Umass Global Drives 1.9x More Student Leads With ViantAI Outcomes

Increase lead generation through autonomous online video optimization

UMass Global, a private university, partnered with Viant® to evaluate whether autonomous AI optimization could outperform its most successful, long-standing human-led strategy on the Viant DSP. The objective was to efficiently drive high-intent student inquiries through high-impact online video (OLV), while running a true head-to-head comparison against a manually optimized control refined over years of performance learnings.

Powered by ViantAI, the autonomous treatment leveraged the AI Lattice Brain to dynamically optimize multiple campaign variables simultaneously to boost performance exponentially faster than hands-on trader intervention. Performance was measured exclusively on qualified “Thank You” page completions, ensuring a strict comparison against the control strategy.

Despite a compressed learning window and a competitive post-Black Friday/Cyber Monday environment, ViantAI quickly demonstrated clear performance separation. The autonomous model delivered a 1.9x improvement in CPA, reducing costs by 48% versus the control, and unlocking performance levels that manual optimization was unable to achieve.

By shifting from constant tactical adjustments to strategic oversight, UMASS Global was able to achieve elite efficiency at speed, proving that autonomous optimization can outperform even the most refined human-led approaches while freeing teams to focus on higher-level growth strategy.

• ViantAI Outcomes