Marketplace Tech The challenges of integrating ads in AI search engines
10 snips
Dec 18, 2025 
In this engaging discussion, guest Garrett Johnson, a Boston University marketing professor and advertising expert, delves into the complexities of integrating ads into AI search engines. He reveals the competitive and operational hurdles that platforms face. Garrett examines the strategic trade-offs between user growth and early monetization while addressing consumer sensitivity to ads. He also highlights the shift from traditional SEO to generative engine optimization and what this means for ad placements and smaller advertisers.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Ad Markets Are Hard To Break Into
- AI search faces intense competition from established ad platforms like Google, Meta, and Amazon which already dominate advertisers.
- Scaling an AI ad business requires onboarding many advertisers and building personalization data, which is hard for new entrants.
Begin With Familiar Ad Formats
- Start simple and evolve ad products to meet advertisers and users where they are rather than trying radical new formats immediately.
- Use partnerships (like OpenAI with Walmart and Shopify) to gain conversion data and a beachhead for ad personalization.
Monetize Sooner To Capture Scale
- Firms face a strategic tradeoff: invest in growing user base now or monetize with ads to fund growth.
- Early ad investment yields returns to scale, so delaying monetization risks falling behind ad incumbents.