AHBid: An Adaptable Hierarchical Bidding Framework for Cross-Channel Advertising

TL;DR

AHBid is a novel hierarchical framework that combines generative planning and real-time control to optimize cross-channel advertising bids, effectively adapting to dynamic environments and improving return on investment.

Contribution

It introduces a hierarchical bidding system integrating diffusion-based planning with control algorithms, addressing limitations of existing methods in adaptability and historical dependency modeling.

Findings

Achieved 13.57% higher return in online A/B tests.

Effectively captures historical context and temporal patterns.

Enhances bid optimization adaptability in multi-channel environments.

Abstract

In online advertising, the inherent complexity and dynamic nature of advertising environments necessitate the use of auto-bidding services to assist advertisers in bid optimization. This complexity is further compounded in multi-channel scenarios, where effective allocation of budgets and constraints across channels with distinct behavioral patterns becomes critical for optimizing return on investment. Current approaches predominantly rely on either optimization-based strategies or reinforcement learning techniques. However, optimization-based methods lack flexibility in adapting to dynamic market conditions, while reinforcement learning approaches often struggle to capture essential historical dependencies and observational patterns within the constraints of Markov Decision Process frameworks. To address these limitations, we propose AHBid, an Adaptable Hierarchical Bidding framework that integrates generative planning with real-time control. The framework employs a high-level generative planner based on diffusion models to dynamically allocate budgets and constraints by effectively capturing historical context and temporal patterns. We introduce a constraint enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance with specified constraints, along with a trajectory refinement mechanism that enhances adaptability to environmental changes through the utilization of historical data. The system further incorporates a control-based bidding algorithm that synergistically combines historical knowledge with real-time information, significantly improving both adaptability and operational efficacy. Extensive experiments conducted on large-scale offline datasets and through online A/B tests demonstrate the effectiveness of AHBid, yielding a 13.57% increase in overall return compared to existing baselines.