Glossary/Adtech & Programmatic/Real-Time Bidding (RTB)
Adtech & Programmatic
Real-Time Bidding (RTB)
An auction in which each ad impression is bought and sold in milliseconds as a page or app loads.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Appears in Lesson 1 of Programmatic 101
Short answer
Real-time bidding (RTB) is an auction method in which each ad impression is bought and sold in milliseconds as a web page or app loads. An exchange sends a bid request to buyers, collects their bids, and serves the winning ad. RTB allows advertisers to value each impression individually based on context and audience.