Can a Glass Box Solution Solve the AI Transparency Dilemma?

A radical shift toward an approach of transparency and accountability

AI is no longer a futuristic buzzword. It’s right here, right now, revolutionizing how brands and agencies operate. In fact, 75% of marketers are experimenting with or fully implementing AI, according to Salesforce’s “State of Marketing Report.” But here’s the catch: As AI sweeps through marketing departments, it brings with it a sense of trepidation, if not outright fear, about how AI operates in adtech.

While AI promises to automate, scale, and measure campaigns with unprecedented speed, it also has a dark side—the dreaded black box. The opaque nature of many AI solutions can leave even the most seasoned marketing leaders asking, “What’s really happening behind the scenes?”

What’s more, the stakes are high. Your brand’s trust, data security, and reputation all hang in the balance.

So, how do you reconcile this tension? How can you harness AI’s incredible power without surrendering control? The answer isn’t another generic AI tool—it’s a radical shift toward transparency and accountability. Enter the glass box approach.

The AI dilemma

Much has been written about why marketers worry about using AI, from limited visibility into how AI makes decisions, to a lack of actionable insights from the massive volume of data AI generates. At the heart of all this angst is the valid need for you to maintain control over key aspects of your campaigns, rather than handing it over to AI.

For instance, with many AI tools, you may be in the dark about how ads are supplied, created, and targeted—the main components of your marketing strategy. And then there’s the data generated by AI. There’s plenty of it, but it often lacks context and clarity. How can you adjust the levers of your campaign if you don’t know what’s really working and what’s not? 

The irony is that the strategic advantages of AI are limited by a lack of transparency and control, caused by the opaque tools that drive it.

What marketers want

These concerns are causing some marketers to hesitate and hold back from fully deploying an AI strategy, even as they know it is integral to their future success. So, how would a more transparent approach work to address these concerns?

Ideally, a glass box AI solution would easily enable you to:

Proactively influence outcomes: Glass box AI enables you to go beyond task automation by gaining control over key campaign and creative optimization levers. Rather than adjusting after the fact, you can fine-tune your strategy in near real-time, ensuring sharper results throughout the campaign. This continuous optimization keeps you in the driver’s seat, even when leveraging AI.

Gain transparent, actionable insights: With glass box AI, you can dive deep into clear post-campaign performance. These transparent insights allow marketing teams to make smarter, faster adjustments, shaping future strategies based on informed decisions. It also saves you valuable time, so you focus more on building your strategy.

Balance automation with human expertise: While AI delivers valuable insights, it’s human expertise that transforms those insights into effective strategy. Glass box AI aims to foster a hybrid approach where AI and marketers collaborate seamlessly. Marketers retain control, leveraging AI’s speed and scale while using their intuition to steer the vision. This partnership boosts campaign effectiveness, blending the best of machine learning with human intuition.

With over 25 years of experience in AI and machine learning, Amazon has the history and expertise to drive innovation in both the shopping experience and advertising effectiveness, according to the AI campaign team. This expertise underpins advancements in Amazon DSP, delivering greater transparency and control in AI-driven Performance+ campaigns, driving sales on Amazon.com and conversions on advertisers’ websites or apps. Unlike other providers who rely on automated placements that can lead to lower-quality ads, Performance+ emphasizes visibility, delivering clear and actionable insights backed by unique data signals. 

Performance+ offers flexibility allowing marketers to choose the right KPIs, goals, and marketing tactics like prospecting, remarketing, and retention. Campaigns can be launched in as few as four clicks, while still allowing control over campaign and creative optimization levers like brand safety and frequency, paired with campaign-level performance reporting.

PepsiCo achieved 4X ROAS in prospecting and 2X ROAS in remarketing to in-aisle shoppers with Performance+ campaigns. Chelsea Cicilioni, ecommerce marketing manager at PepsiCo expressed excitement about partnering with Amazon to expand testing.

AI is advancing at lightning speed, offering brands and marketers immense potential—especially when it’s transparent, explainable, and controllable. Why settle for an opaque black box when you can have the see-through power of a glass box?

Brian Tomasette is director of product for Amazon Ads, where he leads product management and engineering for targeting, signals, and demand for Amazon DSP. Prior to joining Amazon in 2021, he led product and go-to-market teams focused on ads at Google, AOL, Advertising.com, and various start-ups.