The news: OpenAI will expand its ad pilot to several more countries, including the UK, Brazil, and Japan, in upcoming weeks. The pilot was initially only available in the US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

OpenAI’s head of global ads solutions, David Dugan, said the expansion was based on “strong interest from businesses looking to reach users in a more conversational, intent-driven environment.” The company also said it is incorporating advertiser feedback as it determines how best to scale ads.

Zooming out: OpenAI recently debuted a self-service ad platform network in the US and made several updates to prove the value of its nascent ad capabilities.

• OpenAI recently launched an ads manager beta, with a layout similar to Google Ads, per Digiday.
• The company has struck several partnerships with ad tech players to legitimize its offerings, including Criteo and StackAdapt. OpenAI is reportedly in talks with The Trade Desk for a partnership that would help ChatGPT sell ads via TTD’s infrastructure.
• OpenAI has also quietly begun sharing user data with marketers, indicating broader efforts to develop its ad tech.