Meta Poised to Launch Ads on Threads
Meta is preparing to introduce advertising on its X competitor, Threads, after months of strategic development. The company has reportedly been building out AI-powered agentic commerce features to integrate business and creator monetization tools. The move could challenge the dominance of other social platforms in the online advertising market.
- The global rollout of ads on Threads is set to begin the week of January 22, 2026, expanding from initial tests in markets like the U.S. and Japan. The launch will be gradual, with ad formats including images, videos, and carousels integrated into the main feed and labeled "Sponsored". - Threads has grown to over 400 million monthly active users (MAU) as of the third quarter of 2025, with about 115 million daily active users (DAU). This user base makes it a significant new inventory source for Meta's advertising business, which saw Facebook and Instagram account for nearly $75 billion in U.S. ad spending in the first half of 2024. - The "agentic commerce" strategy involves developing AI agents that can proactively find, compare, and even purchase products on a user's behalf based on learned preferences and context. This initiative is part of a broader industry trend and was bolstered by Meta's December 2025 acquisition of agent developer Manus. - While direct ad revenue sharing for creators is not available at launch, monetization is possible through indirect methods like brand collaborations, sponsored content, and affiliate marketing. For comparison, Meta offers a 55% revenue share to creators for in-stream ads on Facebook. - A key challenge for Threads is user engagement; time spent on the Android app averages 34 minutes per month, significantly lower than X (formerly Twitter) at over 5 hours per month. However, the median engagement rate per post on Threads is reportedly 6.25%, which is 73.6% higher than on X. - The advertising system will leverage Meta's existing AI-powered infrastructure, which is used for targeting on Facebook and Instagram. Advertisers using Meta's Advantage+ campaigns will find Threads automatically included as a default ad placement. - In the competitive landscape, X saw its ad spending drop by 23% in the first half of 2024, totaling around $900 million. In contrast, analysts expect Threads to become a significant new revenue driver for Meta as it scales its monetization.
