X launches major ad overhaul as everything app ambitions expand

X is rolling out the most ambitious overhaul of its advertising platform in the company’s 20-year history, rebuilding its Ads Manager from the ground up as Elon Musk pushes the platform deeper into payments, advertising, and AI.

The ad platform rebuild was announced earlier today, with the phased rollout beginning this month, according to a post on X.

The overhaul centers on three pillars: simplicity, advertiser control, and AI-powered performance. X said the new system uses modern retrieval and ranking models to understand user behavior in real time, improving ad relevance, targeting, engagement, and return on investment.

The rebuild gives X a stronger ad tech foundation as the platform tries to regain advertiser momentum after years of turbulence under Musk’s ownership.

X was expected to post its first annual ad revenue growth since Musk’s 2022 takeover last year, though revenue remained below its pre-acquisition peak. X’s ad tools have also long been viewed as weaker than rival platforms, making the overhaul a long-needed reset.

The new ad stack also ties directly into X’s closer integration with xAI. Monique Pintarelli, head of global advertising at xAI, said the rebuild is designed to allow faster product updates and a regular flow of new features for advertisers.

The timing also matters because X is pushing on multiple fronts at once. Musk said in March that X Money, the platform’s digital payments system, would enter early public access in April, while Reuters previously reported that X had partnered with Visa to support wallet funding, peer-to-peer payments, and transfers back to bank accounts.

Together, the ad rebuild, X Money rollout, and xAI integration show X moving further toward Musk’s everything app strategy.