Meta Platforms (META.O) announced on Friday that it will begin testing ads on its social media platform, Threads, with select brands in the U.S. and Japan. This comes as the app surpasses 300 million monthly active users.
Starting Friday, image ads will appear in the Threads home feed, positioned between content posts for a small group of users, according to Meta’s blog. The company said it would closely monitor this initial test before expanding it further, noting that businesses can extend their existing Meta ad campaigns to include Threads.
Additionally, Meta will test an AI-driven inventory filter for ads on Threads, allowing advertisers to control the sensitivity level of organic content next to their ads.
“The launch of ads on Threads, coming just weeks after Meta’s content moderation overhaul, is bound to catch the attention of advertisers. With the volatility at TikTok, brands are looking for alternatives, and Meta is seizing the chance to incorporate Threads into the mix,” said Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Emarketer.
Earlier this month, Meta discontinued its U.S. fact-checking program across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, three of the world’s largest social media platforms with over 3 billion global users.
Launched in July 2023, Threads aimed to compete with X (formerly Twitter), attracting users amid the chaos surrounding Elon Musk’s acquisition of the microblogging site. However, Meta’s CFO Susan Li stated in October that Threads is not expected to be a significant revenue driver in 2025.
The European Commission has also urged social media giants, including Meta, X, and TikTok, to undergo a “stress test” ahead of Germany’s upcoming election to assess their efforts to combat disinformation.
Meta plans to invest up to $65 billion this year to expand its AI infrastructure, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg aims to strengthen the company’s position in the race against rivals like OpenAI and Google.
