OpenRTB Consortium

The definitive global standard for real-time bidding protocol, universally adopted across the programmatic advertising supply chain

The OpenRTB Consortium is the standards body responsible for developing and maintaining the OpenRTB protocol, the foundational technical specification that enables real-time bidding (RTB) in programmatic advertising. Originally launched in 2010 as a collaborative initiative among leading demand-side platforms, supply-side platforms, and ad exchanges, OpenRTB established a common language for bid requests and responses, dramatically reducing integration friction across the ecosystem. The protocol has since become the de facto global standard for programmatic transactions, underpinning the vast majority of display, video, mobile, and connected TV advertising inventory traded programmatically worldwide. Governance and stewardship of the OpenRTB specification is now managed under IAB Tech Lab, the nonprofit research and development consortium that serves as the technical standards arm of the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau). Under IAB Tech Lab, OpenRTB has continued to evolve through successive versions — including OpenRTB 2.x and the more modular OpenRTB 3.0 / AdCOM framework — addressing emerging channels, privacy requirements, and supply chain transparency needs such as ads.txt and sellers.json integration. OpenRTB's significance in the AdTech ecosystem cannot be overstated: it enables interoperability between thousands of buyers and sellers, supports complex auction mechanics including header bidding, and provides the extensibility needed to accommodate new ad formats and privacy-preserving technologies. The specification is freely available and openly licensed, making it accessible to any publisher, advertiser, DSP, SSP, or ad exchange seeking to participate in the programmatic marketplace.