Firsthand

Firsthand is a Brand Agent Platform for marketers and publishers. It lets a brand deploy its own AI agents, which the company describes as AI powered mini apps, that answer consumer questions in real time using the brand's approved knowledge. Agents can run on the brand's own site or be distributed across premium publisher partner sites as paid campaigns, surfacing the right content at the moment a consumer is deciding. The platform is aimed at brand marketers and media publishers who want direct AI conversations with consumers without handing their content to a third party model owner. Its foundation is Lakebed, a data and knowledge rights management layer that defines exactly what Brand Agents can access and lets brands and publishers share data securely at the moment a consumer needs help, without either party taking ownership of the other's information. Brand safety controls cover the whole campaign lifecycle, with tools to review, refine and audit agent output. Every interaction produces a transcript, which Firsthand positions as a continuous survey revealing how different customer groups think and decide. Pricing is not published. The site has no pricing page and every call to action is a request to schedule a demo, so access is sold on a quote basis. Firsthand is led by a founding team from the programmatic and streaming TV advertising industries, and the company has publicized a $26 million funding round for its brand agent work.