OpenAI to test visual sponsored ads during ChatGPT image generation

On 5 Oct, OpenAI announced a planned US trial of visual sponsored advertising in ChatGPT’s image-generation feature, involving an initial set of advertisers. Reports said the trial was expected to start later in October.¹²³⁴

A larger visual format

Under the format, advertisers can present products and services through imagery as users create images with ChatGPT. OpenAI said the placements could depict a product in use, offer ideas related to a product or service, or show experiences associated with a brand. The company says each advertisement will be labelled and kept separate from the image requested by the user.⁴⁶

The Verge reported that ads first appeared in ChatGPT in February. Before the visual trial, sponsored sections beneath chats displayed a company’s name and logo together with a product link, according to the publication. The new format gives advertisers more room to present products visually than those earlier placements, India Today reported.²⁶

OpenAI says advertising does not affect ChatGPT’s answers. The Verge also reported that ads would not be shown to Plus, Pro or Enterprise subscribers and that OpenAI intended to experiment with further formats. The company has not provided a schedule or locations for any expansion of the visual format beyond the initial US test.²³⁴⁶

Measurement and advertiser controls

Alongside the visual trial, OpenAI has expanded the systems advertisers can use to measure results. Integrations with Hightouch, Tealium and LiveRamp allow conversion information to be sent from existing systems to ChatGPT Ads. OpenAI is also supporting partners that help businesses attribute clicks and monitor conversions and campaign performance.¹⁴⁶⁷

OpenAI is working with Haus, Measured and WorkMagic on geographically based experiments intended to assess the causal effects of advertising. Its broader partner network includes services for click attribution and measurement across the marketing funnel. OpenAI said one advertiser, WeightWatchers, recorded an attributed acquisition cost 15.3% below its combined paid-search benchmark, but that performance claim comes from the company.¹⁴⁷

DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science are helping OpenAI develop evaluations of whether ad placements meet brand-suitability standards. OpenAI says its guardrails assess whether a conversation is suitable for advertising and are intended to exclude emotionally vulnerable, sensitive or otherwise unsuitable situations. The evaluations can be conducted without the partners receiving access to private user conversations, according to OpenAI and reports about the pilots.¹²³⁴

OpenAI also offers Negative Phrases to qualifying advertisers, according to the company. These controls form part of its effort to attract advertisers while maintaining separation between commercial placements and ChatGPT’s responses. OpenAI and several reports put ChatGPT’s weekly audience at 1.2 billion people.³⁴⁶

European context

The Next Web reported that existing ChatGPT ads appeared in Europe in August for free and Go users, while Plus, Pro and Enterprise subscribers did not receive them. The publication further said the European Commission classified ChatGPT as a very large online search engine in August, requiring OpenAI to release a public archive in January covering one year of ads and required details.³