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Outbrain is a web recommendation[5] platform founded in 2006 by co-founder and Co-CEO Yaron Galai and co-founder, Chief Technology Officer and General Manager, Ori Lahav.[6] The company is headquartered in New York City.[5]

Key Information

In February 2024, Yaron Galai resigned.[7]

The company generates revenue for online publishers by displaying feeds of content and ads, or boxes of links, known as chumboxes, to pages within a website or mobile platform.[5] Advertisers pay Outbrain on a pay-per-click basis and a portion of that revenue is shared with publishers.[8]

The quality of Outbrain's recommendations have been debated.[9][5][10]

Products

[edit]

Outbrain is a native advertising company. It uses targeted advertising to recommend articles, slideshows, blog posts, photos or videos to a reader. Some of the content recommended by Outbrain link to publisher's own content, while others link to other sites.

As of March 2019, Outbrain's promoted articles are found on 108,121 websites.[11] In 2020, Outbrain delivered an average of 10 billion recommendations daily for over 20,000 advertisers.[12][13]

History

[edit]

Outbrain first marketed its content discovery platform in 2006.

It was founded by Yaron Galai and Ori Lahav, who were both officers in the Israeli Navy.[14] Galai sold his company Quigo to AOL in 2007 for $363 million.[15] Lahav worked at Shopping.com, acquired by eBay in 2005.[16]

The company is headquartered in New York with global offices in London, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Cologne, Gurugram, Paris, Ljubljana, Munich, Milan, Madrid, Tokyo, São Paulo, Netanya,[17] Singapore, and Sydney.[18]

Outbrain went public in July 2021. The company offered 8 million shares in the IPO, bringing in $160 million.[19][20]

Mergers and acquisitions

[edit]

Outbrain has acquired 6 companies—related content recommendation platform, Surphace (February 2011),[21] content curation platform, Scribit (December 2012),[22] and predictive analytics company, Visual Revenue (March 2013).[23] In early 2016, Outbrain acquired technology company Revee.[24][25] In July 2017, Outbrain acquired Zemanta.[26] In February 2019, Outbrain acquired Ligatus.[27]

In October 2019, Outbrain announced its intention to merge with Taboola under the Taboola brand.[28] In September 2020, Taboola and Outbrain ceased merger discussions.[29]

In August 2024, Outbrain and Teads announced plans to merge in "an approximately $1 billion transaction".[30]

In February 2025, Outrain announced the closing of its acquisition of Teads, following receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. Following Outbrain’s acquisition of Teads in February 2025, they announced in June that the combined company has completed its corporate renaming from “Outbrain Inc.” to “Teads Holding Co.”

Business model

[edit]

Advertisers typically pay on a pay-per-click basis and publishers generate income from external clicks.[31][8] Approximately 75% of that revenue is paid to the site or app which presented the Outbrain link.[32] Outbrain shares advertising revenue with publishers who implement their feeds or links on their sites, which are sometimes referred to as chumboxes.[33][10]

Reception

[edit]

Outbrain has often been compared with competitor Taboola.[34][35] One way that Outbrain claimed to distinguish itself from Taboola was that it tried to pre-filter spammy links before displaying them, whereas Taboola had a feature called Taboola Choice, where users can offer feedback on what recommendations they do not like.[36][37]

Both Outbrain and Taboola have been described by Internet commentators as alternatives to Google AdSense that content publishers could consider for revenue streams.[38][39]

In November 2012, in response to criticism of it for low-quality links, Outbrain decided to cut off showing such links and stated that doing so would cause it a 25% revenue cut, but that it was important for its long-term reputation with publishers and users.[40] In 2021, Outbrain revamped its algorithm to incorporate machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve the quality of its ads.[41] However, the quality of Outbrain's recommendations have been debated.[36][42][43]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Outbrain

