OpenAI will test image ads in ChatGPT, in the U.S. only
The ads will appear while ChatGPT generates an image. In Mexico, where free plans already show text ads, OpenAI has not said whether the format will follow.
ChatGPT is adding a new kind of advertising: image ads that will appear while the tool generates an image. OpenAI announced it on Oct. 5 on its blog and says the test starts later this month, in the United States only and with an initial group of advertisers. It gave no exact date.
There is no announcement for Mexico. Since August, according to Expansión, the Free and Go plans already show ads in the country, while Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans do not. Until now they appeared below text answers. What changes is the visual format, tied to image generation.
What OpenAI promises
The company describes the format as images showing a product in use or the experience a service makes possible. It says each ad will be clearly labeled and separate from the image the user asked for, and that advertising does not influence ChatGPT's answers. OpenAI's post does not say whether users will be able to turn these ads off, and TechCrunch does not mention it either.
OpenAI also expanded its tools for advertisers. Hightouch, Tealium and LiveRamp will let them send conversion data, such as purchases and sign-ups, to ChatGPT Ads. DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science will run brand-suitability tests that, according to OpenAI, do not access private conversations.
The performance figures also come from the company and its partners. OpenAI cites two cases: WeightWatchers paid 15.3% less per acquired customer than with its paid-search baseline (according to DV Rockerbox), and 93% of visitors to Portland Leather who came from a ChatGPT ad were new (according to Triple Whale). No one outside those companies has evaluated them.
The limit of the business
Digiday notes that inventory is scarce. An executive at the agency Zeno Group told it that ChatGPT has a single ad placement, while Google has several. OpenAI says the tool has 1.2 billion weekly users, a figure from the company itself.
Still unknown is whether and when the visual format will reach Mexico, and what controls users will have.
