PubMatic

DirectionDestination

Environment

Web

Capability

Cohort Activation

SDK RequiredYes

Product(s) RequiredCore Platform

PubMatic is a digital advertising technology company that provides a sell-side platform for publishers to maximize their programmatic ad revenue.

Setup

Troubleshooting

Overview

PubMatic is a digital advertising technology company that provides a sell-side platform (SSP) for publishers to maximize their programmatic ad revenue. The integration enables real-time cohort activation through Prebid.js, allowing advertisers to target your audiences programmatically via the PubMatic SSP. This integration is a Destination:

Destination: Permutive cohorts are activated and passed to PubMatic SSP in real-time through bid requests, enabling advertisers to target your first-party audience segments programmatically.

Use cases include:

Cookie-less audience activation at scale: Activate Permutive cohort signals programmatically via the bidstream without reliance on third-party cookies, enabling addressable reach across all users
Private Marketplace (PMP) deals: Use DCR Cohorts and Curated Cohorts to create premium, curated inventory packages for direct buyer relationships
Open Marketplace (OMP) monetization: Leverage Standard Cohorts to make your audiences available to demand partners in the open auction, increasing bid density and CPMs
Maximize programmatic yield: Make Permutive audiences available through PubMatic’s ad exchange to increase competition and drive higher CPMs

Cohort Support:

❌ Custom Cohorts - Not currently supported
✅ Standard Cohorts - Cohort signals conforming to a standardized taxonomy (e.g. IAB)
✅ Curation Cohorts - Curated cross-publisher signals from Permutive’s Curation offering
✅ Data Clean Room Cohorts - Privacy-safe audience activation through Permutive’s Data Clean Room

The PubMatic SSP integration does not currently support Custom Cohort signals. If you are interested in activating Custom Cohorts to PubMatic, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager to discuss this use case.

Environment Compatibility

Environment	Supported	Notes
Web	Yes	—
iOS	No	—
Android	No	—
CTV	No	—
API Direct	No	—

Prerequisites

PubMatic SSP Account - You must have an active PubMatic SSP account
Permutive SDK - The Permutive Web SDK must be deployed on your site
Prebid.js with Permutive RTD Module - Prebid.js must be configured with the Permutive Real-Time Data (RTD) module to pass cohort data to PubMatic
Bidder Adapter - The pubmatic bidder adapter must be configured in your Prebid.js setup

Setup

Primary Setup Steps
Web

Configure Cohort Activations

The PubMatic SSP integration works automatically through Prebid.js once cohorts are configured. Standard, Curated, and Data Clean Room cohorts are configured by your Customer Success Manager.Contact your CSM to enable these cohort types for your integration.

The PubMatic integration supports Standard, Curated, and DCR cohorts only. Custom Cohorts are not currently supported for PubMatic.

Verify Prebid.js Configuration

Ensure your Prebid.js configuration includes the Permutive RTD module with PubMatic support: Verify that the Permutive SDK is loading correctly and that cohort data is being written to local storage.

Verify Setup

After configuring Prebid.js, verify that cohort data is being passed to PubMatic in bid requests.Use browser developer tools to:

Check local storage for the _pssps key (Standard/Curated/DCR cohorts)
Use the Professor Prebid Chrome extension to inspect bid requests and verify that ORTB2 data contains Permutive cohort data in ortb2.user.data and ortb2.user.keywords

It may take a few minutes for cohort membership to populate after initial page load.

Integrate with Prebid.js

The PubMatic SSP integration works through the Permutive Real-Time Data (RTD) module in Prebid.js. The module reads cohort data from local storage (set by the Permutive SDK) and attaches it to bid requests as first-party data following OpenRTB 2.x conventions.

Configuration

In your Prebid.js configuration, include the Permutive RTD module:

pbjs.setConfig({
  realTimeData: {
    dataProviders: [
      {
        name: "permutive",
        waitForIt: true,
        params: {
          maxSegs: 500,
        },
      },
    ],
  },
});

How it Works

The PubMatic SSP integration operates through a client-side mechanism:1. Local Storage Cohort ExposureThe Permutive Web SDK exposes cohort signals via local storage:

Standard, Curated, and DCR Cohorts: Stored in the _pssps local storage key

2. Real-Time Bid EnrichmentThe Permutive RTD module acts as a bridge between the Permutive Web SDK and Prebid.js:

The Permutive RTD module reads cohort IDs from local storage (_pssps for Standard/Curated/DCR cohorts)
Cohort data is attached to the ORTB2 object in bid requests for PubMatic
The module updates the following locations:
- ortb2.user.data – adds a data provider entry for permutive.com with the list of cohort IDs in the segment field
- ortb2.user.keywords – adds keyword groups containing the cohort IDs
PubMatic receives cohort targeting data in the bid request and makes it available to demand partners (DSPs) for real-time targeting

