The news: OpenAI is enrolling advertisers in a feature that can automatically adjust their ads in ChatGPT.

Beginning October 29, new and existing campaigns will be opted into “creative enhancements,” an AI capability that uses conversational context to revise an ad to be more relevant to a user. The feature can change an ad’s headline and descriptions, language, image size, and destination URLs.

These revisions don’t need final approval from advertisers, and many cannot be previewed before running. Advertisers can opt out of the automatic enrollment.

Why it matters: Advertisers are being asked to put more trust in OpenAI’s automation, surrendering control over the final version of ads—from how they appear to where they direct consumers. There are obvious concerns with this approach, such as the possibility of AI-rewritten copy that runs counter to a brand’s objectives or changes to destination URLs that send consumers to landing pages that are broken or otherwise unsuitable.

Advertisers have reason to scrutinize OpenAI’s ads system—it still misses user intent more than 14% of the time, per SE Ranking. Giving ChatGPT more decision-making power without final approval introduces additional risks and deepens the potential for ad misalignment.

The bigger picture: A gap is widening between OpenAI and advertisers. While OpenAI is speeding toward its goal of driving $100 billion in ad revenues by 2030—it’s projected to hit just $2 billion by the end of this year, per Barclays—advertisers are still waiting for fundamental tools that provide transparency into ChatGPT placements, such as prompt-level reporting.

That lack of visibility could make advertisers more skittish about relinquishing control over their ads. If OpenAI wants to reach its revenue ambitions, it needs to give advertisers reason to sustain and expand spending on ChatGPT. For now, however, it seems more concerned with bringing on additional first-time testers as it expands to new markets.

Recommendations for advertisers: Test creative enhancements on individual campaigns first, rather than enabling them across an entire ad account.

• Opt out of automatic enrollment at the account level until there is more clarity about the feature’s effectiveness and risks.
• Run A/B tests by enabling creative enhancements for one campaign while leaving them disabled for a similar one. This will help determine whether automation improves results.
• Watch for notable dips or surges in performance that could indicate changes in ad messages, landing page behavior, or other unexpected consequences.

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