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Outbrain Inc. was a that developed and operated a content discovery and recommendation platform, enabling publishers to engage users with personalized article suggestions and allowing advertisers to deliver across the open web. Founded in by Yaron Galai and Ori Lahav, the company was headquartered in and initially focused on addressing the challenges of content discovery in by replicating engaging, print-like experiences online. By providing algorithmic recommendations integrated into publisher websites, Outbrain powered billions of monthly content suggestions, helping to increase user time on site and diversify revenue streams for media owners through sponsored content placements. The platform's core technology analyzed user behavior, content relevance, and contextual signals to curate feeds that connected readers with relevant stories, while offering advertisers tools for targeted campaigns with performance metrics like click-through rates and return on ad spend. Outbrain expanded globally, establishing 18 offices and partnering with publishers and marketers in more than 55 countries, supporting 14 languages and delivering over 344 billion recommendations each month as of 2023. Key innovations included advanced solutions, such as the acquisition of Ligatus in to strengthen its European presence, and integrations with premium publishers like , , and . Outbrain went public on the in July 2021 under the "OB," raising approximately $160 million in its priced at $20 per share. The company reported annual revenue of $935.8 million in 2023, driven by its role in the growing market. In a significant development, Outbrain completed the acquisition of Teads, a global platform, in February 2025 for about $900 million, forming a combined entity focused on full-funnel solutions. By 2025, the merged company officially changed its name to Teads and adopted the ticker "TEAD," continuing operations as a leading platform for open with enhanced AI-driven capabilities and reach to over 2 billion consumers. As of Q3 2025, Teads reported a 15% year-over-year revenue decline amid underperformance in key markets including the U.S., , and .

History

Founding and early operations

Outbrain was founded in 2006 by Yaron Galai and Ori Lahav in Giv'atayim, Israel, with the goal of creating a content discovery platform to help publishers replicate the serendipitous experience of discovering articles by turning pages in print media. Both founders had previously served as officers in the Israeli Navy and brought experience from Galai's earlier venture, Quigo, which he sold to AOL in 2007. The company's initial product was a web-based recommendation widget launched in 2007, designed for publishers to embed on their sites and suggest related articles to users based on and algorithmic curation. This widget aimed to boost user engagement and session times by surfacing relevant content without relying on traditional search engines. Early operations focused on refining this technology in before expanding internationally, marking the beginning of Outbrain's shift toward integrating sponsored recommendations as a tool. Outbrain secured its seed funding of $1 million in January 2007, followed by a $5 million in February 2008 led by Gemini Israel Ventures and . By 2021, the company had raised a total of $545 million across multiple rounds to fuel product development and global scaling. These early investments supported the platform's growth amid the rising demand for personalized content discovery on the open web. Among its first major publisher partnerships, Outbrain integrated its widget with outlets like and starting in the late 2000s, enabling these sites to enhance article recommendations and drive traffic to related stories. These collaborations helped establish Outbrain's credibility and expanded its reach to high-traffic news and sports audiences. In 2012, the company relocated its headquarters to , leasing 25,000 square feet in to better serve the U.S. market and support international expansion. Over the mid-2010s, Outbrain evolved its core recommendation engine to incorporate native advertising capabilities, allowing publishers to monetize recommendations through sponsored content placements.

Public listing and expansion

In 2017, Outbrain acquired Zemanta, a native programmatic demand-side platform (DSP), to bolster its advertising technology capabilities and integrate advanced demand management tools for native formats. This move enhanced Outbrain's ability to connect advertisers with premium publisher inventory through automated buying. Two years later, in 2019, the company acquired Ligatus, a leading European native advertising platform, further expanding its footprint in key markets like Germany, Spain, and France while strengthening relationships with high-quality publishers. These acquisitions supported Outbrain's scaling by incorporating complementary technologies that improved content personalization and ad delivery efficiency. By 2020, Outbrain had achieved significant growth in its recommendation ecosystem, delivering an average of over 10 billion personalized recommendations daily to approximately one billion monthly unique users across tens of thousands of advertiser partners. The platform expanded to integrate with more than 7,000 premium online properties worldwide, enabling broader distribution of content and ads while maintaining focus on partnerships. This period marked accelerated international scaling, with operations in over 50 countries and emphasis on multilingual support for 20 languages. Outbrain went public in July 2021, listing on under the OB after filing its S-1 registration statement. The involved selling 8 million shares at $20 each, raising approximately $160 million and achieving an initial of about $1.1 billion. Post-IPO, the stock experienced volatility amid broader market challenges in digital advertising; shares traded above the IPO price initially but declined sharply, ending 2021 with a market cap of roughly $790 million, dropping to $190 million by the end of 2022, and recovering slightly to $220 million by the close of 2023. Under co-CEOs Yaron Galai and David Kostman, Outbrain pursued aggressive expansion through 2023, with Galai—a co-founder—overseeing product innovation rooted in the company's early widget technology. Galai resigned as co-CEO effective , 2024, transitioning to an advisory role while remaining chairman, amid efforts to streamline leadership for ongoing growth. The company's revenue reached $992 million in 2022, reflecting steady scaling in its core operations despite macroeconomic pressures in the sector.

