OpenAI Tests Sponsored AI Agents in ChatGPT Ads

OpenAI Tests Sponsored AI Agents in ChatGPT Ads

OpenAI is testing business-sponsored artificial intelligence agents that will have conversations with people who click on an ad in ChatGPT, the company said in a Wednesday (Sept. 16) blog post.

These Sponsored Agents are being tested with select advertisers in the United States, and their conversations will be separate from the original conversation in ChatGPT and from ChatGPT’s independent answers, according to the post.

This new experience is designed to make it easier for users to learn about products and services and to enable businesses to help interested customers explore their offerings, per the post.

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“Sponsored Agents give users the option to go deeper,” OpenAI said in the post. “After seeing a relevant ad, a user can choose to start a clearly labeled conversation with a business-sponsored agent in ChatGPT. The user can explain what matters to them, ask follow-up questions and follow a link to the business’s website when they’re ready to take the next step.”

This is one of several new AI-powered experiences OpenAI is rolling out to support its ad platform, according to the post.

OpenAI is also making it easier for businesses to create ads by writing prompts in ChatGPT Work, adding new AI creative tools to Ads Manager, and bringing ChatGPT into other tools used by businesses via integrations with HubSpot and Shopify, per the post.

“As people increasingly turn to AI to discover products, compare options and make decisions, we’re creating new ways for people and businesses to connect,” OpenAI said in the post. “That means reimagining both sides of advertising: how people engage with businesses in an AI-native environment and how businesses use AI to create and manage their ads.”

OpenAI said in January that it was bringing ads to ChatGPT in the United States and would begin testing them within weeks.

By Aug. 31, OpenAI said its ChatGPT Ads business had reached $1 billion in annualized revenue run rate.

“The platform is now used by tens of thousands of advertisers and continues to expand globally,” OpenAI said at the time in a press release. “Starting later today, advertisers can purchase ChatGPT ads directly via Ads Manager across India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.”