The news: OpenAI signed deals with supply-side platforms (SSPs) Magnite and PubMatic to fill unused ChatGPT ad space and encourage adoption of its advertising offerings, sources told The Information.

• Advertisers can set budgets, submit bids, and upload ads on ChatGPT through Magnite’s and PubMatic’s software, while OpenAI’s systems control final ad delivery and placement.
• Initial ad transaction volumes are “still small,” but both companies expect fast growth, the sources said, with these deals following OpenAI’s work with platforms like Amazon Ads, Criteo, LiveRamp, and StackAdapt.

The bigger picture: OpenAI’s partnerships bolster its efforts to help brands advertise through ChatGPT and strengthen its ad infrastructure. It’s trying to catch up to buyers’ concerns about visibility in ChatGPT ads with offerings like independent measurement and exclusion targeting. However, it still lacks requested tools such as search- and prompt-level reporting, per Adweek.

Only 6% of advertisers and agencies think ChatGPT’s AI is increasing return on ad spend (ROAS) quickly enough to justify new spending, per Bank of America data cited by TheStreet. That’s compared with 15% for Facebook’s and 33% for Google Search’s.

Despite OpenAI’s push into advertising, 46% of US genAI assistant users are resistant to ads in agentic commerce and genAI assistants, per Mod7 Research Strategy, showing an uphill battle for consumer acceptance.

Still, companies like Magnite and PubMatic may benefit from working with ChatGPT and other AI firms due to the potential of being seen as cutting-edge. By signing deals with AI players early on in the AI ad race, they can set themselves up as essential infrastructure for a new advertising channel and potentially secure a larger role in how ads are bought and managed as the market matures.

Implications for marketers: OpenAI’s expanding ad tech partnerships will give advertisers deeper opportunities to incorporate ChatGPT into existing campaign workflows and standardize its use instead of treating it as an entirely separate channel.

Current buying partners can facilitate access as marketers develop creative that’s tailored to conversational discovery and high-intent consumer queries.

However, even as buying gets easier, marketers should carefully evaluate whether ChatGPT ads drive real conversions or just capture demand that would have converted elsewhere.

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