Acquisition of Teads and

In February 2025, Outbrain Inc. completed its acquisition of Teads, a global platform owned by Altice, for a total consideration of approximately $900 million, comprising $625 million in cash (subject to customary adjustments) and 43.75 million shares of Outbrain . The transaction, initially announced in August 2024 and revised in terms of payment structure, followed approval in December 2024 and receipt of all necessary regulatory clearances from authorities including the U.S. Department of Justice and the UK's . This deal built on Outbrain's prior expansions, such as its 2019 acquisition of Ligatus, to further consolidate its position in native and programmatic . The merger's strategic rationale centered on forming a unified open advertising platform that combines Outbrain's content recommendation expertise with Teads' video and branding capabilities, enabling marketers to achieve outcomes across the full on multiple digital screens. Post-closing, integration efforts faced challenges, including the consolidation of operations, technologies, and employee bases, which led to the elimination of approximately global roles to achieve projected annual cost synergies of up to $75 million by 2026. The combined entity scaled to handle significant spend, positioning it as a leading independent player in with enhanced reach for premium publishers and advertisers. On June 9, 2025, the company finalized its rebranding, changing its corporate name from Outbrain Inc. to Teads Holding Co., with the ticker symbol shifting from OB to TEAD effective June 10, 2025. This rebranding reflected the integration of Teads' identity as the dominant brand in , aligning the unified platform under a single corporate umbrella. Immediate post-merger financials highlighted integration impacts in the first quarter of 2025, with rising 32% year-over-year to $286.4 million, driven by the addition of Teads' operations, though the company reported a net loss of $54.8 million amid one-time acquisition costs and expenses. In the second quarter of 2025, increased to $343.1 million, but the company posted a net loss of $14.3 million due to ongoing integration and charges. By the third quarter of 2025, reached $318.8 million, up 42% year-over-year as reported, though growth was negative 15%, with a net loss of approximately $16 million (or $0.17 per share) amid challenges from AI-driven publisher declines and missed analyst expectations. As of November 18, 2025, Teads Holding Co.'s stock price was $0.75, reflecting a of approximately $72 million and a year-to-date decline of over 90%, influenced by issues and market pressures in digital advertising.

Products and services

Content recommendation engine

Outbrain's content recommendation engine, launched in , initially focused on basic content discovery by matching user interests to available articles through contextual similarities and post performance metrics. Over nearly two decades, the system has evolved significantly, transitioning from simpler rule-based approaches to sophisticated models that power personalized suggestions across thousands of publisher sites. By 2021, Outbrain had refined its engine to process over 10 billion recommendations daily, serving more than 1 billion unique users monthly with tailored feeds. At its core, the engine employs algorithms to analyze user behavior—such as browsing history and click patterns—alongside content metadata like titles, keywords, and topics, and contextual signals including device type, location, and page environment. These inputs enable real-time , predicting content relevance to suggest articles, videos, and other media that align with individual preferences while prioritizing quality to enhance user engagement. For instance, the system evaluates over 1 billion data events per minute to generate feeds that balance relevance with diversity in topics. Introduced in 2021, the QualityRating™ metric integrates AI-driven quality assessments into the algorithm, scoring promoted content based on adherence to editorial guidelines and user value, thereby improving feed and reducing low-quality suggestions. The operates at massive scale, handling billions of daily across a network of over 7,000 websites and apps, where it dynamically ranks recommendations to maximize discovery without overwhelming users. Post-2021 advancements have emphasized AI-driven , including the deployment of AutoML tools that automate and hyperparameter tuning for tasks like and on content data. This evolution supports offline evaluation of thousands of model variants using metrics such as AUC and log loss, ensuring robust performance in production environments. Following Outbrain's acquisition of Teads in February 2025 and subsequent to Teads in June 2025, the recommendation engine incorporated Teads' outstream video capabilities, facilitating hybrid feeds that seamlessly blend text-based articles with video content for more immersive user experiences. Technical optimizations include real-time frameworks, such as algorithms, which enable rapid experimentation on widget layouts and recommendation rankings to refine performance faster than traditional split tests. By 2025, these neural network-enhanced models had advanced to handle complex interactions, like combining user signals with generative AI for proactive . Following the , these technologies continue to operate under the Teads brand.

