Meta's Threads set to show ads to users worldwide from next week: Details

Meta is bringing ads to Threads for users worldwide, with ads rolling out slowly across feeds as the platform expands its advertising model

Meta has announced that ads will soon start appearing on Threads. Beginning next week, users will gradually see ads in their Threads feeds as the company expands the ads worldwide. With the wider expansion, ads will no longer be limited to select regions or users. Meta said ad delivery will start slowly, so users may not see many ads at first. Threads first introduced ads to a small group of advertisers last year and has kept the rollout limited so far.

Ads on Threads: What users can expect

According to Meta, ads on Threads will look similar to regular posts in the feed. These will include image ads, video ads and carousel-style ads that users may already be familiar with from other Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The ads will appear as users scroll, blending into the feed rather than showing up as separate banners.

 

Meta said ads on Threads use the same AI-based system that powers ads across its other apps. This means ads may be personalised based on user activity and interests, similar to how ads work on Instagram or Facebook.

 

The company has said the expansion will happen gradually. Even though ads are opening up to all regions, ad volume will remain low in the early stages. This approach is meant to avoid overwhelming users as Threads continues to grow. 

 

Alongside the wider rollout, Meta has also made changes to how ads work on Threads. Businesses can now manage their Threads accounts alongside Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp from one place. More ad formats have also been added, including new image sizes and carousel ads.

 

Meta has also expanded brand safety tools on Threads. This will allow advertisers to check where their ads appear, using third-party verification systems already used on Facebook and Instagram. 

 

In a move similar to Meta expanding ads on Threads, AI platforms are also taking different approaches to advertising. Last week, OpenAI announced that ads will soon be shown to all free users of ChatGPT, as well as ChatGPT Go subscribers. Meanwhile, Google has said it does not plan to introduce ads on Gemini.