As other social media platforms like Pinterest and Meta make moves in AI-powered ad optimization, X is also entering the fray. Last night on X, Sid Rao, leader on the Ads Engineering team at X, announced that the Elon Musk-owned platform is diving deeper into AI to help small and midsized businesses advertise more easily.
“We’ve started rolling out a completely new design of our advertising experience,” he said, adding that new features include AI-driven targeting (no manual targeting needed), bid optimization for target ROI, automatic tracking pixel creation, quick campaign launches, a streamlined dashboard showing key metrics, and one-click DM support.
The official X Business account confirmed the news and provided further details. The company announced the “entirely new X Ads platform designed specifically” for SMBs “looking to boost their sales and conversions,” highlighting that it uses “X’s AI to enhance targeting efficiency, saving you time and improving performance.”
While the platform is available to select advertisers now, full rollout is expected soon.
Why This Matters:
There are two broader points to highlight here.
First, X’s focus on AI aligns with a growing trend among tech companies to introduce more AI-powered automation tools. Consider the offerings from the last year, especially those timed around Advertising Week: TikTok’s Smart+, Pinterest’s Performance+, Meta’s Advantage+, and Google’s Performance Max. All of these emphasize the use of AI to automate and optimize campaign elements like creative generation, targeting, bidding, and budget allocation. While X’s offering may not be as robust, it follows the same trend.
Second, X is specifically targeting SMBs with this launch. Major platforms like Meta and Google generate billions of dollars in ad revenue from SMBs, and X appears to be following suit. Historically, X has focused on bigger brands like Disney and Apple, but brand safety issues have led many of those top advertisers to leave the platform. For instance, X recently dropped a lawsuit against Unilever, one of several advertisers X accused of violating antitrust laws by boycotting its ads. While Unilever will return to the platform, this isn’t a long-term solution for attracting big brand business. The pivot to SMBs has been in the works for some time, as SMBs tend to be less concerned with brand safety and more focused on performance and value.
Experts React:
Regarding the launch, Shep Hughes, Senior Product Manager at Disney Streaming, tweeted: “I remember sitting in an office with my SVP of engineering as he presented his idea of how dumb letting users pick their targeting is. The demand side knows what’s working holistically, they can model effective targeting based on goals as long as the data/measurement is clean and accurate.”
Our Take:
From misinformation to Elon Musk himself, the election has highlighted the significant brand safety challenges X continues to face. At this point, any adtech innovation from the company is a step in the right direction. One of our recent “Tweets of the Week” featured Moe Chughtai, Global Head of Advanced TV at MiQ, who noted that X’s contextual ad targeting seems to be improving, showing that the more streamlined ads team is making progress.
Angela Zepeda, who recently left Hyundai to become X’s global head of marketing, acknowledged in a recent AdAge interview that she has her work cut out for her. While X focuses on enhancing its adtech, Zepeda seems committed to shifting brand perception among consumers, which could help attract more premium advertisers. Video and sports are likely areas of focus under her leadership, based on our read.
