MFA & Authenticity: What Buyers Are Asking Right Now

These are the questions we have been hearing consistently from customers in recent months. The conversation has shifted from awareness to accountability. Buyers are not asking if MFA (Made For Advertising) exists, they are asking what to do about it.

Here is how we answer.

If I’m buying from vetted publishers, am I still exposed?

Yes.

Buyers have told us they rely on pre-vetted publisher lists or curated “premium” marketplaces. The assumption is that if a publisher has been approved, the environment must be safe and high quality.

What we consistently explain is this: most curated lists operate at the publisher level. Peer39 classifies at the URL level on the web — evaluating the specific page where an impression appears rather than relying solely on publisher-level signals.

That granularity matters.

When run reporting against pre-vetted lists, we often find the quality is not as strong as assumed. Exposure can exist within otherwise recognizable supply. Without page-level classification, there is no way to differentiate high-quality editorial environments from lower-value content within the same publisher ecosystem.

Premium supply does not automatically mean premium context.

How to reduce MFA risk without increasing CPMs?

This is one of the most common concerns we hear.

Some buyers hesitate to apply quality filters consistently because they assume additional controls will layer on incremental CPM costs.

What our team has clarified is that MFA protections can be bundled efficiently. If a client is already running custom keyword or contextual categories, brand safety and quality filters can be incorporated into an Advanced Custom Category without automatically increasing CPM.

It is not about stacking fees for each filter. It is about structuring categories intelligently.

The goal is not to add cost. The goal is to remove inefficiency from low-value supply.

How do you detect MFA at the page-level?

Peer39 operates at a granular level.

Everything we classify happens at the URL level. We classify billions of URLs each day.

This is not domain-level blocking.

Page-level classification allows advertisers to:

• Identify MFA environments
• Apply quality and safety protections pre-bid
• Evaluate exposure in reporting

Because classification happens pre-bid, it informs the bid decision before the impression is purchased.

Granularity is the foundation of authenticity.

Can I apply MFA protections across all campaigns automatically?

Yes.

We recommend establishing an evergreen quality and safety bundle. This baseline category can run across all campaigns, whether contextual targeting is layered in or not.

From there, campaign-specific keywords or refinements can be added as needed.

Authenticity should not require rebuilding protections from scratch for every launch. It should be part of campaign infrastructure.

How is AI-generated content changing the MFA conversation?

Buyers are increasingly raising concerns about AI-generated content and what some refer to as AI slop.

The core issue is scale.

There are now more sites producing content at volume with limited editorial oversight. That increases the number of environments that appear legitimate but may lack quality or authenticity signals.

As one customer put it, the open web has too many sites creating content with AI.

This makes granular classification even more important. Domain-level assumptions are not sufficient in an ecosystem where content production is automated.

AI does not eliminate the need for quality controls. It increases it.

Can MFA filtering improve performance?

Yes, and this is where the conversation is evolving.

When we analyze campaigns, we often review top-line quality indicators including MFA exposure, brand safety signals, CTR, and viewability. Once visibility is established, clients can identify which contextual signals or environments are driving stronger outcomes and cut poor performers.

MFA protection is not only about avoiding bad environments. It creates clarity.

When low-quality impressions are removed, performance optimization becomes more precise. Reporting becomes easier to explain. Media efficiency improves.

Authenticity is not just a brand safety layer. It is a performance input.

The Shift We’re Seeing

The questions have changed.

Buyers are no longer asking whether MFA exists. They are asking how to measure it, how to structure protections efficiently, and how to make authenticity part of their standard campaign setup.

The consistent theme is transparency.

When you classify at the page and program level, measure exposure, and apply evergreen protections, MFA stops being a reactive concern and becomes a managed variable.

Authenticity is no longer optional. It is operational.