Observed Signal · Sep 24, 2026 · Product Launch · Source: AdExchanger · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
ChatGPT Ads Expands Partnerships; McDonald's Tests Drive-Thru Ads
This article from AdExchanger's daily roundup covers multiple advertising technology developments. Key points include the expansion of ChatGPT Ads' partner ecosystem with Equativ and Quartile joining the technology partner program, Adform partnering to sell ChatGPT's agentic conversation ads in Europe, and Amazon Ads beta testing ads in ChatGPT. Additionally, McDonald's is testing ads on digital menu boards at drive-thru windows, leveraging first-party customer data to create a new revenue stream. The article also mentions YouTube's new features announced at Made on YouTube event, including TV-focused enhancements and a Coachella streaming rights deal through 2030. Other news includes Scope3 rebranding to Apostra, Disney raising streaming prices, and Pluto TV launching a new ad campaign.
Multiple significant ad tech developments including ChatGPT Ads expanding its partner network and McDonald's entering the ad business, indicating industry growth and innovation.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Equativ and Quartile joined ChatGPT Ads' technology partner program.
- Adform signed on to sell ChatGPT's agentic conversation ads in Europe.
- Amazon Ads is beta testing ads in ChatGPT.
- McDonald's is testing ads on digital menu boards at drive-thru windows.
- YouTube announced a streaming rights deal to be the sole livestreamer of Coachella through 2030.
Connected Companies & Entities
10 Entities mapped“McDonald's is testing ads on digital menu boards at drive-thru windows....”
“ChatGPT Ads is OpenAI's advertising platform, mentioned in partnerships with Equativ, Quartile, Adform, and Amazon Ads....”
“Equativ joined ChatGPT Ads' technology partner program....”
“Adform signed on to sell ChatGPT's agentic conversation ads in Europe....”
“Amazon Ads is beta testing ads in ChatGPT....”
“YouTube announced new features at Made on YouTube event and a Coachella streaming rights deal....”
“Scope3 changes its name to Apostra and shifts focus from sustainability to AI....”
“Disney plans to raise prices on streaming subscriptions within Disney+ and Hulu....”
“Pluto TV has a new ad campaign to remind people it's a free streaming service....”
“AI ad optimization startup Scowtt names ad tech vet Ben Trenda as CRO....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
OpenAI Expands ChatGPT Plugins with App-like Interfaces and Automations
At its Dev Day presentation, OpenAI announced new plugin extensions for ChatGPT, allowing developers to build app-like experiences directly within the chat interface. These extensions will give apps a dedicated home in the ChatGPT sidebar and support interactive panels, including file viewers tailored to developers' products. OpenAI is also introducing a Plugin Creator tool to simplify plugin development and submission, along with improved ranking and recommendation in the plugin directory. Users can approve access needs individually. ChatGPT Sites can host these plugins, enabling sharing with colleagues who can use them with their own connected data. Additionally, OpenAI announced support for the proposed MCP Events specification, allowing plugins to trigger automations based on events in connected apps, making automations easier to add and manage.
Shopify Drops React Native for Native Apps Citing AI Agents
Shopify has announced it is moving away from React Native (RN) for its mobile apps, returning to fully native development using Swift and Kotlin. The decision, detailed by Head of Engineering Farhan Thawar and Head of Mobile Mustafa Ali, is driven by the dramatically improved capabilities of AI coding agents, which reduce the cost of building and maintaining two separate native codebases. Shopify found that the advantages of sharing code via RN are now outweighed by the benefits of full platform access and performance. The company has already rewritten its Shop app natively in just 12 weeks, with the main Shopify app underway. They are also building a shared test suite to validate feature parity between iOS and Android. This marks a strategic reversal from its 2020 all-in commitment to React Native, which was originally adopted to speed Android development. The shift is seen as a bellwether for the mobile development industry, potentially influencing other companies to reconsider cross-platform frameworks.
Amazon Ads Rebrands DSP to DVA, Launches Agentic Assistant
At its unBoxed event, Amazon Ads announced a major overhaul of its advertising platform. The Amazon DSP has been renamed DVA (display, video, audio), and the DSP and sponsored ads console are merged into a new interface called 'The Amazon Ads Agent.' This agentic system, powered by AI, unifies workflows for advertisers, enabling a seamless experience across campaign types. New features include DVA+ with Performance Plus and Brand Plus campaign types, and Full-Funnel Campaigns for small advertisers to easily run ads across channels like streaming TV and audio. The platform auto-generates media plans and optimizes campaigns, with natural language analytics. This push aims to simplify the historically complex and siloed Amazon ad platform.
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