sponsored listings api // decisioning infrastructure

Sponsored slots,
priced in the same decision as rank.

The monetization layer that fills sponsored slots against the organic order instead of beside it. Gortex ranks the result set and prices its paid placements in one call, so ads and relevance stop fighting each other.

request access → view the simulation
# 01 / the problem

An ad system bolted onto ranking is two systems that fight each other.

Organic ranking optimizes for relevance. An auction bolted on top optimizes for revenue. They run as separate stacks, disagree on every slot, and get reconciled by hand release after release. Nobody owns the slot where they collide.

01 two stacks, one surface
Ranking and the ad auction are built and tuned by different teams, then merged into one result set where their objectives openly conflict.
02 reconciled by hand every release
Slot rules, floors, and blending logic get re-tuned each cycle to stop paid items from crowding out relevance, or the reverse.
03 a second call on the path
The auction is a separate hop after ranking. That is latency you pay on every impression, and a place the two systems can disagree.
04 no record of why it was paid
When an advertiser asks why a listing placed, or a user asks why an ad appeared, there is often no shared trace across the two systems.
# 02 / how it works

One endpoint ranks the results and prices the sponsored slots together.

You send a recipient, a surface, and the candidate listings you already retrieved. Gortex returns the organic order and the sponsored placements it priced against that order, inside one sub-200ms p99 budget, with a decision id you can audit later.

01
your retrieval
you gather the candidates: listings, products, or profiles, paid and organic alike.
02
gortex decides
rank the candidates and price the sponsored slots against that order, in one call.
03
your surface
render the results with sponsored slots already placed, priced, and logged.
01 you keep retrieval
Gortex ranks and monetizes the candidates you bring. No data migration, no re-platforming.
02 ranking and monetization in one call
A sponsored slot is priced against the organic order in the same decision, so a paid listing only takes a slot when the placement clears the bar.
03 every decision is traceable
Each response carries a decision id and a trace id. Why a slot was sold, and at what price, is recorded, not reconstructed later.
04 seven typed sdks
Generated from one OpenAPI 3.1 spec, so contract drift across languages is mechanically impossible.
# 03 / the call

One request. Ranked results and their priced sponsored slots.

POST /v1/decide
200 OK · 71ms
// Rank search results and price their sponsored slots.
$ curl api.gortex.ai/v1/decide \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GORTEX_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "recipient": { "id": "u_8120" },
    "context":   { "surface": "search_results" },
    "items":     [ /* 240 candidate listings */ ]
  }'

{
  "ranked":      [ /* ordered listing IDs */ ],
  "sponsored":   [{ "slot": 2, "listing": "l_4471", "price": 0.58 }],
  "decision_id": "d_01HXZ3M",
  "trace_id":    "t_01HXZ3N"
}
# 04 / questions

Sponsored listings, answered plainly.

What is a sponsored listings API?

An endpoint that decides which paid listings fill the sponsored slots in a result set, priced against the organic order rather than beside it. Gortex returns the ranked results and the sponsored placements from one call, so ads and relevance settle in the same decision.

Do I have to run a separate ad server or auction?

No. You keep retrieval and pass the candidates you already have. Gortex resolves the sponsored slots against the organic order in the same response, so there is no second auction system to bolt on and reconcile by hand.

How does sponsored placement stay fast enough for a live surface?

Ranking and sponsored pricing resolve inside one sub-200ms p99 budget, on the request path, so a paid slot is priced and placed on every impression without a second round trip.

# 05 / start

See a sponsored placement priced, live.

The private beta is by invitation. Tell us the surface you monetize and we will get you a key.

request access → view the simulation read the anatomy read the guide
# related // decisioning apis