ChatGPT ads can now be run from Shopify and HubSpot, and some will talk back

OpenAI has added Sponsored Agents, AI-drafted campaigns and its first CRM and ecommerce integrations to ChatGPT Ads. Here is what changes for a business that advertises.

OpenAI has announced the next step for advertising inside ChatGPT. There are four parts: a test of Sponsored Agents, a way to create campaigns by typing prompts in ChatGPT Work, AI creative help inside Ads Manager, and integrations with HubSpot and Shopify as its first CRM and ecommerce partners.

Sponsored Agents let a person who clicks an ad start a clearly labelled conversation with an agent run on the advertiser's behalf. OpenAI says that conversation is separate from ChatGPT's own answers and from the chat the user was already in. It is being tested with selected advertisers in the United States. Elsewhere, advertisers can now create, update and analyse campaigns through the Ads Manager plugin in ChatGPT, get suggested copy and imagery based on a landing page, and opt in to having headlines adapted and translated to fit the conversation. HubSpot users can connect a ChatGPT Ads account and manage ads and leads inside HubSpot from today. US Shopify merchants get a ChatGPT Ads app in the Shopify App Store, with international markets following from 23 September.

For a midsize business the practical shift is that ChatGPT advertising no longer needs a separate workflow. If your leads live in HubSpot or your products live in Shopify, campaigns can be built and tracked from there, with your existing customer and catalogue data feeding them.

Treat it like any new ad channel. Set a small budget, decide what a good lead looks like before you start, and review the AI-suggested copy rather than accepting it as drafted. The Sponsored Agent format is still a test and not yet available outside the US, so plan for it rather than around it.

Advertising inside AI assistants is becoming a normal channel with normal tooling. That is a reason to run a small experiment, not a reason to move budget wholesale.