OpenAI is pushing its advertising business in ChatGPT beyond static ads. In mid-September the company announced a test of Sponsored Agents, a format that lets users start a conversation with an advertiser's own AI agent after tapping an ad, alongside new AI tools for building campaigns and integrations with Shopify and HubSpot.
How Sponsored Agents work
After seeing a relevant ad, a user can choose to open a clearly labeled chat with the advertiser's agent. There they can ask questions, describe what they need and get information to judge whether a product or service fits, then follow a link to the advertiser's website when ready.
OpenAI says these conversations stay separate from ChatGPT's independent answers and from the chats users start themselves. The format is being tested with a select group of advertisers in the United States.
AI tools for the advertiser side
The update also targets the work of building and running campaigns:
- Ads Manager plugin in ChatGPT Work: marketers can describe what they want in plain language, turn a website or marketing brief into a campaign, review results and get suggested next steps.
- AI-assisted creative: Ads Manager can propose copy and imagery based on the landing page and campaign goals. Advertisers can review and revise everything before it goes live.
- Optional text customization: headlines and descriptions can be adapted to the context of a user's conversation and translated into the user's preferred language.
Shopify and HubSpot integrations
ChatGPT Ads is also moving into tools businesses already use. HubSpot customers can connect a ChatGPT Ads account, build campaigns, track results and follow up with leads without leaving HubSpot. U.S. Shopify merchants can manage campaigns through a ChatGPT Ads app in the Shopify App Store, and because their products are already linked through Shopify Catalog, they do not need to upload inventory separately. OpenAI said the Shopify app would reach more countries on September 23, in markets where ChatGPT Ads operates.
Why it matters
The announcement follows a pilot that trade press reported was already several months old by June, with OpenAI adding creative tools and conversion tracking as it moved toward a fuller ad platform. Criteo, OpenAI's first ad-tech partner, said around that time that roughly 2,000 brands were advertising in ChatGPT through its integration. Sponsored Agents take the idea further: instead of a link, the ad becomes a conversation, which raises questions about labeling, disclosure and how clearly users can tell an advertiser's agent from ChatGPT itself.
For readers in Africa, the practical question is availability. The announcement refers to markets where ChatGPT Ads operates without listing them, and earlier coverage described rollout in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia. None of the coverage reviewed names African markets.
What to watch
- Whether Sponsored Agents expand beyond the U.S. test group and which advertisers join.
- How OpenAI enforces the separation between sponsored chats and ChatGPT's own answers.
- Which countries gain access to the Shopify and HubSpot integrations.
Businesses interested in the platform can register through the ChatGPT Ads website, or start through the Shopify or HubSpot integrations if eligible.
