Michael Rubenstein, co-founder and co-CEO, Firsthand
The old model is breaking. Digital media’s foundational ad model — capturing attention and monetizing it through volume — is no longer sustainable. Publisher site traffic is declining, consumer behavior is evolving and AI-driven platforms are fundamentally changing how people discover, learn and act on information.
Licensing publisher content to AI platforms might seem like a lifeline, but it won’t replace advertising revenue. Worse, it risks eroding brand identity and severing direct customer relationships, as others become the front door to publishers’ intellectual property. It’s not a long-term solution for either revenue or relevance.
AI does, however, open the door to something more durable: a new way for publishers to create value — and it starts by thinking in terms of agents, not ads.
The future is agentic
The next era of monetization isn’t about delivering more ad impressions. It’s about delivering higher value, adaptive one-to-one user experiences and personalization that ultimately leads to higher engagement and better outcomes.
AI is transforming how consumers interact with information and brands. It’s no longer about exposure — it’s about assistance, relevance and personalization. At its best, AI in media goes beyond helping a user do something. It recognizes intent, surfaces exactly the right information for the right person and delivers one-to-one messaging that was never possible with traditional 2D advertising.
That requires digital experiences that are conversational, intelligent and aligned with user intent.
That experience is agentic — powered by AI agents that engage, assist and convert. It’s the future of media: agents, not ads.
Ads interrupt, while agents assist
In this new paradigm, ads don’t disappear — they evolve and adapt. Instead of interrupting users with static messages, agents engage them dynamically, offering real-time, personalized guidance. Rather than sitting beside content, they’re woven into it, surfacing help precisely when it’s needed. And unlike chatbots, agents don’t wait to be summoned — they anticipate need and assist proactively, embedded seamlessly in the experience.
Publishers are uniquely positioned to lead this shift. AI runs on knowledge and data — and publishers have some of the richest, most trusted sources available. That’s the foundation for building highly effective, context-aware agents.
What it means to sell agents, not ads
Today’s publisher ad model primarily relies on volume, interruption and uniformity: serve an ad, hope it engages, send everyone to the same destination. It’s built on predetermined user segments and broad targeting — not true one-to-one understanding.
Agents flip that model on its head.
Agents are embedded, interactive experiences that help users achieve something useful in the moment and guide them directly to where they want to go next. They blend editorial authority with commercial utility. This is the core shift: agents, not ads.
Ads push. Agents guide.
Consider readers of an article comparing SUVs. One reader is a parent focused on SUV safety. Another is a commuter looking for SUV fuel efficiency.
An agent working on behalf of an automaker can engage each user in real-time, surfacing the right product details and adapting as intent becomes clearer. As the agent responds, it not only educates the user but also helps the brand understand their needs, enabling deeper, more meaningful engagement. When the user wants to take the next step, the automaker’s agent can send them directly to where they need to go, rather than the path everyone takes, whether by configuring a safety-optimized model, exploring a fuel-efficient trim or even scheduling a test drive at a local dealer.
This is advertising reimagined — not a banner ad with a single message and destination, but a trusted guide that delivers depth, context and direct value to each user. And it delivers deeper engagement, greater media value and stronger results for brands, which makes publishers competitive destinations for media investment.
Why the shift from ads to agents benefits everyone
Agents, not ads, turn high-quality content into high-intent environments, unlocking more value from every visit. And because agents live directly on their properties, publishers retain control over the audience relationship, rather than ceding it to aggregators or platforms.
For marketers, agents offer a more precise, adaptive way to reach consumers. They reveal not just what people clicked, but what they needed, allowing brands to meet those needs in real-time, with messaging that reflects actual needs and behaviors.
And for consumers, agentic experiences are simply more useful. Agents don’t shout — they respond. They don’t interrupt — they assist.
The next chapter of digital experiences
AI isn’t just an automation wave. It’s a brand new communications medium. And that shift — from optimizing ads to powering agents — is the real opportunity.
Publishers can’t afford to wait and see how it shakes out. The opportunity is clear: build better experiences on owned properties and monetize them through deeper engagement and meaningful outcomes, not just passive impressions.
The traditional digital ad model isn’t dead, but it is fading. Using AI to eke out incremental returns from old ad formats may drive short-term efficiency. But it won’t drive long-term growth.
Agents, not ads, is the path forward for publishers to drive revenue, defend the business and deliver greater value to consumers, marketers and publishers alike.
Sponsored by Firsthand
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