OpenAI Launches Sponsored Agents in ChatGPT with Partners
The September 16 announcement creates a paid conversation funnel in ChatGPT. OpenAI's ad division reached $1 billion in annualized revenue in 200 days.
On September 16, OpenAI launched the Sponsored Agents pilot, an advertising format within ChatGPT where users converse with a brand agent, integrating for the first time an ad management app with Shopify App Store and HubSpot. According to the official blog post from OpenAI, HubSpot is the first CRM partner and Shopify is the first e-commerce partner. The company also unveiled tools for automatic campaign generation and headline rewriting by reader language.
This move formalizes ChatGPT as a paid media platform, something Sam Altman has refrained from stating publicly during the 2024 cycle. According to Fortune, OpenAI's advertising division reached $1 billion in annualized revenue in less than 200 days, with a goal of $2.5 billion in ad revenue by 2026, against an overall projection of over $40 billion for the year.
The Format: Brand-Hired Agent
Sponsored Agents appear when ChatGPT identifies a purchase intent or search aligned with the advertiser's profile. The user can choose to enter a clearly marked separate conversation with a brand-trained agent. This agent answers questions, collects preferences, and directs the user to the advertiser's site when ready to convert. The conversation is isolated from the main ChatGPT session, an architectural decision that separates editorial responses from sponsored replies.
The integration with HubSpot allows advertisers to run campaign creation and monitoring without leaving the CRM. The Shopify integration, currently limited to U.S. retailers, utilizes the already mapped catalog in Shopify to create and measure campaigns within ChatGPT Ads.
Why the Announcement Matters for the C-Suite
For marketing directors and CIOs, three concrete takeaways emerge. The first is about acquisition: ChatGPT already accounts for a significant share of high-income informational searches, and the Sponsored Agent changes the last-mile mechanics, replacing clicks on a link with a conversation that qualifies the lead. According to a joint statement from OpenAI and HubSpot, the salesperson enters the CRM with the conversation history already synchronized, reducing friction in qualification.
The second is governance. Each sponsored agent will operate under the personality and purpose defined by the brand, with the potential for off-script responses. For banks, pharmaceuticals, and other regulated sectors, this step is critically early: a single agent that responds differently from an approved disclaimer could generate regulatory exposure. In the United States, the FTC has already indicated in draft guidance that sponsored conversational agents require explicit disclosure.
The third is dependency. OpenAI is creating a dedicated funnel with Sponsored Agents akin to Google Ads, but within ChatGPT. This means advertisers gain a new channel with high return potential while simultaneously agreeing to partner with a platform that currently controls the selection interface.
Outlook for the UK, Germany, and Brazil
Outside the United States, the rollout is still gradual. In the UK, Ofcom and the ICO must examine compliance with the Online Safety Act and UK GDPR before expansion, especially concerning data collection during conversations with sponsored agents. In Germany, the Bundesnetzagentur and BfDI have a history of early intervention in automated advertising channels, and the Digital Services Act mandates transparency regarding ad personalization parameters.
In Brazil, the banking sector has the precedent of open finance and the ongoing discussion from Conar about advertising in generative AI. Nubank, Itaú, and Banco do Brasil are investing in proprietary customer conversation channels and will compare the cost per qualified lead of Sponsored Agents with that of the WhatsApp Business API, currently between R$ 8 and R$ 22, depending on the vertical. For consultative purposes, the reading aligns with the early days of Facebook Ads in 2011: those testing in the pilot phase accumulate know-how about a channel that could make current search CPC expensive within two years.
The Counterpoint
Skeptics have honest arguments. ChatGPT generates ads in a conversational context, but the paying user base is still smaller than that of YouTube, and session monetization is underdeveloped. MoffettNathanson analysts estimate that media channels based on conversation require scale close to Google Search to match the unit cost of display banners, and ChatGPT still operates with a lower MAU range. The American pilots with HubSpot and Shopify will indicate in the next two quarters whether OpenAI is building a Google or a premium showcase with high CPM and still restricted volume.