Are you ready for the changes that Amazon Consent Signal (ACS) will bring to ad targeting in 2026? As privacy laws tighten in the US and UK, marketers must adapt quickly to maintain performance while staying compliant.
Consumers today are increasingly controlling how their data is used. ACS ensures that Amazon Ads only reach users who provide explicit consent. This shift is set to transform digital advertising, making consent-driven strategies a necessity rather than an option.
For businesses, understanding ACS is critical. It affects audience reach, retargeting strategies, lookalike modelling, and measurement frameworks. In this blog, we will explore how ACS affects ad targeting and actionable steps businesses can take to remain competitive.
Amazon Consent Signal (ACS) is a proprietary framework designed to capture and transmit user consent preferences directly to Amazon Ads. By using parameters such as amzn_user_data and amzn_ad_storage, ACS indicates whether users allow data usage and ad storage.
This framework ensures advertisers receive only consented, actionable information, removing the risk of non-compliance. The communication occurs in real-time through consent management platforms (CMPs). When a user interacts with a consent prompt, their preferences are sent immediately to Amazon Ads.
This section explores six specific ways ACS is reshaping ad targeting, detailing the impact on data access, audience strategies, and compliance.
ACS restricts targeting to users who explicitly opt in. Users denying consent reduce access to behavioural and demographic data, forcing advertisers to rely on alternative targeting approaches. For businesses dependent on detailed user insights, this may result in smaller audience pools and the need to adapt strategies to maintain engagement.
Additionally, limited personal data impacts campaign optimisation and personalisation. Marketers must find innovative ways to maintain relevance while respecting consent boundaries. Consent-driven targeting strategies are now critical to balancing performance and privacy compliance.
Consent limitations are accelerating the shift to contextual targeting. Amazon Demand-Side Platform (DSP) leverages page content, product relevance, and semantic data to serve ads effectively even when granular personal data is unavailable. This approach ensures that ad relevance remains high while complying with privacy regulations.
Contextual targeting also allows businesses to expand reach without violating consent rules. By aligning ads with relevant content, marketers can maintain engagement and improve campaign efficiency despite limited access to personal identifiers.
Retargeting campaigns now depend strictly on user consent. Only users who permit ad storage are included, requiring businesses to audit retargeting lists regularly. Consent-aware retargeting helps avoid wasted spend and ensures marketing budgets are optimised for compliant audiences.
Furthermore, adapting retargeting strategies enhances ROI and prevents potential legal or policy violations. Businesses must combine automated consent tracking with strategic list management to maintain campaign effectiveness.
Lookalike and predictive audience modelling depend on consented data. Denied consent reduces the pool of users available for similarity modelling, limiting the ability to reach potential new customers. Marketers should integrate consented data with contextual insights to maximise audience expansion.
Blending contextual signals with consented data helps maintain scale without violating privacy rules. Businesses that adapt quickly can continue to leverage predictive targeting while respecting user choices.
Consent denials limit behavioural tracking, affecting attribution accuracy. Businesses must rely on consent-aware metrics to measure engagement effectively. Traditional KPIs based on full user data are now less reliable, requiring adjustments to evaluation frameworks.
By focusing on consented interactions, marketers can still optimise campaigns while ensuring compliance. New measurement models prioritise legal and ethical tracking, providing actionable insights without overstepping privacy boundaries.
Non-compliance with ACS can lead to ad delivery being blocked or restricted. Maintaining high consent capture rates ensures campaigns run smoothly and efficiently. Brands that capture consent effectively gain a competitive advantage by consistently reaching their target audiences.
Compliance also enhances brand reputation. Businesses that prioritise user consent demonstrate trustworthiness, which can lead to better engagement, higher conversions, and long-term customer loyalty.
To ensure effective use of ACS and maintain compliance, businesses must follow these practical and proven steps, improving ad targeting and privacy adherence consistently.
Following these practices ensures your campaigns remain legally compliant and fully optimised for performance.
Amazon Consent Signal is transforming ad targeting in 2026 by emphasising privacy-first strategies. Businesses must adopt consent-driven campaigns to sustain performance, optimise reach, and remain compliant. Implementing ACS alongside contextual targeting ensures ads are effective and legally compliant.
Stay ahead of privacy changes and drive business growth. Seers Ai implements Amazon Consent Signal seamlessly, ensuring compliance, precise targeting, and higher ROI, all without manual effort.
START FREEAmazon Consent Signal limits tracking to consented users, impacting cross-device attribution. Advertisers must rely on aggregated, privacy-safe signals and contextual cues rather than personal identifiers. This ensures campaigns remain compliant while still enabling insights into multi-device user behaviour and engagement patterns.
Yes. Consent-driven targeting may reduce audience size, affecting reach. However, focusing spending on consented audiences often increases engagement and ROI. Combining ACS with contextual or cohort-based targeting helps marketers optimise budgets while remaining compliant and maximising ad efficiency.
Even with limited consent, anonymised, aggregated, and contextual data remain accessible. Advertisers can use these signals for trend analysis, product relevance, and campaign optimisation, enabling performance measurement without breaching user privacy or consent policies.
Consent restrictions reduce the pool for behavioural lookalikes. Businesses can still discover new audiences using contextual targeting, interest-based cohorts, and aggregated engagement patterns. This maintains expansion opportunities while respecting privacy and consent boundaries.
Yes, reporting shifts to consent-aware metrics. Marketers need to track consented interactions, aggregate engagement, and conversion data. This ensures accurate performance insights while avoiding reliance on denied or non-consented user data.
Personalisation must rely on consented or privacy-safe signals. Contextual targeting, cohort-based segments, and anonymised insights allow relevant messaging without using personal identifiers. Combining multiple consented data sources helps maintain effective personalisation strategies.
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