Taboola finds its ‘Amazon moment’ with new performance ad platform Realize

Taboola is moving beyond its core native advertising business with the launch of Realize, a performance marketing platform designed to help advertisers scale campaigns outside of search and social media.

The move signals a major shift for Taboola, which has built its business on native ad placements, particularly in bottom-of-article positions. With Realize, the company aims to capture a larger share of the $55 billion performance advertising market, offering brands an alternative to platforms like Google and Meta, where rising costs and audience saturation have impacted returns.

The company said Realize will allow advertisers to run performance-driven campaigns across a broader range of inventory, including display, app-based advertising and premium publisher placements. The platform is powered by AI-driven ad optimisation, first-party data from Taboola’s publisher partnerships and a more flexible approach to creative formats, enabling brands to repurpose social and display assets.

“Performance advertising beyond search and social media has been far too difficult for too long,” said Adam Singolda, CEO of Taboola. “Advertisers have settled on these platforms because there was no viable alternative. Realize is our ‘Amazon moment’ - we’re expanding beyond native to take on the entire performance advertising market.”

The platform launches with several high-profile clients, including Babbel and eToro. Julie Hansen, CRO & US CEO of Babbel, said the new offering expands opportunities to reach audiences in "engaging and prominent ways through a vast network of trusted publishers globally."

Taboola estimates that $30 billion in performance ad spend is delivering diminishing returns on social media, with 75% of advertisers reporting concerns about rising costs and ad fatigue. The company claims Realize provides an independent alternative that combines scale, AI-driven optimisation, and premium inventory.

The platform’s initial rollout will include placements across major publishers such as NBC News, Yahoo, and OEMs including Xiaomi and Samsung.

For Taboola, the expansion represents a significant push into the broader performance advertising ecosystem, as the company looks to drive growth beyond its traditional stronghold in native advertising.