Is ad-free TikTok coming soon?

Today’s Social Media advertising rates are breaking out the shorts:

↗️ META: $10.03 | ↗️ TIKTOK: $4.24 | ↘️ SNAPCHAT: $8.40

In this week’s edition: 

• 🧠 ChatGPT now has product feed ads

• Instagram: Pivot to longform? 📷

• 📦 CTV goes B2B with this Amazon/LinkedIn mashup

But first…

🚫 Ad-free TikTok coming to the UK

TikTok is launching an ad-free subscription option in the UK, giving users the option to pay £3.99/month to remove ads and disable personal data tracking for ad targeting. 

You may recall that Meta adopted a similar strategy back in 2023, in a move that was widely seen as a way to appease U.K. and EU data-privacy regulators. Meta was not the first to try this tactic: TikTok actually beat them to the punch earlier that year by launching an ad-free subscription in non-US/UK test markets.

This time around, TikTok claims the subscription offering has nothing to do with privacy regulation, but the legal implications sound very familiar:

“Over the coming months, accounts aged 18 or over in the U.K. will gradually be able to sign up to a new ad-free subscription option, TikTok Ad-Free,” TikTok said. “For those who choose not to subscribe, they will continue to be able to use TikTok as they have been, with personalized ads.”

In other words: users who decide not to pay for a subscription will be treated as if they’ve affirmatively opted-in to ads personalization.

The Inside Scoop🍦: Now trending in performance media

♾️ Meta is increasing audience retention to 730 days for purchase events starting May 18, 2026. Existing purchase events with 180 day retention will automatically be updated to 730 days.

📷 Instagram is setting its sites on long-form content. According to Tessa Lyons, Instagram’s VP of Product, in two years’ time Instagram “will be a unique part of creators’ long-form strategy in addition to their short-form strategy.” That could include more support for podcasts, live-streams, and even longer stories told through mini-dramas, which have become a popular element of TikTok.

• Instagram has previously attempted to strengthen their long-form position, particularly on TV screens, but they have yet to gain much traction. However, if their current plans are successful, they could unlock new content opportunities and new ad potential within longer Instagram video clips.

🧠 OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT’s shopping capabilities with the introduction of product feed ads. 

• Similarly to automated shopping campaigns on Google, retailers can now dynamically generate ads directly from product catalogs. 

• While catalogs were previously connected to answer shopping-related queries, this update links organic product visibility with paid advertising, making ChatGPT a more scalable channel for e-commerce advertising. 

• As OpenAI continues rolling out performance-focused features, ChatGPT is becoming a platform to watch with the evolution of shopping ads. 

🚛 Looking to migrate your ads from Search to LLM? Expect to see a deluge of products to help fill the gap. Among the first-to-market is Adthena, which launched an “AdBridge” tool to assist advertisers in migrating Google Ads campaigns to ChatGPT. Now they’re launching a ChatGPT ads intelligence platform, which claims to monitor over 300,000 daily prompts, tracking how and where brands show up. Think of it as a benchmarking tool to use alongside ChatGPT’s native tool, which gives advertisers a self-focused view of performance.

🔎 Google Ads has added prompt-driven, Gemini-powered dashboards that update in real time based on user queries. 

• The dashboards show key metrics alongside visual breakdowns by device, audience, and campaign type. 

• Google says more details will be shared at next week’s Google Marketing Live, along with the latest AI, measurement, and campaign automation updates. Stay tuned.

📺 YouTube is testing a new “Clear Screen” feature for Shorts that would allow users to hide on-screen buttons and text for a more immersive viewing experience, similar to TikTok’s “Clear Display” and Instagram Reels’ full-screen mode. With Shorts now driving over 200 billion daily views, YouTube hopes that updates like this one will encourage longer watch times.

💅 Pro Tip: Last winter, we reported that Google will automatically link Google Ads accounts with associated YouTube channels. They’ve begun alerting advertisers that starting June 10th, Google Ads accounts that aren’t already linked to a YouTube channel will be automatically connected. The update removes the need for manual linking and ensures advertisers can access video engagement data and targeting features by default.

⏰ TikTok rolled out a series of updates at the company’s annual TikTok World product summit (which you can watch at the link if you missed it.)

🧠 The big one: TikTok is launching its own MCP server, which will eventually allow advertisers to set up and manage campaigns directly from LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude. Meta announced a similar development last month. 

▶️ New Mini Games, which Social Media Today reports will enable game developers to drive direct engagement through interactive promotions.

▶️ A new Mini Series option, which aims to help entertainment providers tap into the mini-drama trend by charging for episodic content. According to TikTok: “Brands can generate revenue when users pay to unlock more episodes or when they embed ads within their dramas, with users watching ads to unlock additional episodes.”

▶️ Search Hubs, a brand-owned search destination that will be shown at the top of the TikTok Search results page:

📌 Pinterest showed strong Q1 2026 results, adding 12 million new users and re📌 Pinterest introduced a new ad recommendation engine, known as the Contextual Sequential Two Tower Model, to improve ad relevance and performance. (Rolls off the tongue, dunnit?) 

• The platform’s previous candidate generation (CG) system relied on users' offsite conversion history to predict future engagement. The updated model improves this approach by integrating a real-time context layer directly into the ad query process, allowing Pinterest to account for in-the-moment search and Pin browsing behavior. 

• By combining historical data with live contextual signals, the model can better predict likely user interest in Promoted Pins and deliver more relevant ad recommendations.

• According to Pinterest, the updated model achieved a 3x-10x improvement in ad relevance in testing, and drove an approximately 0.7% lift in ROAS.

📦 Amazon Ads announced that Dynamic TV Creative is coming to Prime Video. This new feature uses a consumer's shopping and browsing signals to tailor each ad creative the customer’s unique preferences. 

• Currently, the offer is limited to select CPG brands that sell products on Amazon and advertise on Prime Video, but it is expected to roll out more broadly in Q3. 

💼 Amazon Ads and LinkedIn have partnered to bring LinkedIn’s professional audience segments to Amazon DSP targeting. Your ads can run across top-tier streaming platforms including Roku, Paramount, FOX, AMC Networks, Tubi, Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, VIZIO, and more. The new targeting options:

• Job title, function, and seniority

• Industry, company name, and company size

• Years of experience, education, and skills

• LinkedIn Predictive Audiences and Buyer Groups

👉 Note that LinkedIn audiences and Amazon audiences should be run separately: combining them on the same deal ID will significantly limit reach and delivery.

👹 Mr. Beast conquered YouTube. Can he do the same for the creator economy? 

When social media titan Jimmy Donaldson debuted the inaugural Upfront for Beast Industries last week, he unveiled a vision for a two-sided creator marketplace designed to seamlessly integrate influencers with global brands. By leveraging AI to build at an "unprecedented scale," Donaldson aims to evolve the creator landscape into a powerhouse of traditional digital advertising.

Thanks for reading! We’ll be back next week to fill your inbox with more tips, tricks, and treats from the addressable universe.

In the meantime, stay up to date with the latest performance marketing intelligence by following us on Linkedin, Instagram, and X.

This week’s edition of the Thread was created by Jess Dashner, Anoushka Madan, Mariya Samardzhieva, Sabina Saktaganova, Sims Wilson, Kiara Quigley, Lara Spijkerman, Kayleigh McDonald, Caitlin LaValle, and Carly Carioli.