OpenAI wants ChatGPT ads to start conversations, not just clicks

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OpenAI is expanding its advertising push with a slate of AI-powered tools designed to change how users interact with ads in ChatGPT and how advertisers create and manage campaigns on the platform.

Among the new features is "Sponsored agents", which allows users to start a conversation with a business-sponsored agent after clicking on an ad in ChatGPT.

Rather than directing users immediately away from ChatGPT, Sponsored agents are designed to let them ask follow-up questions about an advertised product or service, explain what they are looking for and explore whether an offering suits their needs before visiting the advertiser's website.

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OpenAI said conversations with Sponsored agents will be clearly labelled and kept distinct from ChatGPT's independent responses, as well as separate from the original conversation a user was having with ChatGPT.

The company is also introducing new AI tools aimed at simplifying campaign creation and management. Advertisers can now use natural-language prompts in ChatGPT Work to create, update and analyse campaigns through the Ads Manager plugin.

This includes turning a website or campaign brief into an ad campaign, analysing campaign performance and receiving recommendations on potential next steps.

Within Ads Manager itself, OpenAI is rolling out AI assistance for creative development. Advertisers can receive suggested copy and imagery based on their landing page and campaign objective, with the ability to review and edit the material before adding it to a campaign.

Advertisers will also be able to opt into AI-powered text customisation, which adapts existing headlines and descriptions based on the context of a user's conversation. The feature can also automatically translate ad copy into a user's preferred language.

ChatGPT Ads moves into existing marketing platforms

Alongside the new ad tools, OpenAI is integrating ChatGPT Ads with HubSpot and Shopify, marking its first CRM and ecommerce partnerships respectively.

Businesses using HubSpot can connect their ChatGPT Ads account to create ads, monitor campaign performance and follow up on leads within the platform, using existing HubSpot context.

Meanwhile, US-based Shopify merchants can use a new ChatGPT Ads app to create and manage campaigns directly through Shopify. As products are already connected through Shopify Catalog, merchants can use their existing product information to run ads and track their performance.

The Shopify integration will expand internationally from 23 September in markets where ChatGPT Ads are available.

The updates come as OpenAI looks to build advertising around the conversational nature of ChatGPT, positioning ads not only as placements users see but as starting points for interactions between consumers and businesses.

According to OpenAI, the broader aim is to use AI across both sides of its advertising platform, from helping consumers explore products and services through conversations to reducing the work required for businesses to create, manage and optimise campaigns.

The advertising push comes as the wider AI industry grapples with questions over how quickly increasingly capable systems should be developed. Earlier this week, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called on AI companies to deliberately slow the development of frontier models, arguing that safety and alignment work needs more time to keep pace with advancing capabilities.

In a blog post titled "We must pace the frontier", Amodei said AI companies should slow the rate at which model capabilities improve, particularly as AI begins playing a greater role in developing subsequent generations of systems. The position has gained support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk, with Altman saying the issue had been a key topic of discussion within OpenAI in recent weeks.

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