That behavior has caught the attention of advertisers—particularly those with large budgets in travel, finance, and CPG–that Koah said it has onboarded. Baird declined to share specifics.
“A lot of their new customer base, especially younger demographics, are moving to AI chatbots,” Baird said. “They are trying to figure out how to make sure they are top of mind as behavior shifts away from traditional media.”
Koah inserts text-based sponsored messages into conversations, clearly labeled as ads and separated from the chatbot’s response. Ads are matched to user intent—similar to keyword-based targeting in search—and measured through click-through rates.
Once onboarded, advertisers can set parameters such as audience demographics and location. Koah then uses a mix of AI models, including tools from OpenAI, to generate ad copy aligned with the conversation.
The startup takes a 30% cut of revenue generated across its network.
A marketplace for AI developers
On the AI interfaces side, Koah works with companies such as Liner, a student-focused search tool, and DeepAI. Another partner, Viro, positions itself as an eco-friendly ChatGPT alternative and uses Koah-generated revenue to offset operating costs.
After four months on the platform, Viro has processed more than 1 million queries, with ad revenue helping cover API expenses and fund renewable energy initiatives. The app flags ads with disclaimers such as “This ad funds climate restoration” and “This ad powers renewable energy.”
Koah says its network has grown to more than 2 million monthly active users over the past year, with users averaging 165 queries per month. In total, the platform has processed more than 350 million queries and delivered more than 35 million ad impressions.
“Ads are necessary for any of these apps to grow beyond burning hundreds of billions of dollars of venture capital,” Baird said. “It would be a tragedy to see one of the most powerful tools we’ve ever created be unavailable to a huge part of the population because we don’t want to do ads.”
