> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.aiderx.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What is A2?

> A2 All-in-One AdSolution (Aider for Advertising)

## What is A2?

**A2** is an **All-in-One AdSolution** for advertising businesses.

It **unifies ad operations, targeting, unified auctions across ad sources, and performance data in a single system**

and lets you **bring your ad system in-house on your own infrastructure and technology**.

• Expand your ad sources (direct-sold ads, external ad networks, DSPs, and more) and maximize ad revenue

• Build your own ad platform through customization while keeping control of your data and technology

• Hyper-personalized AI targeting based on 1st-party data

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart LR
    A[Advertiser] -->|Runs ads| B[A2 Platform]
    B -->|Displays ads| C[Retailer service]
    C -->|Converts| D[User]
    B -.->|Data kept in-house| E[Your infrastructure]
```

***

## What can you do with A2?

A2 supports three core use cases.

### 1. Retail Media Platform (RMP)

A data-complete solution that maximizes revenue for commerce platforms.

* **Closed loop**: Maximize ROAS/eCPM by targeting the entire purchase journey based on 1st-party data
* **Virtuous cycle of ad and commission revenue**: A dual revenue structure in which sellers become advertisers, so their ad spend becomes the platform's ad revenue, and the sales growth they gain through ads expands the platform's "sales commission revenue"
* **Data sovereignty**: Deployed within your own infrastructure (VPC/On-Prem) to ensure data security and usability

### 2. Unified Auction

Maximizes placement revenue by having all ad sources compete simultaneously in a single auction.

* **Real-time Bidding**: All ad sources (direct-sold ads/ad networks/DSPs) bid at the same time, and the highest-priced ad wins immediately
* **Eliminates inefficiency**: Maximizes revenue by removing the priority inefficiencies of a sequential waterfall across ad sources
* **Technical efficiency**: A single call minimizes latency and increases the Fill Rate

### 3. Direct Sales Ads Management

Maximizes revenue efficiency by bringing ad inventory that the publisher sold directly into the unified auction system.

* **Unified competition and monetization**: Direct-sold ads take part in the unified auction and compete in real time with network ads, driving up placement value
* **1st-Party Data hyper-personalization**: Apply the publisher's own user data (purchase/behavior history) to direct-sold ad targeting as well, raising ad efficiency and ad prices
* **Flexible operational control**: Optimize inventory by choosing how ads are run, such as prioritizing guaranteed ads or competitive bidding, according to campaign importance

<Tip>
  See [Why A2?](/guides/platform-overview/en/why-a2) for the reasons to choose A2 and its proven results.
</Tip>

***

## A2's core values

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Sustainable cost structure" icon="piggy-bank">
    A pricing structure where marginal costs decrease as you scale
  </Card>

  <Card title="Unified ad operations" icon="layer-group">
    Run direct-sold, network, and DSP ads together in a single system
  </Card>

  <Card title="Data sovereignty and efficiency" icon="shield-halved">
    All data is processed on your infrastructure, ensuring security, low latency, and usability
  </Card>

  <Card title="In-house ad technology" icon="microchip">
    Turn core ad technology into an internal asset and secure long-term technical competitiveness
  </Card>

  <Card title="Real-time yield optimization" icon="chart-line">
    Maximize ROAS and eCPM with unified auctions based on 1st-party data
  </Card>

  <Card title="Technical control" icon="sliders">
    Your developers take part in designing and customizing ranking, rules, and audiences
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## Who uses A2?

| Role | Description | Key permissions |
| - | - | - |
| **Admin** | The operator who manages the entire platform | System settings, payment management, management of all accounts |
| **Retailer** | The party that owns and sells placements | Create placements, approve/reject allocations, view ad revenue |
| **Advertiser** | The party that runs ads | Create campaigns, register creatives, request ad allocations |
| **Developer** | Integrates and customizes the ad system | REST API, SDK, [Developer Portal](/guides/platform-overview/en/developer-portal) |

<Tip>
  If you operate at a small scale or want to get started quickly, a single Admin account can perform both the Retailer and Advertiser roles.
</Tip>

***

## A2 On-Premise vs A2 Cloud

A2 supports two deployment options.

| Category | A2 On-Premise | A2 Cloud |
| - | - | - |
| **Deployment** | Your environment (Self-hosted, Private/Public Cloud) | SaaS |
| **Data management** | Full data sovereignty | Managed on A2 infrastructure |
| **Customization** | High flexibility | Standardized features |
| **Operational burden** | Requires self-operation | Operated by A2 |

<Note>
  We recommend **On-Premise** when data sovereignty and customization are important,<br />
  and **A2 Cloud** when fast adoption and ease of operation are important.
</Note>

***

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Why A2?" icon="question" href="/guides/platform-overview/en/why-a2">
    Pain points of platform companies and A2's proven results
  </Card>

  <Card title="Core concepts" icon="lightbulb" href="/guides/platform-overview/en/core-concepts">
    Understand A2's main components and concepts
  </Card>

  <Card title="System architecture" icon="diagram-project" href="/guides/platform-overview/en/architecture">
    A2's architecture and data flow
  </Card>

  <Card title="Get started" icon="rocket" href="/guides/platform-overview/en/get-started">
    What you need to prepare to adopt A2
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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