Native display across Microsoft's content network.
Microsoft Audience Ads are native display advertisements served across MSN, Outlook.com, Microsoft Edge New Tab, and Microsoft's content partner network. They reach Microsoft's 35+ million monthly Australian touchpoints with native ad formats that blend into editorial content — high-attention placements with lower competition than Google Display.
Microsoft Audience Ads — native display on MSN, Outlook, and Microsoft Edge.
Microsoft Audience Ads (formerly Microsoft Audience Network) are native advertising placements across Microsoft's owned-and-operated content properties — MSN (news, finance, sport, entertainment), Outlook.com (email), Microsoft Edge New Tab page, and Microsoft's extended partner network. They appear as native content recommendations — "You might also like" style units that blend with editorial content rather than interrupting it. Microsoft Audience Ads use AI-powered contextual and behavioural targeting, with the unique addition of LinkedIn demographic signals for B2B audience layering. For businesses wanting display reach beyond Google's network, Microsoft Audience Ads access a distinct, complementary set of content placements with a demographic profile that skews toward professional and higher-income users — the people who use Outlook for work email and MSN as a default news source on Windows devices.
Get a free audit35 million monthly touchpoints Google Display does not reach.
Microsoft's owned properties — MSN, Outlook, Edge New Tab — are among the most-visited websites in Australia, driven by Windows' dominant position in corporate and home computing. These placements are not available through Google Display Network. Microsoft Audience Ads therefore reach an audience that is additive to Google Display, not duplicative. The demographic profile of Microsoft's content audience skews toward 35–65 year olds, higher household income, and corporate computer users — the same profile that makes Bing Search valuable for financial services, professional services, and home improvement categories. Native ad formats on MSN news pages and Outlook sidebar placements also benefit from being adjacent to high-quality editorial content, which improves brand association compared to long-tail Display Network placements.
Contextual, behavioural, and LinkedIn-powered targeting.
Microsoft Audience Ads offer three targeting approaches not available on Google Display — we use all three where relevant.
Display reach beyond Google for the right audience and category.
LinkedIn Ads are expensive per impression. Microsoft Audience Ads deliver LinkedIn-targeted display impressions on MSN and Outlook at a fraction of LinkedIn's CPM — reaching the same professional audience in a different, complementary context.
Microsoft's content audience is concentrated in the 35–65 demographic that spends time on MSN news, Outlook email, and Windows devices. For categories where this demographic is the primary buyer — home improvement, financial services, healthcare, professional services — Microsoft Audience Ads reach them in their daily digital environment.
Google Display remarketing reaches website visitors on Google's partner network. Microsoft Audience Ads reach the same visitors on Microsoft's separate content network. Combined, they provide broader multi-touchpoint reach that improves overall conversion rates from warm audiences.
MSN Finance, MSN News, and MSN Real Estate are high-traffic editorial properties. Businesses in financial services, real estate, home improvement, and professional services benefit from contextual adjacency to these content categories — appearing as relevant native recommendations rather than display ads.
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What works with Microsoft Audience Ads.
Search campaigns Audience Ads support with awareness
Learn more →Google's equivalent display network
Learn more →Professional targeting that Microsoft Audience Ads extend
Learn more →Remarketing across both Google and Microsoft networks
Learn more →Common questions about microsoft audience ads
What is the Microsoft Audience Network?+
The Microsoft Audience Network is a native display channel that places ads across MSN, Microsoft News, Outlook, and a network of partner publishers. Ads appear as sponsored content within editorial feeds rather than as banner ads — they match the look of the surrounding content, which typically produces stronger engagement and lower bounce rates than traditional display. It's Microsoft's equivalent to Google's Display Network, but with a more tightly controlled publisher environment.
Who sees ads on the Microsoft Audience Network?+
Audience Network ads reach signed-in Microsoft account holders — people reading news on MSN, checking email in Outlook, or browsing Microsoft News. The audience skews toward 35 and above, with higher-than-average household incomes and a strong professional demographic. For B2B advertisers and businesses selling considered purchases, this is a meaningfully different profile from broad programmatic display networks.
What creative format does it use?+
Audience Network ads are responsive native ads: you provide a headline, description, and image, and Microsoft assembles and optimises the layout across placements automatically. There are no fixed banner dimensions to design for, which simplifies production. The native format means ads inherit the visual styling of the surrounding editorial content, making them less disruptive and more likely to be engaged with than traditional display units.
Is it worth adding alongside Search Ads?+
For B2B campaigns and considered purchases, yes. The Audience Network delivers low CPMs for brand awareness and remarketing between active search sessions — keeping you visible to prospects who've already shown intent through search but haven't converted yet. Scalepoint typically introduces Audience Network once Search campaigns have established conversion data, so we can build remarketing audiences and in-market segments with real signals rather than assumptions.
How does targeting work on the Audience Network?+
The Audience Network uses Microsoft's in-market and interest audience segments, LinkedIn Profile Targeting overlays (job title, company, industry), and remarketing lists from your own site visitors. This combination is what separates it from most display networks — you can reach people reading MSN News who also match a specific professional profile and have previously visited your website. Scalepoint layers these signals deliberately based on campaign goals rather than activating everything at once.