Native advertising tools

Outbrain Amplify serves as the primary platform for advertisers to create, manage, and optimize campaigns, enabling seamless integration with premium publisher networks to distribute content recommendations that blend naturally with editorial feeds. Through its dashboard, users can set up campaigns by selecting objectives such as traffic generation or , creatives like headlines, images, and videos, and define budgets with automated options. Targeting capabilities include demographic segmentation, contextual relevance based on content categories, and interests derived from user signals, allowing precise reach to high- users without relying on third-party . Performance within Amplify provide real-time metrics, including click-through rates (CTRs) averaging 0.3-0.5% for native formats and rates measured by time spent on recommended content. Following the completion of Outbrain's acquisition of Teads in February 2025 and to Teads in June 2025, the platform integrated advanced video ad formats, expanding to include outstream videos that autoplay below editorial content and in-feed placements mimicking organic video recommendations. This merger combines Outbrain's content discovery expertise with Teads' video inventory, supporting short-form videos under 15 seconds for quick engagement and longer formats for storytelling, distributed across more than 10,000 premium publishers globally. AI-powered creative optimization tools, such as the generative AI generator and image resizer, automate variations of ad copy and visuals to match native ratios, improving relevance and boosting CTRs by up to 20% through . Campaign types available through Amplify cater to diverse goals, with Outbrain Direct Response (ODR) focusing on and conversions via performance-driven bidding that prioritizes actions like form submissions or purchases. For , advertisers can deploy widget-style campaigns that maximize impressions and clicks on sponsored content, often using formats to showcase multiple assets in a single ad unit. Cookieless targeting leverages first-party data from publisher partnerships and contextual signals, including tools like Conversion Bid Strategy () which optimizes for post-click actions using on-site behavior. In 2025, Outbrain emphasized enhanced support for short-form video in native feeds and generative AI for dynamic ad copy generation, enabling real-time personalization based on trending topics and user contexts to adapt to evolving regulations. These tools track key indicators (KPIs) such as rates—typically 2-3 times higher than display ads—and conversion funnels, providing dashboards for attributing revenue from ad delivery to downstream actions like . Following the to Teads, these tools continue to operate under the Teads platform.

Business model

Revenue mechanisms

Outbrain primarily generates revenue through a (PPC) model, in which advertisers bid on placements for their sponsored content recommendations across partner publisher sites. Under this system, advertisers pay only when users click on the ads, with Outbrain retaining approximately 25% of the revenue after sharing the remainder with publishers as traffic acquisition costs (TAC), which accounted for 73.5% of in 2024. In addition to the core PPC mechanism, Outbrain derives income from premium services such as data insights, custom integrations, creative studio solutions, and omnichannel measurement tools, which enhance advertiser targeting and . These diversified streams have contributed to improved profitability, with the company projecting a minimum Adjusted EBITDA of $180 million for full-year 2025 following the integration of Teads. Post-merger financials reflect ongoing cost structure improvements, including annual synergies of up to $75 million by 2026 through workforce reductions and operational efficiencies. In Q3 2025, under the rebranded Teads Holding Co., the company reported revenue of $318.8 million (up 42% year-over-year), Adjusted EBITDA of $19.2 million, and positive year-to-date adjusted free cash flow, underscoring the benefits of the combined entity's scale. Historically, Outbrain's revenue has evolved from a singular focus on PPC-driven in its early years to broader diversification post its IPO, incorporating video and connected formats. The 2024 highlighted total revenue of $889.9 million alongside the financing of the Teads acquisition, initially valued at approximately $900 million but closed at $625 million in cash plus stock in 2025. Outbrain's revenue mechanisms are influenced by broader economic factors, including the growth of open web spend, projected to rise 5.7% in 2025 amid digital ad market expansion. Emerging trends in demand generation, such as AI-powered and , further support advertiser investment in platforms like Outbrain's ecosystem for upper- and lower-funnel outcomes.

