Amazon’s Sponsored Ads ecosystem is evolving — and recent data points to a clear algorithmic shift. Beginning in mid-2025, Auto campaigns and Broad match targeting have gained significant impression share, while Exact and Phrase matches are declining.
This has major implications for advertisers. Exact and Phrase still deliver the highest conversion rates, but Amazon is increasingly steering traffic upstream to Auto and Broad. Success now requires balancing efficiency (Exact/Phrase) with discovery (Auto/Broad).
Match Type Basics (Refresher)
Before diving into the changes, here’s a quick recap of Amazon match types and automatic targeting groups:
Manual Match Types
- Broad Match: Ads show for synonyms, variations, and related queries (e.g., “sneakers” could match “trainers” or “athletic shoes”). Broad match modifiers (“+”) ensure specific terms appear.
- Phrase Match: Queries must contain the phrase or its implied meaning (e.g., “curtain rods” could match “pole for curtains for bedroom”).
- Exact Match: Queries must match the keyword or close variant (e.g., “outside lights” matches “outdoor lights”). Narrowest, most efficient.
Automatic Targeting (Sponsored Products only)
- Close Match: Queries closely related to your product.
- Loose Match: Queries loosely related.
- Substitutes: Competing product pages.
- Complements: Related product pages.
What Changed in 2025
Across billions of impressions analyzed, three clear patterns emerged:
- Auto campaigns gained share. Auto’s impression share jumped roughly 7% beginning in June and now accounts for nearly 40%+ of total impressions in many accounts.
- Broad match rebounded. After a dip early in the year, Broad impression share rose significantly, overtaking Exact in some portfolios.
- Exact and Phrase declined. Exact impressions fell by 10–12% in some data sets; Phrase slipped slightly but remains mid-tier.
This aligns with what many advertisers have noticed: Amazon is prioritizing its own relevancy signals — showing ads based on predicted intent rather than purely keyword matches.
Reach vs. Efficiency
While impressions have shifted, conversion efficiency remains consistent:
- Exact Match: 20%+ CVR, lowest ACOS.
- Phrase Match: high teens CVR, moderate efficiency.
- Broad + Auto: 10–12% CVR, higher ACOS volatility.
The tradeoff? Broad and Auto clicks are cheaper. Even with lower CVR, they can deliver profitable returns if managed carefully.
Inside Auto Campaigns
Auto targeting is not a monolith — it’s four levers. And the mix is changing:
- Loose Match and Substitutes are gaining share.
- Close Match is declining.
- Complements remain steady but niche.
For advertisers running Auto as one campaign with one bid, this shift is costly. Loose Match may deliver volume but tends to convert poorly compared to Close or Substitutes.
Why Amazon Is Making This Change
Amazon’s objective is simple: optimize for shopper experience and ad revenue. By relying more on relevancy signals (context, behavior, predicted likelihood to convert), Amazon can:
- Show more ads to more shoppers without relying solely on advertiser keyword inputs.
- Improve discovery for products shoppers may not know to search for directly.
- Use automation to balance reach and efficiency over time.
As algorithms improve, expect Auto and Broad performance to continue converging with Exact.
What Advertisers Should Do Now
Here’s the playbook to stay ahead of the shift:
- Rebalance Budgets
- Keep Exact/Phrase as efficiency engines.
- Allocate discovery budgets to Auto and Broad for upstream reach.
- Segment Auto Campaigns
- Split into Close, Loose, Substitutes, and Complements.
- Apply distinct bids and budgets.
- Control Broad
- Use negatives to eliminate irrelevant queries.
- Harvest high-performing search terms weekly into Exact/Phrase.
- Adjust Bidding
- Don’t copy Exact bids into Broad/Auto.
- Anchor bids to expected CVR × CPC, not keyword averages.
- Measure Holistically
- Track impression share by match type alongside CPC, CVR, and ACOS.
- Use rolling 28–30 day averages to spot trends without noise.
The New Sponsored Ads Reality
The Amazon Ads algorithm isn’t standing still. Advertisers who adapt will gain first-mover advantages as traffic shifts upstream. Those who resist may find themselves fighting harder for shrinking impressions in Exact campaigns.
The winning strategy in 2025?
- Efficiency lives in Exact and Phrase.
- Discovery lives in Auto and Broad.
- Balance is everything.
By segmenting Auto, applying guardrails to Broad, and harvesting aggressively, advertisers can capture reach today without sacrificing efficiency tomorrow.