CookieScript’s Auto-Detect Advertising Vendors feature is designed to make that easier. It initiates a website scan to detect advertising vendors currently present on your website and updates the vendor list based on the detected vendors.

What Auto-Detect Advertising Vendors Does

CookieScript’s Auto-Detect Advertising Vendors feature starts a new website scan to detect advertising vendors currently present on your website and updates the vendor list based on the detected vendors. In simple terms, it helps match the vendor list more closely to what the scan finds on the site.

This feature is relevant for users working with IAB TCF 2.3. It can be used in two ways. Clicking Auto-detect applies only to that specific scan, while enabling Auto-Detect Advertising Vendors applies vendor detection and vendor list updates to future scans. Once the setting is enabled, those updates run after both manual scans and scheduled monthly scans.

How Vendor List Updates Actually Work

This is the key detail to understand before using the feature: Auto-Detect Advertising Vendors does not update every vendor list in the same way. The result depends on whether your vendor list has been manually modified before.

If Your Vendor List Was Not Manually Modified

If all vendors were originally selected and the vendor list has not been manually edited, the update logic is straightforward:

• vendors detected on the website remain selected
• vendors not detected during the scan are automatically unselected

This ensures the configuration only includes vendors that are actually present on the website.

If Your Vendor List Was Manually Edited

The behavior changes when the vendor list has already been adjusted manually:

• vendors that were previously disabled but are detected during the scan will be re-enabled
• vendors that were not detected during the scan will not be automatically disabled if they were manually selected

This behavior ensures that manual configuration choices are respected and the system does not remove vendors you intentionally selected.

Why This Feature Matters in Practice

The biggest advantage of this feature is not the scan itself. It is the reduced upkeep that comes after.

Vendor lists do not usually become inaccurate all at once. More often, they drift over time as advertising setups change, partners are added or removed, and website technologies evolve. That makes vendor list maintenance easy to overlook, especially on active websites.

For websites using IAB TCF 2.3, keeping the vendor list aligned with the technologies detected on the website supports clearer vendor disclosure and GDPR-aligned consent signaling.

Auto-Detect Advertising Vendors helps reduce that drift by making vendor list updates easier to maintain over time. For teams already running scans regularly, it adds a more practical way to keep the vendor configuration closer to the actual website setup without treating every change as a separate manual task.

In practice, that means:

• less manual vendor list maintenance
• better alignment between disclosed vendors and detected site technologies
• easier upkeep for changing ad stacks
• more confidence when recurring scans are already part of the workflow
• fewer chances of the vendor list quietly falling out of date

This is where the feature becomes most useful. It is not just about detecting vendors once. It is about making ongoing vendor list maintenance more manageable as the website changes.

Who Will Benefit Most

This feature is especially useful for teams working in environments where change is normal, not occasional.

It is a strong fit for:

• websites with changing advertising setups
• publishers and other ad-supported sites
• agencies managing multiple client properties
• teams where consent management and implementation are handled by different people

In setups like these, vendor list maintenance is easier to miss because responsibility is often shared across different people or workflows. A feature like this does not remove the need for oversight, but it does make it easier to keep the vendor list closer to the real website setup over time.

How to Enable It in CookieScript

To activate Auto-Detect Advertising Vendors in CookieScript:

1. Go to Frameworks in your CookieScript dashboard.
2. Enable IAB TCF 2.3 if it is not already turned on.
3. Open Edit Vendors list.
4. Click Auto-detect to run a vendor detection scan.
5. Enable Auto-Detect Advertising Vendors in settings and save the settings if you want future scans to update the vendor list automatically.

Before You Turn It On

Before enabling ongoing automatic updates, review whether your current vendor list was manually customized. Update behavior depends on that history, so it is a good idea to run a manual scan first and see how your current setup responds before applying automatic updates to future scans.

In spring 2025, CookieScript earned G2’s “Best Consent Management Platform” recognition for the fourth year in a row. The platform also holds Google Gold-tier CMP certification, highlighting its alignment with current privacy and consent requirements.

In Conclusion

Auto-Detect Advertising Vendors gives CookieScript users a simpler way to maintain their vendor list with less manual effort. For websites using IAB TCF 2.3, it makes ongoing vendor list updates easier to manage and helps keep the configuration closer to the website’s current setup.

If you want to test how it works in your environment, review the setup steps in CookieScript and start with a manual scan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to enable IAB TCF 2.3 before I can use Auto-Detect Advertising Vendors?

Yes. To use Auto-Detect Advertising Vendors in CookieScript, you first need to enable IAB TCF 2.3 in Frameworks.

When I click Auto-detect, does CookieScript update the vendor list only once?

Yes. Clicking Auto-detect runs a one-time vendor detection scan and updates the vendor list for that specific scan only.

What happens if my vendor list was never manually edited?

If all vendors were originally selected and the vendor list was not manually modified, CookieScript keeps detected vendors selected and automatically unselects vendors that were not detected during the scan.

What happens if I manually edited the vendor list before running a scan?

If the vendor list was manually customized, CookieScript uses different update logic. Vendors that were previously disabled but detected during the scan are re-enabled, while manually selected vendors are not automatically disabled just because they were not detected.

Will CookieScript apply automatic vendor list updates during scheduled monthly scans?

Yes. When Auto-Detection of Advertising Vendors is enabled, CookieScript applies vendor detection and vendor list updates after both manual scans and scheduled monthly scans.