI-driven programmatic optimization in the region report double-digit lifts in conversion rates and cost-per-action reductions.
Automated Guaranteed deals in Asia-Pacific are growing at a 24.06% compound annual growth rate, reflecting premium advertisers' shift toward quality inventory with fixed rates rather than relying solely on real-time bidding. This aligns with Evertune's focus on connecting brands to premium publishers that shape AI recommendations.
"As AI changes how people discover and evaluate products, the role of premium publishers becomes even more critical," said Marybeth McGaugh, Chief Customer Officer at Index Exchange. "Our collaboration with Evertune ensures that marketers can activate on high-quality inventory across Index Exchange with the transparency, trust, and scale they expect."
Regional developments demonstrate parallel trends in programmatic innovation. PubMatic partnered with Tokopedia in April 2025 to enable Indonesian sellers to extend on-site ads across premium publishers via programmatic pipes, while Digital Turbine partnered with Alcatel in June 2025 to embed on-device programmatic ads for Indian users.
Building on Affiliate Marketing Foundation
This announcement builds on Evertune's December 2025 launch of Partner Connect with impact.com and PartnerStack for affiliate marketing. The company expanded its Shopping Intelligence capabilities in January 2026 for AI product recommendations and increased prompt analysis to over one million per brand monthly.
Evertune plans to announce additional distribution partnerships in the coming months as it continues connecting AI visibility intelligence with media activation channels.
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