Adthena

OpenAI Expands Ads Manager to U.K., Adds CPC

OpenAI has expanded its self-serve ads manager to the U.K. in beta, making the market the fifth with access after the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. U.K. advertisers in approved categories can register, add payment details, set budgets and bids, upload creatives, launch and manage campaigns, and view performance in the portal. OpenAI also added cost‑per‑click (CPC) buying to the platform, joining existing CPM and CPA options. Industry analysts note the move will rapidly grow demand but that scaling supply in the U.K. could be constrained by a more restrictive regulatory environment. The expansion follows a recent U.K. pilot and comes days before Cannes Lions, where OpenAI’s global head of ads is expected to meet agencies and partners.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT ads in UK, updates EU privacy policy

OpenAI has begun a UK pilot for ChatGPT advertising while updating its EU ads policy (added June 2) to require explicit user opt-in and to rely on consent — not legitimate interest — as the legal basis for processing personal data. Consenting users may receive personalized ads informed by past chats, memory, ad history and advertiser-provided data; non-consenting users will receive contextual, generic ads based on limited information such as conversation context, location and time. The UK rollout currently follows the US playbook: inventory is initially sold via OpenAI sales reps and the self-serve Ads Manager remains US-only (US advertisers can buy UK inventory through it). OpenAI executives and agency partners (including Zalando and Dentsu clients) are participating in the pilot. OpenAI projects large ad revenue growth, forecasting $2.5 billion this year and $102 billion by 2030.

1Q26 AdTech & MarTech Portfolio Update

Quo Vadis published a 1Q26 portfolio update summarizing performance across AdTech, MarTech, SocialTech and Agency portfolios, and noting market events including Liftoff’s IPO. Liftoff (NASDAQ: LFTO) priced 19 million shares at $23, raising about $437M and began trading the same day. The newsletter compares portfolio returns since January 2022 (benchmarks: NASDAQ +70%, S&P 500 +57%), highlights BigTech strength (Google +145%, Meta +84%; BigTech2 +115%), and reports sector performance: AdTech11 down 45%, MarTech8 down 62%, SocialTech4 up 31%, and Agency5 down 27%. The author discusses identity and data gravity themes (Publicis, LiveRamp) and industry gatherings around Cannes Lions where agency, platform and identity leaders will meet.