Publisher and advertiser partnerships

Outbrain's publisher ecosystem revolves around the integration of its content recommendation widgets, commonly referred to as "chumboxes," which are embedded on publisher websites to drive user engagement and . These widgets enable publishers to display personalized content recommendations without requiring additional operational resources, as Outbrain handles the algorithmic curation and . By 2025, following the acquisition of Teads, Outbrain (now operating under the Teads brand) partners with more than media owners, including premium publishers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as connected TV and providers. For advertisers, Outbrain provides comprehensive support structures, including dedicated account management to optimize campaigns and co-marketing initiatives that amplify brand visibility through joint promotional efforts. Post the February 2025 merger with Teads, advertisers gain access to premium inventory, particularly in video formats, expanding reach across high-quality publisher networks. The platform serves over 20,000 advertisers, with key long-term partnerships including major publishers like , , and SPIEGEL Group, alongside enhanced video networks via Teads. These partnerships deliver mutual benefits: publishers achieve traffic diversification by leveraging Outbrain's recommendation engine to retain and redirect users, while advertisers benefit from contextual targeting capabilities across the open web, ensuring relevant ad placements without reliance on . To address regulatory challenges, Outbrain enforces partnership guidelines that promote compliance with privacy regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including consent management protocols and data protection measures integrated into widget implementations.

Operations

Global presence and workforce

Outbrain is headquartered in at 111 West 19th Street. Its original research and development operations are based in , with key facilities in and , focusing on technology innovation. Following the 2025 acquisition and rebranding integration with Teads, the company expanded its footprint to over 30 offices in more than 30 countries, with partnerships extending to over 55 countries, including significant presences in the and to bolster European operations. This global network supports operations in , , , , and the . As of late 2025, the company employs approximately 1,800 people worldwide, a figure reflecting efficiencies from the Teads merger that included a 15% reduction affecting around 200 roles to eliminate redundancies. The emphasizes engineering and teams in alongside sales and client support staff distributed globally, enabling real-time content and ad processing across more than 50 markets. The integration of Teads' teams has strengthened the company's capabilities in , the , and (EMEA), with dedicated for regional growth. In 2025, the company advanced sustainability initiatives, including ongoing programs to promote varied hiring practices and a hybrid model that balances in-office collaboration with flexibility.

Leadership and governance

Outbrain was co-founded in 2006 by Yaron Galai and Ori Lahav, who played pivotal roles in its early development and growth. Galai served as co-CEO from the company's inception until his resignation from that position on April 1, 2024, after which he transitioned to an advisory role through the end of 2024 and continued as Chairman of the Board. Lahav, meanwhile, has remained actively involved as co-founder, , and for Israel operations, overseeing the company's research and development center. Following Galai's departure from the CEO role, David Kostman assumed sole CEO responsibilities at Outbrain in 2024 and continued in that capacity after the February 3, 2025, acquisition of Teads, becoming CEO of the combined entity, Teads Holding Co. Kostman has focused on integrating the merger, which combined Outbrain's content recommendation expertise with Teads' capabilities to create a unified platform. The , which provides strategic oversight, comprises experienced professionals from the advertising technology sector, including Chairman Yaron Galai, CEO David Kostman, Yaffa Krindel (former executive at ), Kate Taneyhill Jhaveri (media and tech investor), Mark Zagorski (former CEO of PubMatic), Arne Wolter (ad tech veteran), Shlomo Dovrat (venture capitalist), Nithya B. Das (tech executive), and post-merger additions Dexter Goei (Altice executive) and Mark Mullen (former CEO of GroupM ). As a publicly traded on since its 2021 IPO (ticker: OB, later changed to TEAD in June 2025), Teads Holding Co. adheres to standard practices, including compliance with SEC regulations and listing requirements for , committee structures, and financial reporting. In 2025, following the Teads acquisition, the company updated its , including the adoption of a new Charter in June to ensure integrated financial oversight and compliance across the merged entities, with the committee meeting multiple times annually to review audits and . The , chaired by Shlomo Dovrat and including Nithya B. Das, focuses on internal controls, financial reporting, and compliance with post-merger standards. Under Kostman's leadership, key strategic decisions have emphasized in AI-driven . At CES 2025, Kostman highlighted the merger's role in advancing AI-powered tools for the open internet, enabling advertisers to move beyond walled gardens and leverage over a billion data points per minute for personalized, full-funnel campaigns under the Teads brand. The company maintains policies promoting board inclusivity and executive , as outlined in its Guidelines updated in June 2025, which emphasize diverse representation and orderly transitions to ensure long-term stability. The board reflects gender diversity with at least three female directors (Krindel, Jhaveri, and Das) among its ten members, aligning with broader standards for inclusive governance. Succession practices were demonstrated in Galai's 2024 transition, where he retained influence as Chairman while Kostman took operational lead, facilitating continuity during the Teads integration.

