ChatGPT ads: from curiosity to commerce channel
ChatGPT ads are paid commercial messages embedded inside AI chat responses that recommend products or services while users ask questions, turning conversational queries into targeted advertising moments that can send people to retailers’ sites or apps to complete purchases and measure performance like any other digital media channel. OpenAI launched its ad product in February and has already crossed USD 100 million (approx. RM460 million) in annualized revenue within the first six weeks, with more than 600 advertisers signed on. That is not a beta; it is a business. The move marks OpenAI’s shift from pure AI utility to a full ChatGPT ads platform designed to compete for brand budgets with entrenched search and social players. For marketers, the takeaway is blunt: the AI shopping assistant ads you have been piloting in decks are now live in front of real customers.
Amazon and Shopee push conversational commerce into the mainstream
The signal that conversational commerce integration has crossed from experiment to reality is who is showing up. Amazon has begun buying ads on ChatGPT, making it one of the highest-profile retailers in OpenAI’s emerging advertising business. In one example, the chatbot lists coffee makers, then follows with a sponsored Amazon unit promoting “Top-Rated Kitchen Gear,” which clicks through to Amazon’s own storefront. Amazon gets the traffic; OpenAI gets the ad revenue. At the same time, Sea and OpenAI are bringing ChatGPT-powered shopping into Shopee, allowing users to discover products via natural-language conversations and then complete purchases on Shopee’s platform. The Shopee and OpenAI partnership is more than a feature launch; it represents a meaningful step toward conversational commerce becoming part of the mainstream shopping experience across a wide footprint.
Why brands should treat ChatGPT as mid-funnel, not a banner swap
OpenAI is not selling another banner slot; it is selling intent. Roughly one-fifth of ChatGPT queries carry commercial intent across travel, retail, and financial services, with users actively asking what to buy or book rather than passively scrolling. Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser framed this as a move from the “attention economy” to an “intelligence economy,” where value comes from useful answers rather than interruptions. CPMs on ChatGPT's ad platform have reportedly settled in the USD 15–35 (approx. RM70–160) range, down from early pilots at USD 60 (approx. RM275), with click-through rates around 0.9–1.3 percent. Those numbers will not wow anyone used to search’s reported 29 percent click-through benchmark, but they miss the point: this is mid-funnel advertising inventory where persuasion and guidance matter more than raw clicks. Brands that treat ChatGPT as search-lite will underuse it; those that design creative for guided decision-making will win the early advantage.
OpenAI ad revenue and the coming fight for budgets
At its first appearance on the industry’s biggest advertising stage, OpenAI declared that it is “clearly in the advertising business now,” projecting USD 2.5 billion (approx. RM11.5 billion) in ad revenue for 2026 and pitching a USD 100 billion (approx. RM460 billion) future. Until February, the company’s revenue rested on subscriptions and API access; advertising adds a third leg that grows with engagement instead of compute costs and fits neatly into how public markets already value Google and Meta. OpenAI’s structured rollout—from USD 200,000 (approx. RM920,000) minimum-spend pilots to a self-serve ChatGPT ads platform for smaller advertisers—shows a serious go-to-market motion, not a toy feature. The company is openly competing for incremental test budgets; even a small shift away from incumbent platforms becomes meaningful at their scale. An advertising business changes the story OpenAI can tell investors, especially as reports suggest it may time a public listing around 2027 after other high-profile tech offerings settle.
What brands and retailers should do next
For ordinary users, ChatGPT’s new AI shopping assistant ads mean that a search for a coffee maker, travel essentials, or gift ideas now blends organic guidance with sponsored suggestions, often linking through to Amazon or Shopee for the transaction. That blending will only work if brands respect the trust users place in conversational interfaces. The practical playbook is clear. Retailers should treat ChatGPT as a conversational commerce integration partner, not a data siphon—Amazon’s strategy of using ChatGPT as a marketing channel while guarding its catalog is one model. Brands should start structured tests now while CPMs and competition are still in flux, and push OpenAI for transparent measurement and clear labeling of sponsored content. Sea’s plan to roll out ChatGPT for Business tools and regional hackathons shows how fast merchant and developer ecosystems can adapt. Those who learn faster will write the norms for what “good” AI-native advertising looks like.
