Koah says gross sales on its AI chat ad network rose fourfold

Koah’s formats sit within an app’s conversation and are meant to let the developers of AI apps earn money from them, which the release ties to the computing cost of running more complex apps. Adweek likened the model to Google’s AdSense in February, when Koah raised a $20.5 million Series A led by Theory Ventures, taking its total past $26 million.

The release quotes one advertiser, Kristin Secora-Sampat, vice-president of growth at the flower delivery company UrbanStems, on why she bought in: “The primary driver was wanting to know and not wanting to be behind.” The release itself contrasts traditional search queries with AI requests in which shoppers describe their needs, preferences and circumstances in detail.

Of the three assistants in our database, only ChatGPT’s Go plan card mentions ads, on our 31 October read.

The fourfold rise comes with no revenue figure, the release’s only performance number is Koah’s own 1.96 per cent click rate for its Card format, and the one advertiser it quotes buys to learn the channel, so a brand joining today is paying for early knowledge of ads inside AI apps more than for proven sales.