OpenAI introduced a new ad format that lets brands turn an ad click into a conversation with a branded AI agent rather than sending users to their websites. Users are prompted to initiate the chat with a call-to-action button on the ad, which will display a message like “Chat with us.” OpenAI’s announcement says Sponsored Agents are now being tested with select advertisers in the US, and Wayfair confirmed to Digiday that it’s one of them.
If this news sounds familiar, I briefly reported on the rumored ad format in early August, when Business Insider spotted a definition for “sponsored agents” in the company’s advertising policies document updated on July 31.
It also may sound familiar because Google introduced a similar ad format in May called Business Agent for Leads, which turns an ad click into a conversation with a Gemini-powered brand agent trained on the advertiser’s website. The big difference, however, is that Google’s format is geared towards lead generation, aimed at services like home improvement, insurance, and roofing, whereas OpenAI is going after commerce. Google does already offer a commerce agent too, but it’s not currently directly accessible via ad, though I imagine that’s coming soon.
Sponsored Agents, in theory, could offer a great experience to shoppers, and it’s the kind of experience I think most of us were imagining when OpenAI launched ChatGPT Ads — not the boring display ads and product carousels that we’ve seen so far, which are so early 2000s. And while I think it’s a good start, it would be even better in my opinion if ad clicks took the user to the brand’s own website and continued the conversation there via an internal chatbot, with a seamless handoff of prompts and context. If ChatGPT offered that functionality, advertisers would be lining up.
OpenAI also announced that it’s integrating ChatGPT Ads into HubSpot and Shopify as its first CRM and e-commerce partners.
The HubSpot integration gives users the ability to connect their ChatGPT Ads account, create ads, track performance, and follow up on leads directly in HubSpot, while the Shopify integration enables merchants to create and manage ad campaigns with their products that are already integrated through Shopify Catalog. Advertisers also get AI help inside Ads Manager, including suggested copy and images drawn from their landing page, plus an opt-in setting that rewrites headlines to fit the conversation and translates them. The Shopify app will roll out internationally on September 23, in markets where ChatGPT Ads are available.
