OpenAI extends ads on ChatGPT as it moves towards a global model

OpenAI extends advertising on ChatGPT beyond April and moves towards a global model with greater advertiser engagement.

OpenAI has decided to extend its ChatGPT advertising pilot program beyond April, opening a new phase in the race to monetize conversational artificial intelligence and reinforcing its commitment to a model that could redefine the relationship between brands and users in AI environments.

According to industry sources, and as reported by Adweek, the company will extend the testing period, which was initially planned to end in March, and will begin laying the groundwork for a more structured advertising ecosystem, with financial commitments from advertisers and imminent international expansion.

One of the most significant moves is the request for insertion orders (IOs) from advertisers. This type of agreement, common in the advertising industry, establishes investment, deadlines, and conditions, and typically marks the transition from experimentation to a more predictable revenue model.

For their part, agencies like Jellyfish have already confirmed that OpenAI is requesting campaign commitments of at least two months, demonstrating a shift in mindset from testing formats to building a solid advertising business.

This is how advertising works (for now) on ChatGPT

The current format is based on sponsored messages that appear after the assistant’s responses. ChatGPT insists that these ads do not influence the generated responses, attempting to dispel concerns about trust and commercial bias.

However, the targeting system still raises questions. DEPT points out that the logic seems to combine the query intent, similar to search engines, with keywords provided by advertisers, albeit without complete transparency.

Now, after consolidating the initial tests in the United States, OpenAI is preparing its international expansion. Countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are planned to be the next to host this pilot program, as part of a strategy to rapidly scale the model and attract more brands.

A Premium Product

With nearly 920 million weekly active users, ChatGPT is a real treat for advertisers. But the model is still far from competing with established giants.

In fact, initial data points to a CPM of around $60, positioning the offering as premium. However, click-through rates, which are around 0.91%, are well below those of traditional Google search, reflecting the format’s immaturity.

Even so, comparing the two environments may be premature, considering that while Google has spent decades optimizing its advertising machinery, OpenAI is only just beginning.

All of this is happening at a time of a broader strategic shift in which OpenAI is reducing experimental initiatives, such as the Sora archive or certain more disruptive developments, to focus on scalable and monetizable products.

The creation of its own ad manager and the requirement of minimum investments (around $200,000) reinforce its strategy of building a comprehensive advertising platform capable of transforming conversational AI into a major new marketing channel.

Source: www.marketingdirecto.com