OpenAI says it is introducing a new visual ad format in ChatGPT, to be tested first during image generation in the US later this month with an initial group of advertisers, and that it is expanding its ad measurement tools and partnerships. Its post cites partner findings, among them a 15.3% lower attributed cost per acquisition for one brand.
OpenAI says the new format uses images showing product inspiration, product usage or the experiences a product makes possible. It says the format will first be tested during image generation in ChatGPT, that the ads will be clearly labeled and remain separate from the image being created, and that testing begins later this month in the US with an initial group of advertisers.
OpenAI says ChatGPT reaches 1.2 billion people each week, and that advertising lets it serve “a much larger market than subscriptions alone.” It says that, as with its other ad formats, “advertising does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides.”
From OpenAI’s post, counted by this publication: ten attribution partners named (the post says ‘including’), three conversion-data integrations (Hightouch, Tealium, LiveRamp), three full-funnel partners (Fospha, Measured, INCRMNTAL), three geo-experiment partners (Haus, Measured, WorkMagic) and two brand-suitability pilots (DoubleVerify, Integral Ad Science).
Business Pill · THE EXTRA THE AD CAUSED
A one-minute explainer of the idea behind this story: incrementality. It teaches the concept, not this story’s figures.
The key insight:OpenAI announces the format test alongside expanded measurement partners for ChatGPT Ads and brand-suitability pilots that, it says, work without accessing private user conversations. The post gives no revenue, advertiser count or price.
The Measurement Stack
OpenAI describes its measurement philosophy as supporting both in-house and partner-led solutions. It says integrations with Hightouch, Tealium and LiveRamp make it easier for advertisers to send conversion data from their existing systems to ChatGPT Ads.
It says it now supports attribution partners across web and app, enabling Conversions API, reporting and click attribution with companies including AppsFlyer, Triple Whale, Adjust, DV Rockerbox, Northbeam, Branch, Singular, Kochava, Airbridge and Tenjin, and that it has partnerships with full-funnel and advanced measurement partners Fospha, Measured and INCRMNTAL.
On incrementality, OpenAI says its work is “still in its early stages.” It says it is partnering with Haus, Measured and WorkMagic to explore geo-based experiments “to help advertisers understand the causal impact of ChatGPT Ads”. This publication’s own count of the partners the post names by role is in the chart above.
The Partner Findings
OpenAI says “early partner findings illustrate strong performance across different measurement approaches,” and gives three, each attributed to a partner. According to DV Rockerbox, WeightWatchers’ attributed cost per acquisition on ChatGPT Ads was 15.3% lower than its blended paid-search benchmark.
WorkMagic reported statistically significant lift for the wellness brand Dose, with 67% of incremental purchases coming from net-new customers. According to Triple Whale, 93% of Portland Leather’s visitors from ChatGPT Ads were new. The three figures measure different things for three different brands.
Brand Suitability and Placement
OpenAI says its placement guardrails assess whether a conversation is appropriate for advertising, to keep ads out of emotionally vulnerable, sensitive or otherwise unsuitable contexts, and that automated review, human oversight and ongoing monitoring address policy violations. It says Negative Phrases are now available to qualifying advertisers.
It says it is developing brand suitability evaluation pilots with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science that let independent partners assess how its brand safety standards are applied in a controlled testing environment, “without accessing private user conversations.” It summarizes its ads principles as: answers stay independent, conversations stay private, and users remain in control.
The Structural Read
The post bundles four separate things. There is a format, image ads to be tested during image generation. There is a data pipe, integrations for sending conversion data to ChatGPT Ads. There is third-party measurement, with attribution, full-funnel and geo-experiment partners. And there is a trust layer: placement guardrails, Negative Phrases, and pilots with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science. Only the format is a product test, and OpenAI says it has not started: testing begins later this month.
On measurement, OpenAI says its incrementality work is “still in its early stages.” The three partner findings it cites measure different things for different brands: an attributed cost per acquisition against a paid-search benchmark, the share of incremental purchases from net-new customers, and the share of visitors who were new.
OpenAI draws its line between ads and answers twice: the ads are “clearly labeled” and “separate from the image being created,” and advertising “does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides.” The post does not describe how either statement is checked.
OpenAI — Building advertising for the way people use AI
“As with our other ad formats, advertising does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides.”
Three Implications
AN AD BESIDE CREATION OpenAI says the first test of the visual format is during image generation, with the ad labeled and separate from the image being created. That is a different moment from a text question, and the post does not say how many people use image generation.
MEASUREMENT IN THE ADVERTISER’S OWN SYSTEMS OpenAI describes its approach as supporting in-house and partner-led measurement, using “the systems they already rely on.” By this publication’s count it names ten attribution partners, from a list the post introduces with “including,” alongside integrations for sending conversion data in. By its own account the measuring uses the advertiser’s existing systems.
WHAT REMAINS UNKNOWN The post gives no revenue, advertiser count, price, inventory or start date within the month, and the partner findings are single-brand results reported by partners. This publication did not read the Ads Blog post that OpenAI’s post links to.
What Is Not Established
The post gives no revenue, advertiser count, price or inventory figure. It gives no start date within the month for the test, and it does not say which advertisers are in the initial group. The three partner findings are single-brand results reported by partners, not results across advertisers.
This publication read OpenAI’s post only. It did not read the Ads Blog post that OpenAI’s post links to, did not test the product and did not seek a response from OpenAI or any partner.
Business Engineer Framework
The Map of AI — Where Ad Platforms and Measurement Firms Sit in the Stack
The Map of AI places more than 200 companies across nine layers of the stack, from silicon to application. Where an ad platform, the firms that measure it and the brand-suitability checkers sit relative to the model layer is the frame a post like this invites.
OpenAI says it will begin testing a visual ad format in ChatGPT image generation in the US later this month, and says it is adding conversion-data integrations, attribution and incrementality partners and brand-suitability pilots around ChatGPT Ads. The partner results it cites are single-brand figures reported by its partners. This publication verified none of it independently.
A note on sourcing. We read OpenAI’s post ‘Building advertising for the way people use AI’ and nothing else; we did not read the Ads Blog post it links to, did not test the product, and did not contact OpenAI or any partner for a response. The partner figures are OpenAI’s account of what its partners reported, and we have not checked those claims independently. Nothing here is a forecast or investment advice.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
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