Time tests ads that only AI agents can see
Time built the agent-only ad format with Mobian and has held more than 30 brand meetings since it appeared online in August, The Information reports.
Time has begun testing advertisements that are hidden from human readers and shown only to AI agents, according to The Information. The publisher developed the format with ad tech startup Mobian.
The ads run on separate text-only sites that identify an incoming AI agent and serve a simplified version of the page. Since the format first appeared online in August, Time has held more than 30 meetings with brands interested in it, Time chief operating officer Mark Howard said, according to The Information.
Other publishers are moving in the same direction. Daily.dev signed a one-year deal with Mobian to share advertising revenue, and Mobian CEO Jonah Goodhart expects more than 24 outlets to run such ads by December. Mobian says more than 10 publishers already offer AI-agent-targeted advertising.
Agencies are preparing campaigns as well. PMG plans to run Mobian's AI-agent ads for about one fifth of its roughly 60 clients within a month, while ad tech firm Raptive will soon pitch the format to brands.
Anthropic, OpenAI and Google have held informal talks with publishers about agent-targeted advertising, raising concerns that advertisers could embed hidden instructions in pages. The companies take the position that advertising content must be clearly labeled as advertising.
Quick answers
What are AI-agent advertisements?
They are ads shown only to AI agents, not to human readers, on separate text-only pages that identify the agent and serve a simplified version of the site.
Which publishers and agencies are using them?
Time is testing the format with Mobian. Daily.dev signed a one-year revenue-share deal with Mobian, PMG plans to run the ads for about one fifth of its roughly 60 clients, and Raptive will soon pitch them to brands.