OpenAI Adds Sponsored Agents and New ChatGPT Ad Tools
A US test lets people open a labelled business-agent conversation from an ad, while new campaign tools and partner integrations expand what advertisers can manage.
Edited by Tyronne Panaino
OpenAI introduced a set of ChatGPT Ads changes on September 16, led by a US test called Sponsored Agents. After clicking an ad, a user can choose to open a clearly labelled conversation with a business-sponsored agent. OpenAI says that exchange is separate from both ChatGPT's independent answer and the conversation the user originally started.
The release also expands the advertiser side of the platform. Businesses can work on campaigns through an Ads Manager plugin in ChatGPT, receive editable creative suggestions and connect ChatGPT Ads to HubSpot or Shopify. The changes affect people encountering ads as well as marketers deciding how much campaign work to delegate to AI.
Sponsored Agents add a second conversation boundary
Sponsored Agents are being tested with select advertisers in the United States. A user has to choose to enter the sponsored exchange after seeing an ad, and the resulting conversation is labelled as business-sponsored. The agent can answer follow-up questions about the advertiser's offering and direct the user to the business's site.
That separation is the key product boundary in the announcement. OpenAI presents the sponsored exchange as distinct from ordinary ChatGPT answers, but the fetched evidence is a company description rather than an independent audit of labelling, answer separation or user understanding. The test scope also means the feature should not be described as a general release for every advertiser or ChatGPT user.
Advertisers get prompt-based campaign controls
The Ads Manager plugin lets advertisers use natural-language prompts to create, update and analyse campaigns in ChatGPT. OpenAI says the workflow can turn a website or brief into a campaign, review performance and suggest next actions. Ads Manager can also propose copy and imagery based on a landing page and campaign objective, while leaving the advertiser able to review and edit the suggestions before using them.
A separate opt-in feature can adapt existing headlines and descriptions to the context of a conversation and translate ad copy into a user's preferred language. Those capabilities reduce manual production steps, but the source provides no independent evidence about creative quality, translation accuracy, conversion improvement or how often advertisers accept the suggestions.
HubSpot and Shopify extend the workflow
OpenAI names HubSpot as its first CRM partner and Shopify as its first ecommerce partner for ChatGPT Ads. HubSpot users can connect an ad account, create campaigns, track performance and follow up on leads from the CRM. US-based Shopify merchants can use a ChatGPT Ads app to create and manage campaigns from their commerce workflow.
The Shopify App Store listing identifies OpenAI as the developer and describes catalogue synchronisation, ad creation, conversion measurement and campaign performance tracking. OpenAI says international availability is planned for markets where ChatGPT Ads operates, but that future rollout remains a checkpoint rather than a completed global launch.
What remains unproven
The announcement establishes the feature set and current test boundaries. It does not publish adoption, ad load, conversion lift, error rates for creative generation or evidence that users reliably distinguish a Sponsored Agent from ordinary ChatGPT. Those are the practical measures needed to judge whether conversational advertising is more useful or merely more immersive.
The next verifiable checkpoints are broader eligibility, market-by-market availability, clearer reporting on sponsored-conversation use and independent testing of the labelling and separation OpenAI describes.
Status
Confirmed. Internal confidence is medium because the feature and partner availability are documented by OpenAI and an official Shopify marketplace listing, while performance, adoption and user-safeguard outcomes remain unverified here.
Sources
Update note: Last reviewed September 17, 2026. We will revise this article if OpenAI changes the test scope, partner availability or the separation between sponsored conversations and ordinary ChatGPT.
Sources
- OpenAI — Reimagining advertising with AI — official
- Shopify App Store — ChatGPT Ads — official
Drafted with AI assistance from source briefs; reviewed for citation completeness and label accuracy.