AI conversations are the future of advertising. At least, that’s what Thrad is betting on.
The fast-growing adtech company, whose DSP helps AI apps run native ads within chat experiences, has launched the second iteration of its fund to help consumer AI apps test advertising as a revenue model. This time, Thrad is committing up to $1 million in ad spend through its DSP for eligible apps.
Why This Matters:
More people are using AI chat experiences, and not just ChatGPT or Claude. A Pew study released in June, for example, found that roughly half of U.S. adults now use AI chat apps and services.
As adoption grows, these apps are expected to deliver more sophisticated experiences, better conversations, and handle increasingly complex prompts. That, of course, can get expensive.
Thrad is positioning itself as a lifeline for these apps and developers, helping them generate advertising revenue while keeping their services free or affordable.
The company says its platform allows advertisers to contextually target relevant conversations with native, measurable ads. It also emphasizes privacy compliance, clear disclosures, and keeping paid placements separate from organic AI responses.
Experts React:
Independent marketing agency Mod Op plans to test Thrad’s platform. Its CTO, Tessa Burg, had this to say:
“Advertisers see a massive opportunity to engage consumers in new ways within conversational AI experiences. We’re excited to test Thrad to better understand how brands can participate in AI conversations in ways that are relevant, useful, and valuable to their customers.”
Meanwhile, Andrea Zanon, co-founder of Daimon, an AI app working with Thrad, said:
“Thrad has broadened the range of advertisers we work with, bringing demand built specifically for conversational environments. The brands are high quality and the ads fit naturally into the context of each conversation, which has strengthened our monetization without changing how our users experience the product.”
Our Take
The conversational web could very well be the future of the open web. New AI apps and services are launching every day, and many are looking for ways to monetize beyond subscriptions.
Thrad is positioning itself to capitalize on that shift. The opportunity is clear: help AI developers make money while giving advertisers new ways to reach consumers through AI conversations. ChatGPT Ads is already offering an early look at how this model can work, and Thrad is betting that the opportunity extends well beyond ChatGPT.
AdTechRadar is owned by Chris Harihar, an EVP at Mod Op. Thrad is a Mod Op client.
