ChatGPT Ads Test Sponsored Agents — Tap One and Chat With the Advertiser's Agent

AI News September 23, 2026

On September 16, 2026, OpenAI began testing Sponsored Agents in ChatGPT ads. Tap an ad and you can hold a separate conversation with an AI agent built by the company that placed it.

The same day, it announced HubSpot as its first customer relationship management (CRM) partner and Shopify as its first e-commerce partner. Sponsored Agents is a test with select US advertisers; what expands internationally from September 23 is the ads app for Shopify.

OpenAI logo — Source: OpenAI

How ChatGPT ads got here

From the introduction of ChatGPT ads to Sponsored Agents — Source: self-rendered from OpenAI announcements and reporting

OpenAI announced its advertising plans on January 16 and began testing ads with adult users on the Free and Go plans in the US on February 9. Ads appear as labeled cards below the answer and are not shown on Plus or higher paid plans.

As PPC Land reported, ChatGPT ads passed $1 billion (₩1.4 trillion) in annualized revenue less than 200 days after launch and ran in more than 40 markets as of August 29. The outlet reported that ads appear on 26% of the answers Free and Go users receive.

How Sponsored Agents work

Concept image of a brand agent conversation continuing from an ad — Source: concept image · self-generated with agy

When a user taps an ad, a separate labeled conversation window opens where they can ask the advertiser’s agent about products, compare them, and move on to the advertiser’s website if they want. OpenAI’s examples are conversations asking whether a piece of furniture fits a room and how to care for a material.

OpenAI wrote that a conversation with a Sponsored Agent is distinct from ChatGPT’s independent answers, stating that the conversation is separate both from ChatGPT’s answers and from the original conversation the user was having.

Item	Disclosed
Conversation separation and labeling	Disclosed
Test scope	Select US advertisers
Data the advertiser receives	Not disclosed
Model used for the agents	Not disclosed
Pricing model	Not disclosed

PPC Land pointed out that the announcement does not say what advertisers receive from the conversation content or who writes the agent’s instructions.

The HubSpot integration

HubSpot logo — Source: HubSpot

From September 16, companies using HubSpot can connect a ChatGPT ads account to create ads, see performance, and manage leads that come in through ads without leaving HubSpot. HubSpot explained that it connects customer data to ad targeting and tracks whether ad spend led to actual contracts.

HubSpot offered a matching ad credit of up to $750 (₩1.05 million) for new ad accounts through September 30.

It said weekly users of the connector for using HubSpot inside ChatGPT grew 250%.

The Shopify app and ad creation tools

Shopify logo — Source: Shopify

The ChatGPT ads app for Shopify launched free for US merchants on September 3, syncing product catalogs and installing conversion tracking code. From September 23 it expands to the international markets where ChatGPT ads operate.

Three AI features were added to the ad management tools.

Conversational management: create, edit, and analyze campaigns in natural language inside ChatGPT
Creative suggestions: reads the landing page and suggests copy and images, used after advertiser review
Adaptive translation: if selected, rewrites headlines to fit the conversation’s context and translates them into the user’s language

Newegg, Best Buy, Lowe’s, and VistaPrint were named among the early advertisers.

Where this touches Korea

OpenAI began an advertising pilot in Korea on June 19. In Korea too, ads are shown only to adult users on the Free and Go plans, and not on minors’ accounts or in conversations on sensitive topics such as health and politics.

For the Korean rollout, OpenAI set out principles of keeping answers independent, protecting conversation content and personal data from advertisers, and giving users choice over ads.

The list of countries in the Shopify app’s international expansion was not published, so whether Korean merchants can use it from September 23 is unconfirmed. No launch date for Sponsored Agents in Korea has been published either.

Summary

Summary card for ChatGPT ads Sponsored Agents — Source: self-rendered from OpenAI announcements and reporting

What to watch next

Data scope: whether OpenAI discloses what information from Sponsored Agent conversations goes to advertisers
Test expansion: the timeline for extending to advertisers outside the US and to users in Korea
Pricing model: the billing basis for conversational ads
More partners: the CRM and commerce partners after HubSpot and Shopify