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AI Ads Will Be The Next Land Grab (Here's How I'd Play It)

2026-03-01 Education
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Rob Walling
Rob Walling
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Description

Early Google and Facebook ads felt like a cheat code. Then the advantage disappeared. AI chat platforms are introducing ads now, and this might be another early window. The real challenge is timing. Today I’ll show you how to get that timing right and avoid the common traps I’ve seen across hundreds of SaaS companies. Links on the Video: SaaS Institute: https://tinyseed.com/institute Watch Next: If I Started SaaS in 2026, Here’s My B2B Content Strategy for $1M ARR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxn1ji7vYzU SaaS Marketing Strategies That Actually Work in 2026: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUeeVU-OoCM&t=7s About Me: I’m Rob Walling. I’ve been building, growing, and acquiring SaaS companies for nearly two decades. I’ve started six companies (five of them bootstrapped) and exited multiple times, most notably selling Drip in 2016. I’ve invested in over 200 startups, and my focus is on helping founders build multimillion-dollar companies without the pressure of the traditional "unicorn or bust" venture capital model. 🚀 Scale Your SaaS with TinySeed If you are a B2B SaaS founder looking for funding, mentorship, and community, check out the accelerator I co-founded. We designed it specifically for bootstrappers. Apply to TinySeed: https://tinyseed.com 🤝 Join the Community at MicroConf I co-founded MicroConf to create a space for non-venture-backed startups. Connect with thousands of other founders, watch world-class talks, and find the support you need to grow your business. Explore MicroConf: https://microconf.com 🎙️ Listen to Startups for the Rest of Us Check out my podcast, where I’ve shared insights on bootstrapping and growing startups for over a decade. With over 800 episodes and 15 million downloads, it’s the longest-running podcast for software entrepreneurs. Listen here: https://www.startupsfortherestofus.com 📚 My Books on Startups & SaaS I’ve written several books to provide tactical advice on launching, growing, and selling your software company: The SaaS Playbook- My guide to building a multimillion-dollar startup without venture capital. https://saasplaybook.com Exit Strategy: The entrepreneur's guide to selling your business without regret (co-authored with Dr. Sherry Walling): https://exitstrategybook.com Start Small, Stay Small: A developer's guide to launching a startup: https://startsmall.com/ The Entrepreneur's Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together: How to handle the psychological pressure of being a founder (co-authored with Dr. Sherry Walling): https://saasplaybook.com/order/p/entrepreneursguide-ebook 👋 Connect with Me Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/robwalling LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robwalling Website: https://robwalling.com

Top Comments (7)

@monsieurkeyboard 2026-03-02

Is there any clue on when they will start offering ads?

3 1 replies
@petcumariusadrian4042 2026-03-02

I think google will also include ads in gemini at some point, that's ineveitable, since they are moving search more and more towards AI, i'm preety sure they will follow chatgpt ads soon

3 1 replies
@prhasn 2026-03-02

Not trusting the platforms is real. They often lie and not by a small amount. Especially when inflating the amount of traffic they are sending, or even worse reducing the number of traffic your app/site is getting from other sources to make their numbers look better, e.g. analytics apps

1 1 replies
@mrdeanvincent 2026-03-03

I've worked in this space for 15+ years and agree that this is some pretty solid basic advice for the less experienced. Nicely done.

0 1 replies
@stormShadow64 2026-03-02

You won life - are you aware of this?

0 1 replies
@prhasn 2026-03-02

Excellent advice. Thanks.

0 1 replies
@arpanmukherjee4625 2026-03-05

It would be interesting to see the format to ads they bring in. Interactive ads, or in chat app, I would love to see where it evolves.

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