Glonce

OpenAI adds Sponsored Agents and AI ad tools to ChatGPT

productsThe Glonce editorsOpenAI🔥63Glonce rating63Impact57Novelty52Relevance87Surprise38Players82Credibility87
OpenAI adds Sponsored Agents and AI ad tools to ChatGPT

OpenAI introduced a set of AI-powered advertising features for ChatGPT, aimed at both people who see ads and the businesses that buy them. The centerpiece is Sponsored Agents: after clicking a business-sponsored ad in ChatGPT, a user can start a clearly labeled conversation with an agent tied to that business, ask follow-up questions such as whether a product fits their needs, and follow a link to the business's website when ready. OpenAI says this conversation is kept separate from ChatGPT's own independent answers and from the user's original chat. Sponsored Agents are currently being tested with select advertisers in the United States only.

On the advertiser side, OpenAI is rolling out an Ads Manager plugin that lets businesses create, update, and analyze campaigns in ChatGPT using natural-language prompts, including turning a website or brief into a campaign and getting recommendations on next steps. Ads Manager itself is also gaining AI creative tools: when drafting an ad, advertisers can get suggested copy and imagery generated from their landing page and campaign objective, but OpenAI says advertisers stay in control and must review and edit suggestions before adding them to a campaign. A separate, opt-in feature lets advertisers turn on AI-powered text customization, which adapts existing headlines and descriptions to fit a conversation's context and automatically translates ad copy into a user's preferred language.

OpenAI is also pairing the launch with its first two platform integrations. HubSpot becomes OpenAI's first CRM partner: businesses managing customers in HubSpot can connect a ChatGPT Ads account, create ads, track performance, and follow up on leads without leaving HubSpot. Shopify becomes OpenAI's first ecommerce partner: US-based Shopify merchants can use a new ChatGPT Ads app in the Shopify App Store to create and manage campaigns, and because their products are already integrated through Shopify Catalog, they can start running ads and tracking performance immediately. OpenAI says the Shopify app will reach other countries starting September 23, in markets where ChatGPT Ads are already available. Businesses can sign up at ads.openai.com or start through the Shopify or HubSpot apps.

Key facts

  • Sponsored Agents let a ChatGPT user open a labeled chat with a business's agent after clicking that business's ad, and the feature is being tested only with select advertisers in the United States.
  • A new Ads Manager plugin lets advertisers build, update, and analyze campaigns in ChatGPT using natural-language prompts.
  • Ads Manager also suggests ad copy and imagery from an advertiser's landing page, but advertisers must review and approve suggestions before use.
  • An opt-in AI text customization feature adapts ad headlines and descriptions to a conversation and auto-translates them into the user's language.
  • HubSpot (first CRM partner) and Shopify (first ecommerce partner) are integrated directly, with the Shopify app expanding to more countries on September 23.

Why it matters

This is OpenAI's clearest move yet to build ChatGPT into a full advertising platform rather than a chat product that merely displays ads. Sponsored Agents turn an ad click into an ongoing sales conversation run by the advertiser's own agent, a format distinct from search ads or banner ads, while the Ads Manager plugin and CRM/ecommerce integrations extend that platform into the tools advertisers already run their business from.

Who it affects

ChatGPT users who encounter ads may now be offered a conversation with a business's agent instead of just a link. Advertisers, especially those already using HubSpot for customer relationships or Shopify for ecommerce, gain a more direct path to running ChatGPT campaigns from inside those tools. The launch is currently scoped to select advertisers and to the United States for Sponsored Agents.

How to use it

Businesses can sign up for ChatGPT Ads at ads.openai.com, or start through the new ChatGPT Ads app in the Shopify App Store (available now to US-based merchants, expanding internationally from September 23 in markets where ChatGPT Ads already operates) or the ChatGPT Ads app for HubSpot. Campaign creation, updates, and performance analysis can be done with natural-language prompts via the Ads Manager plugin. AI-powered text customization and the AI-suggested creative in Ads Manager are both optional: advertisers must opt in to text customization and must review AI-suggested copy and imagery before it is added to a campaign.

How solid is it

This is an official OpenAI announcement describing features it is actively launching or testing, not a third-party report or rumor. The source does not disclose pricing, the number of advertisers or businesses involved, any performance or conversion metrics from testing, or whether Sponsored Agents and the AI creative tools will expand beyond the United States.

Risks and caveats

Sponsored Agents blur the line between an ad and a conversation: OpenAI says the chat is clearly labeled and kept separate from ChatGPT's own answers, but the model does not disclose how it prevents an advertiser's agent from overselling or misrepresenting a product during that conversation. No pricing or fee structure for any of these features is given, and the rollout is currently limited to select advertisers in the US, so how it performs at scale, and for users outside the US, is untested by anything in this announcement.