Observed Signal · Mar 2, 2026 · Partnership · Source: Adweek · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Positive
ChatGPT Ads Launch: Criteo Partners with OpenAI
Criteo has partnered with OpenAI to sell advertising placements inside ChatGPT, joining a pilot test of chatbot ads that OpenAI began rolling out to its Free and Go tiers. Agencies including Dentsu, Omnicom and WPP are participating in the pilot on behalf of clients; Criteo is the first adtech company to join the test. Criteo says its observations across 500 U.S. retailers in February found shoppers referred from chatbots are 1.5x more likely to purchase. The company said its integration with ChatGPT will roll out in the coming weeks. OpenAI began showing ads in ChatGPT on Feb. 9 and requires brands to pay a minimum of $200,000 to test placements.
Opens a new major conversational ad channel by giving adtech access to ChatGPT; Criteo is the first adtech partner and the move could reshape discovery-to-commerce flows and measurement within LLM interfaces.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Criteo has partnered with OpenAI to sell chatbot ads inside ChatGPT.
- OpenAI began testing ads in ChatGPT's Free and Go tiers and first showed ads on Feb. 9.
- Criteo is the first adtech company to join OpenAI's ChatGPT ad pilot.
- Criteo reported shoppers referred from chatbots are 1.5 times more likely to buy, based on observations among 500 U.S. retailers in February.
- OpenAI requires brands to pay a minimum of $200,000 to test ChatGPT ad placements.
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OpenAI Taps Criteo to Add Programmatic Ads in ChatGPT
OpenAI has named Criteo its first ad tech partner, integrating Criteo’s programmatic network into an ad pilot inside ChatGPT. The deal connects Criteo’s roster of roughly 17,000 advertisers (about $4 billion in annual media spend) into the ad experiment OpenAI began testing on February 9 in the Free and Go tiers in the US. OpenAI reportedly seeks a minimum brand commitment of $200,000 to participate, while Criteo cites internal data showing LLM-sourced traffic converts 1.5× better than other referral channels. The pilot already includes major agency clients such as WPP, Omnicom and Dentsu. Criteo frames the move under its “agentic commerce” strategy; OpenAI says it will evaluate brand participation while aiming to preserve user value and trust.
Criteo Expands Ads Inside ChatGPT
Criteo is scaling its advertising integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, reporting over 2,000 brands buying ChatGPT inventory via Criteo (up from ~1,000 in May). The offering, bookable through Criteo’s self‑service platform, is available in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, Japan and South Korea; continental Europe has no start date yet. Criteo introduced “Prompt Smart Ads,” which combine catalog and commerce signals with the user’s query to tailor ads and product descriptions; early tests show increased budget delivery and roughly fourfold higher spend after activation. The company reports ChatGPT ad traffic with 2–3x higher click‑through rates and conversion rates that beat other referral channels, with over 80% of ad-driven ChatGPT traffic coming from new customers. Criteo also highlighted a Retail Media use case with Albertsons that embeds sponsored products into a conversational, AI-driven shopping experience.
Criteo Partners with OpenAI for ChatGPT Ad Integration
Criteo announced it is the first advertising-technology partner integrating its digital advertising platform with OpenAI’s advertising pilot in ChatGPT Free and Go in the United States. The integration enables brands to activate commerce-focused advertising within ChatGPT and will begin rolling out in the coming weeks as part of the pilot. Criteo highlighted aggregated U.S. client data showing users referred from LLM platforms like ChatGPT convert at roughly 1.5x the rate of other referral channels. Criteo said the partnership aims to explore how advertising can support discovery and consideration in LLM experiences while driving incremental demand back to retailers and brands.
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