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AI startup ProRata is unveiling a new ad platform, ProRata Ads, which ditches traditional keyword bidding in favor of prompts to create AI-generated ads.
Advertisers upload brand URLs, creative briefs, and audience descriptions, and ProRata’s large language model (LLM) generates ad variations, allowing advertisers to choose those that best align with their brand’s tone.
But ProRata’s AI doesn’t just create ads—it also decides where they run. The platform scans 50 million articles in its database, placing ads next to content that aligns with the brand’s brief. So a shoe brand can bid on ads that appear on general shoe-related articles, but also on specific content, like performance running or marathon training.
These ads will run across ProRata’s publisher partners, including Time and Fortune, as well as on the startup’s own AI search engine, Gist.ai, alongside relevant queries.
“Ads on the open web must evolve to meet the new user experiences that AI platforms offer,” Mark Howard, Time’s chief operating officer, said in an email statement to ADWEEK. “We see this as a solution for AI to empower a new alignment of messages, interactivity and engagement.”
A recent Bain & Company survey of 1,117 people found that 80% now rely on AI-generated results for at least 40% of their searches, slashing organic web traffic by 15% to 25%. Advertisers want in, but the also want ads that convert without the programmatic headache of landing on junky MFA sites.
“This is the future of advertising,” startup ceo, Bill Gross, told ADWEEK. “Without LLM you couldn’t do this at scale”
ProRata’s ad bidding will use a CPC (cost-per-click) model, with a base CPC set at 10 cents.