ProRata Invents New AI Technology to Transform Digital Advertising

ProRata.ai today unveiled ProRata Ads, a new advertising platform that reimagines digital advertising by leveraging the power of AI. ProRata Ads’ patent-pending technology uses AI agents to understand a brand’s marketing objectives and the surrounding context in which an online ad appears. This revolutionary technology enables marketers to seamlessly integrate immediately relevant ads into AI search and digital media content—in real-time and at scale.

Changing Digital Advertising Landscape

Digital advertising is undergoing a fundamental shift. AI-powered search engines increasingly provide answers instead of links to external websites, reducing the effectiveness of traditional keyword-based search ads. According to Bain & Company, nearly 80% of consumers already rely on zero-click results for at least 40% of their searches, leading to a steep decline in organic web traffic. As audiences migrate away from conventional platforms such as Google, brands need new tools to reach consumers directly within AI-generated responses.

At the same time, changes to privacy regulations have made behavioral targeting more difficult. Marketers need new solutions that do not overly rely on past behavior and personal data. ProRata Ads reads the page, not the person, by interpreting the meaning, topics, and intent of the content being read. The system then instantly identifies the most relevant brands for that content, creates an online ad (using approved brand language), and seamlessly positions that ad in a way that adds value to the editorial experience.

Power of the Prompt

The ProRata Ads platform places the prompt at the center of campaign execution. Instead of relying on static keywords, marketers will now be able to upload their creative brief—including objectives, target audience, core messaging, style and tone, brand safety considerations, and more—directly into the system’s prompt interface.

Powered by specially trained LLM agents that handle planning, curation, creative optimization, and brand safety, the ProRata Ads platform can place and refine contextually relevant ads in real-time. At the core of this innovation is the ability for the system’s LLMs agents to perform a contextual analysis for each ad placement, instantly and at scale. This breakthrough in mass customization enables unprecedented adaptability and precision.

“Until now, keywords have been the backbone of Internet monetization, but with the advent of large language models, the age of the keyword is over,” said Bill Gross, CEO of ProRata and inventor of the paid keyword search business model. “It’s now the age of the prompt. The core breakthrough is that LLM agents can be trained to deeply understand a creative brief and a brand’s marketing goals—then deliver online ads that are precisely aligned with a reader’s interest and purchasing intent. As keyword-based advertising redefined digital marketing 25 years ago, prompt-based advertising will become the new standard—it’s paid search 2.0.”

ProRata Ads will run in AI search results and other forms of digital media—advancing the company’s mission to build attribution and monetization technologies that ensure content creators receive fair credit and compensation. The platform will debut on Gist.ai, ProRata’s AI search engine, which shares 50% of all revenue with its content partners and serves as a showcase for its technologies. In addition, several members of ProRata’s network of hundreds of premium publications will be piloting ProRata Ads on their own platforms, including dmg media, “TIME,” “Fortune,” Lee Enterprises, “ADWEEK,” and The Arena Group.

Industry Support

Mark Howard, Chief Operating Officer of TIME

“Ads on the open web must evolve to meet the new user experiences that AI platforms offer. ProRata is the first to harness the power of AI and large language models to make ads more relevant and useful to our readers—and better performing for our partners. We see this as a solution for AI to empower a new alignment of messages, interactivity and engagement.”

Rich Caccappolo, Chief Executive Officer of dmg media

“As an investor in ProRata.ai, we are delighted to join the first wave of news publishers to pilot ProRata Ads, and we are excited to assist in developing this creative product from the ground up. For publishers, the opportunities for AI are far greater than simply licensing content to LLMs. We have a pivotal role to play in building the next generation of intelligent advertising products that create meaningful value for our audience and partners. ProRata Ads harnesses AI to gain deep contextual understanding of our readers’ interests and intentions, and we look forward to collaborating and testing with advertisers and agencies.”

Kevin Mowbray, Chief Executive Officer of Lee Enterprises

“Diversifying and expanding offerings for local advertisers is a key Pillar strategy at Lee. ProRata’s innovative solution driving contextually relevant ads in real time is a game changer for local advertisers.”

Michael Schneider, Chief Revenue Officer of Fortune

“We’re pleased to partner with ProRata to pilot ProRata Ads on our digital platforms. This collaboration allows us to integrate more relevant advertising within our editorial content, enhancing the experience for both our brand partners and readers.”

Will Lee, Chief Executive Officer of ADWEEK

“As the front page and homepage of the advertising and brand marketing industry, ADWEEK prides itself for being first to market with new and innovative advertising products. ProRata Ads will support ADWEEK’s push to offer ‘content as a service’: sponsored content that does not just speak to audiences—but speaks with them, drives deeper insights, and better outcomes for our partners.”

Kerry Tucker, Co-President of ad agency VIRTUE

“Our clients are looking for every edge to reach their target customers more effectively. ProRata Ads is the first to use the latest breakthroughs in large language models and AI to deliver that advantage to advertisers. We’re excited to introduce our clients to this new technology platform.”

Mark Eaves, Founder of creative studio, Gravity Road (The Brandtech Group)

“For the last decade digital advertising has been stuck in a loop—optimizing the same old mechanics without evolving. The shift to a dynamic new, prompt-led context changes that. It is a powerful new canvas for brands and realizes the promise of AI in a fair and meaningful way.”