Rumor: Apple is turning iAd into an automated platform

Apple would like to stop operating its iAd advertising platform after six years and move to an automated platform that ad companies manage themselves. Publishers would no longer have to pay anything of the generated turnover after the step.

The iAd platform itself will remain intact, but Apple’s direct involvement in sales and management would end, Buzzfeed reports citing multiple sources. Apple would like to move to a more automated system and dismantle its sales force. After an update of the platform, advertising companies would be able to create, sell and manage iAds themselves.

One of Apple’s sources told Buzzfeed that running an ad network “is simply not something Apple is good at.” Apple’s platform would also have a small market share. According to research by EMarketer, iAd’s mobile market revenue in 2015 was 5.1 percent, compared to 37.9 percent for Facebook and 9.5 percent for Google.

Apple has been criticized by ad companies for its tight control over iAd, while also releasing too few statistics. The Cupertino company launched its iAd platform for the iPhone and iPod Touch in July 2010 and later that year for the iPad.