While Permutive is listed as a TCF vendor (ID: 361), Permutive does not typically obtain vendor consent from the TCF, but instead relies on publisher purpose consents. Publishers wishing to use TCF vendor consent instead can add 361 to their CMP and set params.enforceVendorConsent to true:

pbjs.setConfig({
  realTimeData: {
    dataProviders: [{
      name: 'permutive',
      params: {
        enforceVendorConsent: true  // Require TCF vendor consent for Permutive (ID: 361)
      }
    }]
  }
})

For more details on Prebid.js configuration, see the Prebid.js documentation.

Data Types

The PubMatic SSP integration is a destination-only integration focused on cohort activation. Permutive does not collect event data from PubMatic SSP. When cohorts are activated to PubMatic, the following data is transmitted via the Prebid.js bidstream:

ORTB2 Signal Locations

Permutive passes cohort data to PubMatic SSP via the ORTB2 object in Prebid.js bid requests. Different cohort types are written to specific ORTB2 locations:

ORTB2 Location	Cohort Types
`ortb2.user.data` (name: `permutive.com`)	Standard Cohorts, DCR Cohorts, Curated Cohorts
`ortb2.user.keywords` (`p_standard`)	Standard Cohorts, DCR Cohorts, Curated Cohorts
`ortb2.user.keywords` (`p_standard_aud`)	Curated Cohorts

Local Storage Keys

The Permutive Web SDK exposes cohort data via local storage, which the Permutive RTD module reads to populate bid requests.

_pssps

object

Local storage key containing Standard Cohorts, Curated Cohorts, and Data Clean Room Cohorts.

Troubleshooting

Cohort data not appearing in bid requests

If Permutive cohorts aren’t being passed to PubMatic in your bid requests:

Verify that the Permutive RTD module is properly configured in your Prebid.js setup
Confirm that the Permutive SDK is loading correctly on your pages
Use browser developer tools to inspect local storage and verify that the _pssps key (for Standard/Curated/DCR cohorts) contains cohort data
Check your Prebid.js console logs for any errors related to the Permutive RTD module
Use the Professor Prebid Chrome extension to inspect bid requests and verify ORTB2 data is being passed to PubMatic

If you see cohort data in local storage but not in bid requests, verify that your Prebid.js configuration includes waitForIt: true for the Permutive RTD module.

Empty _pssps local storage key

If the _pssps local storage key is empty or missing:

Verify with your Customer Success Manager that the relevant cohort types (Standard, Curated, DCR) have been configured for your integration
Check that users actually qualify for cohorts based on cohort definitions
Ensure the Permutive SDK is loading before Prebid.js attempts to read cohort data
Verify that third-party cookies and local storage are not blocked by browser settings or extensions
Check the browser console for any Permutive SDK errors during page load

Cohorts visible in local storage but not in PubMatic UI

If cohorts are being passed in bid requests but you don’t see them available for targeting in the PubMatic UI:

Verify with your PubMatic account team that your SSP seat is configured to receive and process Permutive cohort data
Check that DSPs connected to your PubMatic seat have access to user data signals from the bid request
Ensure that your PubMatic line items or deals are configured to accept and use targeting data from the bid stream
Confirm that the ORTB2 data structure matches PubMatic’s expectations for user data and keywords

GDPR/consent issues blocking cohort signals

Changelog

For detailed changelog information, visit our Changelog.

Integrations

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Contextual

Advertising

Marketing

Data Collaboration

Video

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Survey

PubMatic

PubMatic

Setup

Troubleshooting

Overview

Environment Compatibility

Prerequisites

Setup

Integrate with Prebid.js

Configuration

How it Works

Data Types

Troubleshooting

Changelog

Integrations

Identity

Contextual

Advertising

Marketing

Data Collaboration

Video

Social Media

Survey

​PubMatic

Setup

Troubleshooting

​Overview

​Environment Compatibility

​Prerequisites

​Setup

​Integrate with Prebid.js

​Configuration

​How it Works

​Consent

​Data Types

​Troubleshooting

​Changelog

PubMatic

Overview

Environment Compatibility

Prerequisites

Setup

Integrate with Prebid.js

Configuration

How it Works

Consent

Data Types

Troubleshooting

Changelog