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The Three Big Announcements from Amazon unBoxed 2025

  • Writer: Ridgeline Insights
    Ridgeline Insights
  • Dec 9
  • 3 min read
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Amazon unBoxed 2025 introduced several updates that hint at the future direction of advertising on Amazon. Three announcements in particular stand out — and together, they paint a clear picture of where the platform is headed: more video, more AI-native ad formats, and dramatically more data for smarter decision-making.


Below is a breakdown of each major update, why it matters, and what brands should do to prepare.


1. Sponsored Products Get a Major Video Upgrade

One of the biggest highlights from unBoxed was the introduction of Sponsored Products Video, a major evolution of Amazon’s highest-volume ad format.


What’s New — and Why it Matters

Advertisers can now upload 1–5 short feature-focused videos per SKU, each with its own descriptive text. These videos appear directly in search results, giving shoppers a visual understanding of your product before they ever reach your Product Detail Page (PDP). Brands can use bid adjustments to increase the likelihood their video is selected for placement.


Shoppers can now toggle between up to three video thumbnails, tailored to the features most relevant to their search query or browsing behavior — such as:

  • “Waterproof”

  • “Gluten-free

  • “Great for making Coffee & Tea”


Sponsored Products Video offers a powerful way to break through the noise, differentiate your product, and capture shopper attention right in the search results. With this shift, investing in high-quality video assets isn’t just beneficial — it’s becoming essential for brand growth on Amazon.


2. Sponsored Prompts — Amazon’s First AI-Native Ad Format

Advertisers may have also noticed a new tab inside the Amazon Ads Console: Prompts. This signals the official rollout of Sponsored Prompts, an AI-powered ad format designed for Rufus, Amazon's conversational shopping assistant.


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What are Sponsored Prompts?

Sponsored Prompts are AI-generated “starter questions” that help shoppers begin a conversation with Rufus. They appear in the same area as the “Customers ask” suggestions on PDPs, but with a subtle “sponsored” label.


For example:

  • Instead of “Which TVs are best for gaming?”

  • A Sponsored Prompt might ask: “Which Samsung TVs are recommended for gaming?”


When clicked, Rufus generates a natural-language answer and then presents the relevant Sponsored Product or Sponsored Brand ad — complete with an add-to-cart button.


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Automatic Enrollment

According to Amazon, all Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands campaigns are automatically enrolled. No setup required.


That means your existing campaigns can now produce prompt-based ad surfaces inside Rufus conversations.


Two Formats Available

  • Sponsored Products Prompts — tied to specific SKUs

  • Sponsored Brands Prompts — tied to your broader brand or category


Why These Matter

Amazon describes Sponsored Prompts as a 24/7 virtual product expert that automatically highlights the most relevant product details using first-party signals from:

  • Your PDP content

  • Your Brand Store

  • Your campaign keywords


Well-optimized content directly improves the quality of your Sponsored Prompts.


Where to Find Sponsored Prompts

Navigate to:

Campaign → Ad Group → Ads → Prompts tab


Here you can review:

  • Generated prompts

  • Click activity

  • Impressions, clicks, and purchase data

  • On/off controls for individual prompts


(Note: prompts only appear once they’ve received at least one click.)


3. Expanded Data Memory — Longer Lookback Windows for Better Analytics

The third major update is less flashy but extremely powerful. Amazon announced a dramatic expansion to historical data availability inside Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC). The key change is:

  • AMC lookback window: 13 months → 25 months This is nearly double the historical depth.


Why This Matters

For years, advertisers have struggled with limited reporting windows. Detailed ad-level data often disappeared after a few months, making it hard to:

  • Evaluate long-term campaign impact

  • Understand seasonal trends

  • Measure repeat purchase behavior

  • Perform year-over-year comparisons


With a 25-month window, advertisers can now:

  • Run true YOY and multi-year analyses

  • See how seasonal campaigns performed historically

  • Track LTV and repeat purchase behavior over time

  • Understand how ad exposure compounds over multiple quarters


🚀 What These Changes Mean for Ridgeline Insights & Our Clients


🔄 Expect a Surge in Demand for Video Assets

Because Sponsored Products now support video — and Amazon is clearly prioritizing these placements — brands relying solely on static images will fall behind.


Ridgeline will need to work with clients to:

  • Gather multiple video assets per SKU (demos, lifestyle clips, ingredient highlights, usage moments, etc.)

  • Potentially coordinate new photo/video shoots

  • Translate product differentiators into short, impactful video content

  • Build creative libraries aligned to Amazon’s new video-forward experience


Video is no longer optional. It’s the new baseline.


As Amazon continues to evolve its advertising ecosystem, one thing is clear: brands that embrace richer creative, stronger product data, and deeper analytics will be the ones who win. At Ridgeline Insights, we’re excited to guide our clients through this next chapter and help turn these tools into meaningful, sustained growth.

 
 
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