Microsoft Audience Network

Third-largest digital advertising platform globally, offering a differentiated native and audience network backed by Microsoft's first-party data and LinkedIn integration

Microsoft Audience Network (MSAN) is the native advertising arm of Microsoft Advertising, designed to help advertisers reach consumers across Microsoft's owned-and-operated properties—including MSN, Outlook.com, Microsoft Edge, and the Microsoft Start feed—as well as a curated network of premium third-party publishers. Leveraging Microsoft's first-party data signals from hundreds of millions of users across Windows, LinkedIn, Bing, and Microsoft 365, MSAN enables highly targeted audience-based campaigns using contextual, behavioral, and demographic signals that are difficult to replicate elsewhere in the industry. The platform supports a variety of native ad formats including image-based native ads, responsive ads, and video placements, all designed to blend seamlessly into editorial content environments. Advertisers can extend their existing Microsoft Search campaigns into audience-based placements with minimal additional setup, making it an attractive option for brands already invested in the Microsoft Advertising ecosystem. The integration with LinkedIn Profile Targeting—unique to Microsoft—allows B2B advertisers to target by job function, industry, and company size within a consumer context. In the broader AdTech landscape, MSAN competes directly with Google Display Network, Meta Audience Network, and other native ad platforms such as Taboola and Outbrain. Its key differentiator is the depth and quality of Microsoft's first-party data, particularly the LinkedIn integration and the scale of Windows/Microsoft 365 user data. As third-party cookies deprecate, MSAN's first-party data moat positions it as an increasingly strategic platform for privacy-conscious advertisers seeking alternatives to cookie-dependent targeting.