OpenAI is starting with a limited group of advertisers rather than a broad rollout. The company says the goal is to give advertisers more ways to present their offerings while keeping paid placements distinct from the content ChatGPT produces.
The ads will initially appear when users ask ChatGPT to create images. OpenAI says they will not be inserted into the generated artwork itself.
The company is also expanding the infrastructure around ChatGPT Ads, including tools for advertisers to measure conversions and assess how campaigns contribute to customer activity. Partners mentioned by OpenAI include Hightouch, Tealium and LiveRamp for connecting conversion data, along with AppsFlyer, Adjust and Triple Whale for attribution reporting.
OpenAI is separately working with Haus, Measured and WorkMagic on geographic experiments intended to examine whether advertising produces additional business activity, rather than simply assigning credit for conversions that already occurred.
The company cited early results from advertisers already using ChatGPT Ads, though those findings do not come from the new visual format. Among the examples, OpenAI pointed to lower attributed acquisition costs for WeightWatchers compared with its blended paid-search benchmark, incremental purchases for Dose and a high share of new visitors for Portland Leather.
Placement safety is another part of the expansion. OpenAI says its systems evaluate whether a conversation is suitable for advertising and are designed to avoid showing ads around sensitive or emotionally vulnerable topics, including discussions involving personal health or mental wellbeing.
The company is also developing brand-suitability evaluation pilots with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science. Those tests are intended to examine how OpenAI’s placement standards are applied without giving the outside firms access to private user conversations.
OpenAI says Plus, Pro and Enterprise subscribers will continue to use ChatGPT without ads in their conversations. Advertising is being used primarily around free and lower-cost access, giving the company another revenue source alongside subscriptions.
The visual format represents another step in OpenAI’s effort to build a larger advertising business around ChatGPT while maintaining a separation between paid placements and the chatbot’s answers. The company says it expects to continue experimenting with additional ad formats after the initial test.
This analysis is based on reporting from Engadget & TNW.
Image courtesy of OpenAI.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
