X Rolls Out Rebuilt AI-Powered Ad Platform
X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, launched a phased rollout of its rebuilt advertising system on Thursday. The update relies on artificial intelligence to draw advertisers back to the service.
Early in Musk's ownership, which began after he acquired Twitter in 2022 and rebranded it as X, the platform saw limited growth in advertising income. This prompted a pivot toward alternatives like subscriptions through X Premium and AI initiatives. Recent projections from eMarketer show improvement, with expected ad revenue reaching $2.26 billion in 2025 and climbing to $2.46 billion in 2026. Those figures remain about half of what Twitter generated from ads in 2021, yet they signal a positive shift.
Platform Improvements Target Marketers
X aims to accelerate this recovery through the updated ad system. The company describes it as featuring advanced retrieval and ranking mechanisms driven by AI. Marketers gain simpler tools to build and manage targeted campaigns. AI enhances performance by delivering superior outcomes, more fitting ad positions, and accurate audience selection, X states.
Monique Pintarelli, head of global advertising at xAI, shared this view in a statement on X. She said, "Very few companies would have the ambition and technical courage to completely rebuild their entire advertising platform in such a short timeframe. This is classic X and xAI, bold, fast, and focused on building something substantially better for advertisers." Pintarelli added, "We are designing this new ad stack to enable more rapid and seamless integration of ongoing innovation. Advertisers can expect a smooth delivery of continuous improvements and a regular drop of new features as we keep pushing the platform forward."
Merger with xAI Drives Changes
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Such a full platform rebuild aligns with X's priorities since merging with Musk's xAI last year. xAI, founded in 2023 to advance AI research and rival efforts from companies like OpenAI, now bolsters X's technical capabilities. The integration allows faster deployment of AI features across services, including advertising.
X operates as a multifaceted platform for posts, videos, and real-time discussions, serving millions worldwide. Musk's vision emphasizes free speech and innovation, though it led to advertiser concerns over content moderation in the platform's early post-acquisition phase. Subscriptions and other revenue streams helped stabilize finances during that period.
AI Fuels Ad Growth Across Tech Sector
Artificial intelligence supports ad revenue increases throughout the technology field. Recent earnings reports from Google and Meta highlight this pattern. The New York Times reported a digital ad boom this week, crediting AI for automating tasks like ad design, audience targeting, and performance tracking. These tools now reach small businesses, matching resources once limited to large corporations.
For context, Google dominates search ads, while Meta focuses on social feeds and stories. Both have invested heavily in AI to refine placements and boost efficiency. X's moves position it to compete in this environment, where precise, data-driven ads drive profits.
The rollout comes amid X's evolution from a microblogging site to a broader "everything app," incorporating payments and AI assistants. Advertisers benefit from real-time engagement data unique to social platforms.