The news: Taboola launched a new identifier, dubbed Realize ID, to better track purchase intent as consumers research and shop across the media landscape.

Realize ID is geared toward helping advertisers reach consumers when they are in “active decision mode,” which is the window after they’ve shown interest in a brand or product but before they’ve committed, per a press release.

What it means: Taboola wants to simplify reach as discovery fragments across the internet.

Realize ID makes use of Taboola’s view into the open web, from which the company is able to capture contextual data from publishers within its network, such as content engagement and time on site, as well as from ad interactions and purchasing signals.

• When connected across touchpoints, this data can map the trajectory of a consumer’s intent throughout their buying journey.
• Advertisers can then match that intent with chosen messaging to help drive their preferred outcomes, such as sales, leads, and site traffic.

The opportunity: Maintaining a view into purchase intent is a struggle for advertisers because of the trove of media that internet users consume. We expect US adults will spend nearly 13 hours a day with media in 2026, interacting with dozens of platforms that can impede advertisers from seamlessly tracking users. While Realize ID may not address this larger fragmentation problem, it does connect intent across its own network.

Taboola also runs answer engines on publishers’ sites, as well as ads in those engines, which means advertisers that use Realize ID may get a glimpse into what consumers are asking these tools and how these answers are shaping intent.

Recommendations for advertisers: Advertisers should trial the identifier to develop a general understanding of how their consumers are engaging with different media. Consider deploying ad spend based on this visibility if experimental budgets allow.

Still, advertisers should recognize the identifier’s limitations.

• Realize ID won’t tell advertisers how consumers are using major AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini. As these platforms take on larger portions of the consumer journey, Realize ID could be less valuable.
• It deploys predictive AI to help determine intent, so use these insights cautiously to hedge against potential miscalculations.

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