Similarweb is bringing more transparency to the still-nascent AI advertising category.
The company today launched AI Ads, a new competitive intelligence product that lets users analyze ads appearing across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews, including which brands are advertising, where they’re appearing and the creative and messaging they’re using.
Why This Matters:
Similarweb points out that all the major ad platforms, like Meta, Google and TikTok already offer varying degrees of ad transparency through searchable libraries and transparency centers. That infrastructure doesn’t really exist yet for ads served within AI experiences. Similarweb is essentially trying to fill that gap.
One important/interesting distinction: Similarweb says its data comes from actual conversations captured through its panel where ads were served, rather than synthetic test prompts. That potentially makes the dataset much more useful for understanding real-world share of voice, advertiser categories and the conversational intent surrounding an ad.
And the value could extend beyond simply creating better ads. Brands could potentially use the data to understand which competitors are winning particular conversations, what types of queries generate ads and where they may have opportunities to compete.
Experts React:
Natural Intelligence, a Similarweb client that buys ads on ChatGPT, is already using the data to understand the landscape better.
Jonathan Bar Vardi, Head of Strategy at Natural Intelligence, says the product “shows what other advertisers don’t know: who’s spending, where they’re appearing, and what’s driving performance.”
Our Take:
This feels like a pretty big product, no? We’re kind of surprised it didn’t get more attention today. As AI advertising scales, advertisers are going to need this type of competitive intelligence just as they do across search, social and other established channels.
It also raises a bigger question: How long before the AI platforms provide this transparency themselves? Google could eventually incorporate AI placements into its existing ad transparency efforts, while OpenAI could build an ad library of its own.
As more advertising dollars move into AI, scrutiny around who’s advertising, what they’re saying and where those ads appear will inevitably grow. Getting ahead of that seems like the smart move.
