TIME has rolled out a novel advertising strategy in collaboration with the platform Mobian, focusing on AI agents instead of traditional human readers. The publication now provides AI bots with simplified Markdown versions of its articles, which have been modified to exclude images and intricate page layouts. This adjustment makes it easier for systems like ChatGPT and Perplexity to analyze the content.
Additionally, these AI-tailored articles feature sponsored FAQ sections that highlight advertisers. The concept is that AI systems will catalog these sections alongside editorial material, which could influence their responses to user inquiries.
Jonah Goodhart, co-founder of Mobian, remarked, "Perhaps it is more crucial to sway the AI agent than the human reader, as influencing one individual only affects that person. However, impacting ChatGPT could influence countless users."
The effectiveness of this approach remains uncertain. Since AI systems independently rank and select their sources, there is no assurance that branded content will be included in their responses. In some instances, it might even be regarded as spam by a large language model.
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