India Today Group Becomes First in APAC to Launch Taboola’s DeeperDive Gen AI Answer Engine

Rhea-AI Summary

Taboola (NASDAQ: TBLA) announced on October 7, 2025 that India Today Group is the first partner in APAC to deploy DeeperDive, Taboola’s Gen AI answer engine hosted directly on publisher sites.

DeeperDive uses publisher-owned content and Taboola’s real-time insights from 600 million daily active users and a network of 9,000 publisher partners to deliver conversational answers, surface related articles, prompt follow-up questions, and insert contextually relevant ads into AI results pages to create new monetisation opportunities.

The partnership aims to boost reader engagement, time on site, and ad revenue while reinforcing India Today Group’s editorial trust and digital innovation focus.

Insights

Digital Media Strategist

Partnership brings Taboola's on-site Gen AI to India Today Group; potential for engagement and ad monetisation uplift.

DeeperDive embeds an AI answer engine directly on publisher pages so users get instant, sourced answers and links back to the publisher. This changes the content discovery flow by keeping queries and subsequent clicks inside the publisher site rather than sending users to external search, which can increase time on site and article exploration.

Outcomes depend on technical integration, editorial oversight, and ad placement controls; maintaining content accuracy and user trust requires strong editorial guardrails and monitoring for hallucinations. Monetisation potential arises from inserting contextually relevant, high-intent ads into AI results, but the size and timing of any revenue uplift remain unspecified.

Watch deployment metrics over the next 6–12 months: user query volume, average session duration, article click-throughs from AI responses, and ad click/conversion rates. These KPIs will reveal whether engagement gains translate into meaningful commercial upside for the publisher and for Taboola.

NEW YORK, Oct. 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Taboola (NASDAQ: TBLA) today announced that India Today Group is pioneering the use of DeeperDive, a Gen AI answer engine built for the open web connecting readers with content, within the APAC region. India Today Group is the first to partner with Taboola in APAC for DeeperDive, the industry-first AI answer engine that lives directly on publisher websites and leverages their own content to explore topics they care about.

DeeperDive brings the power of Gen AI search engines directly onto publisher websites, tapping into years of proprietary, real-time, high-quality content created by journalists and editors across the open web. Readers can ask questions about topics they’re interested in, and have AI provide answers instantly, sourced from trusted journalists such as the best election coverage or deep analysis of big stories.

With a legacy of 50 years, the India Today Group has consistently led India’s media landscape with some of the country’s biggest news breaks, credible content, and editorial leadership. From setting the agenda in print journalism to creating disruptive formats in broadcast news and digital innovation, India Today Group has remained synonymous with trust and authority.

This partnership with Taboola reflects the Group’s commitment to continuously embracing technology to serve readers in new and impactful ways.

DeeperDive prompts questions that may be of interest to readers, delivers direct responses, and surfaces additional context and stories from the same publisher site. By meeting users with intuitive, conversational interfaces and instant, relevant answers, India Today Group can dominate in a rapidly shifting digital landscape and reinforce its brand as a trusted, forward-thinking destination.

Commenting on the partnership, Kalli Purie, Vice Chairperson and Executive Editor-in-Chief of the India Today Group said, “The India Today Group has always been at the forefront of every wave of change in Indian media. For us, pioneering journalism must always be future-ready — not just keeping pace but leading change. That leadership gives our editorial its credibility, and with AI we add the power to be faster, more connected, yet firmly rooted in facts. With DeeperDive, we will further strengthen India Today Group’s connection with its readers, offer them richer experiences, and unlock new AI frontiers of engagement and monetisation.”

“India Today Group has already solidified its name as a must-visit destination in India both domestically and across the Indian diaspora,” said Adam Singolda, CEO and Founder of Taboola. “Their commitment to continually innovating and finding new ways for readers to enjoy their content is noteworthy. DeeperDive is giving the power to join the Gen AI revolution on their own terms, creating richer, more trusted experiences for users and unlocking search-like monetisation opportunities that were previously out of reach.”

