--- title: "What Is Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)? Definition and Examples" description: "Dynamic ad insertion picks the ads for each viewer at the moment of playback, instead of baking them into the video. See how it works and why it earns more." url: "https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/dynamic-ad-insertion" markdown_url: "https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/dynamic-ad-insertion.md" category: "Advertising" updated: "2026-10-05" --- # What is dynamic ad insertion (DAI)? Dynamic ad insertion (DAI) is choosing which ads to show at the moment a viewer reaches an ad break, individually for that viewer, instead of permanently embedding the same ads in the video file for everyone. ## How dynamic ad insertion works The video carries markers for its ad breaks but no ads. When a viewer reaches a marker, a request goes to an ad server describing the viewer and the content. The ad server returns the ads to play, and they are inserted either in the player (client-side) or in the stream (server-side). ## Why it earns more than fixed ads - Targeting: advertisers pay more to reach a defined audience - Freshness: a title watched next year carries next year's campaigns, not expired ones - Frequency control: one viewer is not shown the same ad repeatedly - Fill: unsold breaks can be passed to programmatic demand or skipped - Measurement: every impression is counted and reported ## DAI, SSAI and CSAI Dynamic ad insertion is the principle; SSAI and CSAI are the two ways of carrying it out. In some markets, DAI is used loosely to mean the server-side method. The opposite of all three is a burned-in ad, which is part of the video file and identical for every viewer. ## What DAI needs - Ad break markers in on-demand titles and live streams - An ad server or ad network to make the decision - Standard tags, normally VAST and VMAP, to describe ads and breaks - A player or stitching service that supports insertion on each device - Consent handling for the viewer data used in targeting ## Dynamic ad insertion on RentAnOTT AVOD is included on every RentAnOTT plan. The advanced advertising add-on ($169/month) adds deeper targeting, frequency control and ad performance reporting. [See pricing](https://www.rentanott.com/pricing). ## Related terms - [SSAI](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/ssai) — SSAI (server-side ad insertion) is a way of delivering video advertising in which the ads are stitched into the stream on the server before it reaches the viewer. The player receives one continuous stream containing both program and ads. - [CSAI](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/csai) — CSAI (client-side ad insertion) is a way of delivering video advertising in which the player on the viewer's device requests each ad from an ad server and plays it itself, pausing the program while the ad runs. - [VAST](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/vast) — VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) is the industry standard, published by the IAB Tech Lab, for how an ad server describes a video ad to a player. A VAST response is an XML document that tells the player which media file to play and which tracking addresses to call. - [Ad server](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/ad-server) — An ad server is the system that decides which ad to show each time a player or stitching service asks for one, delivers the details of that ad and counts the result. For a publisher it is the control center of an advertising business. - [AVOD](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/avod) — AVOD (advertising-based video on demand) is a streaming model where viewers watch on-demand video for free and the service earns from the ads shown before, during or after it. - [Programmatic advertising](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/programmatic-advertising) — Programmatic advertising is the automated buying and selling of ad impressions through software, in place of orders negotiated by sales teams. Each ad opportunity is offered to buyers and sold, often by auction, in the fraction of a second before the ad plays. - [Fill rate](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/fill-rate) — Fill rate is the percentage of ad requests that are answered with an ad. If a service requests 1,000 ads and receives 700, its fill rate is 70%. Unfilled requests earn nothing. - [CPM](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/cpm) — CPM (cost per mille) is the price an advertiser pays for one thousand ad impressions. It is the standard unit for pricing video advertising, and the rate a streaming service earns for each thousand ads it shows. ## Further reading - [Features](https://www.rentanott.com/features#addons) - [OTT revenue calculator](https://www.rentanott.com/tools/ott-revenue-calculator) - [Content monetization platforms compared](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs/content-monetization-platforms) ## Frequently asked questions ### What does DAI stand for? DAI stands for dynamic ad insertion. ### Is DAI the same as SSAI? Not exactly. DAI means the ads are chosen per viewer at playback. SSAI is one way to deliver them, by stitching into the stream on the server. Ads can also be inserted dynamically in the player. ### Does dynamic ad insertion work for live streams? Yes. Markers in the live feed signal each break, and the ads for that break are chosen per viewer, which lets a live channel replace broadcast ads with targeted ones. All 163 terms: [Streaming and OTT glossary](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary). ## Book a demo Tell RentAnOTT what you are launching. The team walks through the platform and maps the path to go-live around your catalog, markets and revenue model. Book a demo: https://www.rentanott.com/contact ## More from RentAnOTT - [Home](https://www.rentanott.com/index.md) — What RentAnOTT is, what every plan includes, and how launch works - [Features](https://www.rentanott.com/features.md) — Every core feature and optional add-on - [Pricing](https://www.rentanott.com/pricing.md) — Platform tiers, apps, add-ons, usage rates and example bills in INR and USD - [Free tools](https://www.rentanott.com/tools.md) — OTT app builder and calculators for streaming revenue, bandwidth, bitrate and pricing - [Insights](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs.md) — All streaming business articles - [Glossary](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary.md) — Definitions of streaming and OTT terms - [Book a demo](https://www.rentanott.com/contact.md) — Talk to RentAnOTT about your launch Full site in one file: https://www.rentanott.com/llms-full.txt