Brett Crosby

One man brand. Co-founder/COO Former co-founder @urchinbiz (acquired by @Google) & @GoogleAnalytics. Dir Product Growth @Chrome, @Gmail, etc.

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

@Kafka7invest @Snap Wow, looks strangely familiar @Snapchat @adzen_ai

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

I added my thoughts to @kirbyman01's article about ads in AI and why they are not only inevitable, but a positive for universal access to AI: https://t.co/LhUN5sq9KW

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

@DavidWall9987 @kirbyman01 Oh for sure, I agree with that. I've always championed that we need to rethink advertising for this medium: minimally invasive, privacy friendly, doesn't reduce engagement, etc.

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

@DavidWall9987 @kirbyman01 It's a fair point. Similar debates were had when Google launched ads in search results. They were very careful and thoughtful with their rollout. The needle was threaded, though, and generally universal accessibility (and a massive profit center) won out. Similar path for AI?

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

@kirbyman01 @adzen_ai Thank you for writing it.

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

This is a fantastic piece by @kirbyman01. Very thoughtful. Very accurate. Very applicable to what we're doing at @adzen_ai

[Bryan Kim @kirbyman01]

https://t.co/R3NrQ5BUoS

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

@DavidWall9987 @kirbyman01 AI ads shouldn't manipulate organic AI responses. (I think most people and cos already agree with that.) And it will be easily verifiable with the same prompt in a subscription vs ads version of ChatGPT. Ads should be relevant to the content, not vise versa.

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

@FreeMarketTom @adzen_ai A bit of both actually! A lot of the team is remote, but our office is in SF: https://t.co/GTyStUzmMl

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

Seems like a good time to get this news out there... Ads in AI is a very hot topic right now.

[AdZen.ai @adzen_ai]

AdZen Secures Funding to Revolutionize Advertising in Conversational AI

We’re excited to announce that we have closed our Seed Funding round, backing our mission to reinvent how advertising works in conversational AI and publishers as well.

As LLMs become one of the most important discovery and decision-making surfaces on the internet, the industry faces a fundamental problem:
How do AI platforms monetize without breaking trust, degrading user experience, or compromising privacy?

At AdZen, we believe advertising must evolve with the medium. We’ve built a content-first, privacy-friendly advertising platform designed specifically for conversations; not banners, not interruptions, but relevant brand engagement that fits naturally inside AI and web experiences.

“As people are increasingly turning to LLMs for answers, AI companies need a way to monetize those interactions. Meanwhile, brands need a way to find their customers. We are thrilled to be supported by this badass group of investors who share our vision of restoring balance to the digital ecosystem,” from our CEO and Co-Founder Spencer Bardsley. “This funding will help us accelerate our mission, bringing effective monetization solutions to AI platforms and web publishers worldwide, while continuing to prioritize user trust and experience.”

Investors include:
- Fiat Ventures @FiatVen
- Inventus Capital Partners @Inventusvc
- Silicon Valley Quad
- Andreessen Horowitz @a16z
- New Enterprise Associates @NEA
- Bain Capital Ventures @BainCapital

We’re especially proud to be supported by investors and operators who helped build the advertising ecosystems at Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Spotify, YouTube, AOL, and more, people who deeply understand both the power and the responsibility of advertising at scale.

This funding enables us to:
- Accelerate product development for LLM-native advertising
- Grow our team across AI, product, and partnerships
- Scale a monetization engine that prioritizes relevance, trust, and user experience

Advertising has fueled every major technology shift. Conversational AI will be no different; but it demands a fundamentally new model.

We’re building it.

Reach out to discuss our Advertising Solutions, Publisher Monetization or AI Platform integrations.

Additionally, we are actively hiring, so connect with us to learn more about our open positions and how we will help keep LLMs free for everyone to use.
Onward.

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

There's an entire AI ecosystem just waiting to flourish once a business model is in place. We aim to create that, provide revenue to offset token costs and help AI companies thrive. Opportunity for startups, selection for consumers, continued accessibility for everyone & less VC$

[AdZen.ai @adzen_ai]

Ads are coming to AI.
But they don’t have to ruin the experience.

To quickly catch you up: @OpenAI announced ads are coming to @chatbotgtp . @Anthropic answered with a very public slam in yesterday’s Super Bowl ads. So what’s the path forward?

First, what’s been stated publicly is that ads are going to start appearing in ChatGPT. These are image based ads. They appear to be somewhat related to the content of the conversation. They are paid per impression (not click) and Keyword is reporting they will cost $60 per impression, approximately 3x higher than ads on Meta, for example. And starting spend for a campaign is $200K.

What OpenAI has made clear is that their ads are not impacting the organic results you are getting from ChatGPT, even though Anthropic’s new ad spots would imply otherwise. This approach is the playbook that we shared with OpenAI and one that we all agree is the right path forward.

Read more here.
https://t.co/AJnpIYbhJP

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

@JSchwarz9 Absolutely. They're very well done. Smart land grab for users, too.

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

I see a near future where ad supported models in AI will be the norm to allow access to LLMs for everyone. Don't want ads? Simply pay the subscription fee. Ads don't have to be annoying. They can be helpful and keep amazing things freely available. There are countless examples.

[AdZen.ai @adzen_ai]

The debate around ads in AI isn't just heating up, it's boiling over.

@OpenAI 's move to introduce advertising into ChatGPT was met with a swift industry backlash, humorously highlighted by @AnthropicAI 's upcoming Super Bowl ads that openly ridicule the concept.

Our CEO, Spencer Bardsley, asks the question, ”Is the backlash warranted? The most used platforms today are ad supported. TV, social, video, search, mobile. The industry offers paid, ad-free options, but most consumers choose ad-supported models.”

Our view at AdZen is that AI is no different. Ad-supported means greater accessibility and often more choices.

But let's pause the noise and face a critical historical truth. Every paradigm-shifting technology, every mass-scale platform that has defined the modern digital era, has been powered by one engine: Advertising.

Read more here:
https://t.co/wQrHBUOq8J

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

Feels nice tweeting on @SpaceX

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

@adzen_ai @OpenAI @AnthropicAI @AnthropicAI's ads are so well done that they somewhat ironically prove the point: the right ad, at the right time, in the right place can actually work really well.

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

@MarkVillacampa That is true! That's also what the U in UTM stands for.

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

Happy 20th anniversary @googleanalytics. We launched you on this day, Nov 14th, 2005. It took a ton of effort and a lot of convincing to get you live. Not too late for a founders award 😘.

@impunity @mutzet @weschan @friedberg @pbotto33 @aldendesoto @jeromyhenry @avinash

[Sunil Daluvoy @svd415]

https://t.co/t7w3aaqZBU

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

Why doesn't @WhatsApp have a built-in translation tool? It is used all over the world, and is especially popular in Europe.

[Brett Crosby @brettc]

@elonmusk What's the latest with solar city?