DeeperDive is built to provide:

• Smarter, more diverse answers for readers: Readers receive rich, multifaceted answers, based on Taboola’s advanced AI and real-time insights from over 600 million daily active users across a global network of 9,000 publisher partners. Unlike traditional Gen AI engines that rely on static training data, Taboola understands what people are actively reading and engaging with — across topics, geographies, and moments. This unique “pulse of the internet” allows DeeperDive to surface timely, contextual answers and even suggest questions based on current trends. The result is a richer, more human search experience rooted in what truly matters to real people — right now, on the site they trust.
  
• Increased readership and engagement for publishers: Every reader question is met with a clear, intuitive answer, along with links to relevant and timely articles from across the publisher’s site. This keeps users engaged longer and encourages deeper content exploration. For the first time, publishers can engage their audience with real-time, AI-powered content tailored to the user, whether it's about travel plans, a favourite sports team, or important financial decisions, meaningfully increasing time on site and reader loyalty.
  
• Unlocking high-intent ad revenue opportunities and owning the future with AI agents across high-intent categories: DeeperDive has the potential to create a new monetisation channel for publishers starting by inserting contextually relevant, high-intent ads directly into the AI-powered results page. Publishers can capture search-like advertising revenue within their own environments — turning user inquiries into meaningful commercial opportunities, all while maintaining a seamless reader experience.
  

About Taboola:

Taboola empowers businesses to grow through performance advertising technology that goes beyond search and social and delivers measurable outcomes at scale. Taboola works with thousands of businesses who advertise directly on Realize, Taboola’s powerful ad platform, reaching approximately 600M daily active users across some of the best publishers in the world. Publishers like NBC News, Yahoo, and OEMs such as Samsung, Xiaomi and others use Taboola’s technology to grow audience and revenue, enabling Realize to offer unique data, specialised algorithms, and unmatched scale.

About The India Today Group

The India Today Group, established in 1975, is India’s most trusted and diversified media conglomerate. Built on the belief that independent media is central to democracy, it has consistently championed journalism rooted in truth, credibility, and bold storytelling.

From the iconic India Today magazine to category leaders like Aaj Tak, Business Today, and Lallantop, the Group today operates across telexvision, print, digital, mobile, and audio. With a monthly aggregate access of over 750 million, it stands as India’s most trusted media voice.

Renowned for innovation, the Group has pioneered integrated newsrooms, AI-powered news anchors, and digital-first platforms, while also curating thought-leadership events such as the India Today Conclave and Sahitya Aaj Tak. It continues to shape the future of journalism and media engagement.

Disclaimer – Forward-Looking Statements:

Taboola (the “Company”) may, in this communication, make certain statements that are not historical facts and relate to analysis or other information which are based on forecasts or future results. Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future prospects, product development and business strategies. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means for identifying such statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and there are risks that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. You should understand that a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements, including the risks set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 under Part 1, Item 1A “Risk Factors” and our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Contact
Dave Struzzi
Dave.s@taboola.com

FAQ

What did Taboola announce about DeeperDive and India Today Group on October 7, 2025?

Taboola announced India Today Group is the first APAC publisher to deploy DeeperDive, its on-site Gen AI answer engine.

How does DeeperDive source answers for readers on India Today Group (TBLA)?

DeeperDive answers use the publisher’s own content plus Taboola’s real-time insights from a network with 600M daily active users to surface contextual responses and related articles.

What monetisation opportunities does DeeperDive offer for TBLA publisher partners?

DeeperDive can insert contextually relevant, high-intent ads into AI results pages, enabling publishers to capture search-like ad revenue on their sites.

Will DeeperDive affect reader engagement for India Today Group (TBLA)?

The product is designed to increase time on site and content exploration by delivering instant, conversational answers and links to related articles.

Which scale metrics did Taboola cite for DeeperDive’s network impact?

Taboola cited insights from 600 million daily active users across a global network of 9,000 publisher partners.

When is DeeperDive expected to create ad revenue opportunities for India Today Group (TBLA)?

Taboola positions DeeperDive to unlock ad revenue as soon as AI-powered results pages begin serving contextually relevant, high-intent ads on the publisher site.