The news: OpenAI has begun sharing user data with marketers after quietly updating its privacy policy, per Adweek.

• The revised policy says the company may receive purchase-related information from advertisers and provide user data to marketing partners to support ad targeting on third-party platforms.
• It also states that user data may be used to promote OpenAI’s own products and services.
• OpenAI also updated the name of its vendor disclosure category to reference “marketing partners,” suggesting a more defined structure for advertiser relationships.

An OpenAI spokesperson clarified to Adweek that the company “[does] not share [user] conversations” with marketers, but “may share limited identifiers, such as cookie IDs or device IDs” for users who do not opt out.

Zooming in: The change represents a departure from OpenAI’s earlier promise that it would “never sell” users’ data to advertisers. While the new policy does not authorize data sales, it does create additional pathways for data to move between OpenAI and advertising partners.

The move also shows that OpenAI is making efforts to develop its adtech, something the company has been building on since announcing its ads pilot earlier this year as it seeks to monetize its large user base and achieve lofty revenue goals.

• OpenAI has struck deals with adtech partners including Criteo, which allows brands to access ChatGPT inventory via Criteo’s commerce media platform; StackAdapt, which is helping OpenAI enhance how ads reach users; and potentially The Trade Desk, a partnership that would allow ChatGPT to sell ads using TTD’s infrastructure.
• The AI leader recently launched an ads manager for ChatGPT to refine its marketing capabilities, per Digiday. The manager reportedly has features similar to Google’s ads manager, simplifying OpenAI’s previously opaque measurement capabilities.