Reception

Industry recognition

Outbrain has garnered significant industry recognition for its innovations in and AI-driven content . In 2023, it was named "Platform of the Year" at the Native Advertising Awards by the Native Advertising Institute, highlighting its dedication to ethical and effective content recommendation practices. The following year, Outbrain received the "Best Native Advertising Platform of 2024" award and its solution earned "Best Video Ad Tech Innovation of 2024" at the European Video Awards, underscoring advancements in video ad delivery and performance marketing. In 2025, Outbrain Direct Response secured a Silver Winner for Global of the Year at the Performance Marketing Awards, while Moments by Outbrain was named a finalist for Most Innovative , reflecting ongoing leadership in AI for . Additionally, Outbrain was honored as a UiPath AI25 Award winner for its innovative use of AI and in workflows. Following its acquisition of Teads in February 2025, the combined entity, operating as Teads Holding Co., solidified its market position as a top player in open web advertising, creating an independent end-to-end platform valued at approximately $900 million. Analysts have noted the acquisition's synergies in blending Outbrain's AI-driven performance marketing with Teads' premium video inventory, with ratings including "Buy" from Needham & Company LLC (price target reduced to $1.00) and "Market Outperform" from JMP Securities (price target reduced to $5.00), though the consensus recommendation is "Hold" as of November 7, 2025. In the third quarter of 2025, Teads reported revenue of $319 million, a 42% year-over-year increase as reported (driven by the acquisition), but missed analyst estimates and reflected a 15% decline due to market challenges in key regions; Q3 adjusted was negative at $24 million, contributing to a sharp stock price drop post-earnings. Outbrain's contributions to digital advertising have been pivotal in pioneering content discovery through machine learning-based recommendations, which have influenced industry trends toward cookieless targeting via advanced contextual signals and seamless video integration. Its integration with Display & Video 360 has enabled efficient programmatic video ad delivery, enhancing precision in privacy-focused environments without relying on third-party cookies. Endorsements from key partnerships further affirm Outbrain's impact, with publishers and advertisers citing substantial traffic boosts and ROI improvements. For instance, Barceló Hotel Group reported Outbrain outperforming other open web platforms by generating twice the average new users at a 41% lower cost per acquisition, crediting its qualified traffic capabilities. Advertiser TORRAS highlighted a 230% ROI and 90% reduction in cost per acquisition compared to social channels, attributing success to Outbrain's high-value user targeting.

Criticisms and algorithmic developments

In the early , Outbrain faced significant criticism for its role in promoting "" content, characterized by sensational headlines and low-quality articles designed to maximize clicks at the expense of . This practice contributed to user fatigue, as readers encountered repetitive, misleading recommendations that eroded trust in publisher sites. Publishers also expressed backlash, arguing that such widgets undermined their editorial integrity by associating reputable content with exploitative ads. Outbrain has often been critiqued alongside competitor for facilitating low-engagement content that prioritizes volume over substance. In 2021, studies highlighted how platforms like these inadvertently amplified , with ad tech ecosystems enabling the spread of through profit-driven recommendations. Researchers noted that algorithmic amplification of content on such networks generated substantial revenue for publishers of , exacerbating societal concerns over online echo chambers. Following these criticisms, Outbrain introduced AI upgrades after 2021 to enhance recommendation relevance, incorporating models that prioritize metrics beyond clicks. These advancements, including optimization for session duration and page views, reportedly reduced bounce rates by focusing on content alignment with . In 2023, the company launched QualityRating™, an AI-driven system that balances with content quality, filtering out low-value recommendations to improve overall feed integrity. The 2025 acquisition and integration of Teads marked a further evolution, emphasizing ethical video recommendations through combined AI capabilities for contextual targeting. This acquisition enables premium video ad placements with built-in safeguards for brand safety, aiming to promote diverse, high-quality content over . Teads' AI frameworks, integrated into Outbrain's platform, incorporate principles for responsible media strategies, including mitigation in creative generation. In response to ongoing concerns, Outbrain has published transparency initiatives detailing processes, including human-AI hybrid reviews to enforce quality standards. The company partners with media owners under strict guidelines that prohibit misleading ads and require factual accuracy, fostering collaborative quality controls. These efforts extend to privacy commitments, such as consent management aligned with IAB standards, to build user trust. As of 2025, debates persist regarding AI biases in Outbrain's algorithms, particularly how training data might reinforce homogeneous recommendations. In response, Outbrain has committed to diverse outputs by watermarking AI-generated content and integrating regulatory-compliant models that audit for fairness in ad .

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