Amazon Ads Just Leveled Up: Sponsored Brands Now Choose Products For You

Welcome to our weekly newsletter, Hunter's Insights!

In this special edition, we bring you essential Amazon updates and industry insights to keep you ahead in the fast-paced world of e-commerce:

💲 Sponsored Product Prompts Exit Beta and Move to Paid CPC Model

⏸️ Amazon Hits Pause on API Fees – SP-API Pricing Changes Postponed

🆕 Amazon Launches Sponsored Brands Automatic Product Collections

🚫 Amazon Removes Price-Banded Shipping Rates

🤖 Amazon Tightens Control Over AI Shopping Agents

🔀 Flat File Era Just Changed – Old Templates Now Trigger Catalog Errors

🖥 Amazon Introduces Unified Promotions Dashboard

💲 Sponsored Product Prompts Exit Beta and Move to Paid CPC Model

Amazon will start charging for Sponsored Product Prompts on March 25, transitioning from beta to a standard CPC-based advertising format. Initially free, prompts will now appear within AI-generated conversations in Rufus. 

Key points for sellers:

• Paid CPC model: Charges per click will begin after beta.

• Prompts report: Advertisers can download a report to analyze prompts, impressions, clicks, and sales.

• Manual control: Individual prompts can be toggled off, but there's no option to disable at the campaign or account level.

• Timing: The rollout coincides with the Big Spring Sale, when shopper activity is high.

Advertisers should monitor prompt performance closely, as insights can help improve listing content and positioning. As Rufus integrates further into the shopping experience, prompt placements will become a standard part of Amazon’s advertising ecosystem.

⏸️ Amazon Hits Pause on API Fees – SP-API Pricing Changes Postponed

Amazon has delayed the rollout of its new SP-API pricing structure, initially set for November 2025, including an Advanced Tier with usage fees planned for February 2026. The decision follows feedback from developers and technology partners, prompting Amazon to reassess the model. Revised timelines are expected later this fall.

Key updates:

• SP-API pricing delay: Advanced Tier fees postponed

• Feedback-driven review underway

• New timeline coming this year

• Goal: Manage high API usage and infrastructure costs

While charging for API usage helps reduce abuse and supports infrastructure costs, Amazon aims to ensure fees stay manageable for solution providers. This delay indicates a commitment to integrating industry feedback without disrupting existing tools relying on its infrastructure.

🆕 Amazon Launches Sponsored Brands Automatic Product Collections

Amazon has launched a new Sponsored Brands automatic collection type that automatically selects products for Product Collection ads. Previously, advertisers had to manually choose ASINs. Now, Amazon selects the most relevant products based on campaign keywords and shopper intent.

Key updates:

• Automatic selection: Amazon curates the products shown

• Intent-based matching: Selection influenced by keywords and queries

• Less setup effort: No manual curation needed

• Dynamic relevance: Adjusts based on search context

This update reflects Amazon’s broader push toward AI-assisted campaign management, where creative elements and product selection adapt automatically to shopper intent. Advertisers should check the Ads Console to see if the new collection type is already available in their account.

🚫 Amazon Removes Price-Banded Shipping Rates

Amazon will stop price-banded shipping rates on March 24, 2026. Sellers must switch to per-item, weight-based pricing, or weight-tiered models in their shipping templates to standardize configurations for seller-fulfilled orders.

Key updates:  

• Price-banded rates removed: This shipping model is discontinued.  

• New structures required: Sellers must use per-item/weight-based or weight-tiered rates.  

• Migration risk: Amazon may convert existing templates if not updated.  

• Default rates may apply: Automatic migration could lead to unexpected costs.

Sellers using price-based shipping should update their shipping templates before the deadline to ensure accuracy and avoid unexpected rate changes during Amazon's automatic migrations.

🤖 Amazon Tightens Control Over AI Shopping Agents

Amazon's updated seller agreement (effective March 4, 2026) allows immediate disabling of non-compliant AI agents without appeal. eBay has banned third-party AI shopping agents as of February 20, prohibiting automated ordering without human confirmation.

Key developments:

• Amazon: Enables immediate shutdown of non-compliant AI tools.

• eBay: Prohibits third-party AI shopping agents.

• AI Assistants: Both companies are developing their own versions.

• AI Commerce: OpenAI’s ChatGPT reaches about 900 million weekly users, facilitating product purchases outside traditional marketplaces.

Marketplaces are prioritizing control of the AI discovery layer over transactions, prompting sellers to focus on AI-mediated product discovery with structured data and clear product information for better visibility.

🔀 Flat File Era Just Changed – Old Templates Now Trigger Catalog Errors

Amazon has closed the old template window for flat files, causing many sellers to face upload rejections and catalog issues due to outdated attributes. The new template structure has different mappings, resulting in missing required fields and deprecated variation themes.

Key issues sellers are experiencing include:

• Upload rejections from older templates.

• Attribute mismatches where required fields may appear empty.

• Deprecated variation themes that are no longer valid.

• Breakdown of child variations, causing misalignment or disappearance.

Active listings have been affected when sellers used outdated templates. Sellers must use the latest category-specific templates and review attribute mappings carefully to avoid catalog issues.

🖥 Amazon Introduces Unified Promotions Dashboard

Amazon is launching a new Promotions dashboard in Seller Central, combining Deals, Coupons, Price Discounts, and Promotions into a single interface. This update aims to simplify promotional campaign management. 

Key changes include:

• A centralized hub for all promotions

• Improved visibility of active, scheduled, and overlapping promotions

• Reduced need to switch between pages

• Easier oversight to prevent unintended promotion stacking

Importantly, the structure of existing promotions is not changing. Sellers can continue running campaigns the same way, but with improved visibility and management inside a single interface.

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