New in AI

◆ E-COMMERCE · Marketing AI

Ads are moving into AI search, and there is now a scoreboard for how your brand shows up

The measurement layer usually shows up before the ad money does. For AI search, it just did.

Chandni Melwani

Chandni Melwani

Founder & Editor

Jul 20, 2026 · 2 MIN READ

A receding wall of round analogue dials and small red indicator lights on a blue-grey control panel, the nearest gauge sharp and the rest blurred Photo: iSawRed / Unsplash

The News

On July 7, 2026, Profound launched Ads Studio, a tool for measuring and optimizing advertising inside AI-powered search such as ChatGPT. It introduces 'Paid Share of Voice', how often a brand's ad appears versus competitors in AI conversations that carry a sponsored result, and a relevance score that grades an ad's fit before it runs, drawing on a dataset of more than 1.9 billion real user prompts.

Know More

  • — What: Profound Ads Studio, a module to measure, benchmark, and optimize advertising inside AI search (including ChatGPT); launched July 7, 2026.
  • — Paid Share of Voice: how often a brand's ad appears versus competitors in AI conversations that contain a sponsored result.
  • — Relevance Score: grades whether an ad fits the prompt context and the brand before launch; can generate and score hundreds of candidate ads.
  • — Data: built on Profound's Prompt Volume dataset of more than 1.9 billion real user prompts.
  • — Scope: manages organic and paid AI-search marketing from one place.
  • — Availability: invite-only beta for existing Profound customers at launch.

On July 7 Profound shipped Ads Studio, a tool for measuring and optimizing how a brand’s paid placements show up inside assistants like ChatGPT. In a new ad channel the ruler tends to arrive before the money does, and this is the ruler.

Two ideas carry it. The first is Paid Share of Voice, which tracks how often your ad appears against competitors in AI conversations that carry a sponsored result, the AI-search version of a metric brands have used in every prior medium. The second is a relevance score that grades an ad’s fit to the prompt, and to your brand, before it runs; the tool can generate and rank hundreds of candidate ads and surface the strongest one. Both sit on Profound’s dataset of more than 1.9 billion real user prompts, which is the moat: you cannot benchmark a conversation you cannot see.

This is the paid twin of a shift New in AI has been tracking on the organic side, where AI-referred shoppers convert better and getting cited by the model is the new visibility game. Answer-engine optimization was about earning a mention; this is about buying one. That a measurement layer exists at all is the signal that the ad market inside AI search is starting to form, even if the spending is early.

Profound CEO James Cadwallader on how brands stay visible when an AI does the choosing (a Kleiner Perkins conversation). It frames the visibility shift Ads Studio sells into; it's broader than the ad-measurement launch itself.

So what: advertising inside AI answer engines is a lane that barely exists yet, which is exactly why it is worth watching. The first tools here are measurement, not media, and the opening is for the operators and builders who learn the surface now, while a Paid Share of Voice near zero is normal and cheap to change. The catch: it is an invite-only beta, so this is a signal to position around, not a button most merchants can press today.

#Profound#AI Search#ChatGPT#Advertising#AEO#Paid Share of Voice#Marketing AI#E-commerce

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Profound Ads Studio?

A module from Profound for measuring and optimizing paid advertising inside AI-powered search like ChatGPT. It benchmarks how a brand's ads appear against competitors, scores an ad's relevance before launch, and can generate and rank candidate ads, all built on a dataset of more than 1.9 billion real user prompts.

What is "Paid Share of Voice"?

It measures how often your ad appears relative to competitors within AI conversations that carry a sponsored result. It is the AI-search equivalent of share of voice in traditional media, a way to see whether you are actually present when a model answers a buying question.

Why does advertising inside ChatGPT matter for ecommerce?

Discovery is shifting into AI assistants, and a paid layer is forming alongside the organic one. Measurement tools arrive first, before the ad spend, so this is an early read on where AI-search advertising is heading and a way to prepare while the channel is still uncrowded.

Can merchants use it now?

Not broadly yet. At launch it is an invite-only beta for existing Profound customers, so treat it as a signal about the direction of AI-search advertising more than a tool most merchants can pick up today.

Sources

Chandni Melwani

Chandni Melwani

Chandni Melwani is the founder and editor of New in AI, covering AI agents, M&A, and enterprise adoption. She holds a Master's in Management of Artificial Intelligence from Queen's University and brings a practitioner's perspective from her work in Data and AI leadership.

Follow ↗

E-commerce Briefing

Get the five-beat briefing before the market opens.

One email. Frontier labs, AI at work, e-commerce, and the capital crossing borders — decoded daily.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

More from E-commerce