OpenAI has been testing a new ad format called Sponsored Agents in the USA since September 16, 2026: AI assistants that guide ChatGPT users on behalf of a brand through follow-up questions. At the same time, the company is integrating its advertising tools directly into HubSpot and Shopify for the first time. According to OpenAI, the advertising platform already reaches an annualized revenue rate of one billion dollars.
Advertising agent chats separately from the main conversation
Anyone who clicks a labeled ad in ChatGPT can soon start a separate conversation with the advertiser’s so-called Sponsored Agent. OpenAI describes on its blog the example of a dining table: a user sees the ad and asks the agent about its dimensions, seating capacity, and how to care for the material. Only afterward does she move to the provider’s website. According to OpenAI, the conversation stays separate from the regular ChatGPT chat and from the model’s independent answers.
The format is initially being tested only with selected advertisers in the USA. OpenAI gives no timeline for other countries. It also remains unclear which model powers the agents, who writes their instructions, and how a click on an agent will eventually be billed. The company likewise says nothing about what data from the conversation logs flows to advertisers. Meta took a similar path in July 2026 with its Ads MCP server, connecting AI agents directly to ad accounts. There, however, the focus is on software-driven campaign management, not a sales conversation with the end customer.
Ads Manager now plugs into CRM and online shop
Beyond the new ad format, OpenAI is expanding its existing Ads Manager tool with features for advertisers. Businesses using a HubSpot customer database can now manage ChatGPT campaigns directly inside the CRM. Ad clicks are automatically linked to contact records. Leads can then be routed into existing workflows. For new HubSpot accounts, the company offers a discount on the Starter plan through September 30, 2026, plus a promised $750 ad-spend match.
A dedicated app for Shopify merchants in the USA has been available in the Shopify App Store since September 3, 2026. It automatically syncs the product catalog with ads and targets campaigns by audience, device, location, and category. Starting September 23, 2026, the app is also expected to reach other markets where ChatGPT already shows ads – Germany has been included since August 24. Ads Manager additionally now offers selectable attribution windows of seven, fourteen, or thirty days, plus a new data-quality score for individual campaigns.
Advertising business grows faster than the rest of ChatGPT
The expansion follows rapid growth in the ad business. According to its own, independently unverified figures, OpenAI has reached an annualized revenue rate of one billion dollars within less than 200 days of the pilot’s February 2026 launch. The company says it reached an annualized rate of 100 million dollars just six weeks after the first ads went live. By mid-August, more than a quarter of all ChatGPT responses to Free- and Go-tier users carried an ad. That means the ad business is growing far faster than many of OpenAI’s other revenue streams.
Before this, the company had rolled out advertising in the free tier first in the USA and then, starting August 24, 2026, across 31 European countries. Plus, Business, and Enterprise accounts are excluded. The expansion comes as the EU Commission has classified the chatbot as a very large online search engine, triggering obligations for risk assessments and regulator data access. OpenAI has not commented on how Sponsored Agents relate to that designation.
What matters most is whether users experience a sales conversation with a brand agent as helpful or as intrusive advertising. Google and Meta have so far stuck to classic ad formats rather than open chats. Whether OpenAI extends Sponsored Agents beyond the US test phase and discloses pricing and data-sharing details will likely become clear with the next quarterly update on the ad business.
