Observed Signal · May 5, 2026 · Product Launch · Source: https://martechseries.com/feed/ · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Preciso Launches Ultima Ads App for Shopify
Preciso has launched Ultima Ads for Advertisers, a demand-side platform (DSP) packaged as a native Shopify app that enables merchants to run targeted native ad campaigns from their Shopify dashboard. The app syncs product feeds, purchase history and browsing behavior to build bespoke audience segments, retarget visitors, and create lookalike audiences. Ultima uses machine learning to generate personalized creatives and embed them within web pages; Preciso reports test performance above industry averages for CTR, engagement rate and session duration. The company says merchants can integrate the app quickly and go live in a few hours. Preciso is an Italy-founded adtech firm led by CEO Piero Pavone and operates teams across six countries.
A vendor product launch that integrates a DSP into Shopify, relevant to e-commerce advertisers and merchant-level ad activation but not industry-shifting.
Track Shopify Signals & Market Shifts in Real-Time
Polaris7 autonomous intelligence agents track regulatory filings, primary sources, executive changes, and deal flow 24/7. Create your free Explorer workspace to monitor these entities.
Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Preciso launched Ultima Ads for Advertisers, a DSP integrated as a Shopify app.
- The Ultima app syncs product feeds, purchase history and browsing behavior to enable audience segmentation, retargeting, and lookalike creation from the Shopify dashboard.
- Ultima uses machine learning to create personalized campaign creatives and embed them natively within web pages.
- Preciso cited test metrics: CTR 2.1% (industry avg 1.84%), engagement rate 65.94% (industry avg 60.03%), and average session duration 3m46s (industry avg 2m40s).
- Preciso was founded in Italy by Piero Pavone and says it operates teams in six countries; Preciso highlights its Smart-Bid technology as core to its offering.
Connected Companies & Entities
2 Entities mappedOntology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Shopify Expands Advertising, Not Becoming Ad Tech
Shopify is expanding its advertising capabilities through a merchant-focused approach it calls “merchant marketing,” rather than building a traditional ad‑tech business. The company hired Samir Pradhan as VP of product for merchant marketing (November 2025) and recently launched an in‑platform tool called Campaign Autopilot to simplify ad setup and allocate budgets across Shopify channels, email, Google Performance Max and Meta Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns using merchants’ own Google/Meta accounts. Shopify says it does not take CPM cuts or commission on ad-driven sales (unless it is the payment processor). It is also adding demand partners for Shop Campaigns — including ChatGPT, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok, Bing and Microsoft Monetize (the former AppNexus SSP) — and plans to span walled‑garden campaign types to optimize spend for merchants while keeping the offering merchant‑first and often free.
Google launches unified agentic AI for Gemini
At a Google Cloud event on Thursday, Google announced it is bringing agentic AI to its Gemini assistant, launching a unified agent that can autonomously plan and execute tasks on behalf of users. Aimed initially at businesses, the agent can connect to internal systems and external tools, use custom skills, and even choose from third-party models like Anthropic's Claude. It will have its own Workspace account with an email address, and will write its own audit trail. Early testers include On, Shopify, and PayPal. Gemini has over 1 billion monthly active users, and nearly 90% of Fortune 100 companies use Gemini Enterprise.
Meta, Walmart, Sierra launch personal agent protocol
Meta and Sierra, led by chairman Bret Taylor, have announced the Personal Agent Protocol (PAP) for AI-agent interactions with businesses, with initial partners including Walmart, Shopify, Stripe, Genesys, Rocket, and Instinct. PAP defines three access levels (guest, read-only, and write access) built on OAuth and places businesses in charge of vouching for consumer AI agents, differentiating it from rival designs by Visa, Mastercard, and AI platforms. The protocol aims to control customer data and liability in agentic commerce, with future implications for agentic payments. However, PAP is still in early stages: no specification, license, or governing body exists, and payments are not yet supported. Version 0.1 is expected this month, with payments and fine-grained permissions planned later. Notably, Amazon, Google, and OpenAI are absent, reflecting Meta's competitive positioning, especially after Amazon blocked Meta's Muse agent. The protocol competes with OpenAI's Agentic Commerce Protocol and Google's Universal Commerce Protocol.
Track Real-Time Market Signals & Shifts
Set up custom watchlists to receive automated, evidence-grounded executive digests whenever material signals or shifts occur across your tracked landscape.