Skip to content
NewsProduct launch

OpenAI launches Sponsored Agents in ChatGPT, replacing click-throughs with branded AI conversations

· by Pondero Newsdesk

The short version

On September 16, OpenAI began testing Sponsored Agents, a new ChatGPT ad unit that opens a clearly labeled conversation with a business-backed AI when a user clicks an ad, with HubSpot and Shopify live as launch partners.

OpenAI launches Sponsored Agents in ChatGPT, replacing click-throughs with branded AI conversations

ChatGPT ads now open a conversation instead of a browser tab. On September 16, OpenAI began testing Sponsored Agents, a new ad unit inside ChatGPT that replaces the standard click-through redirect with a labeled conversational session run by a business-backed AI. HubSpot and Shopify went live as launch partners the same day.

What it is

A Sponsored Agent surfaces in ChatGPT after a relevant ad appears in the interface. The user can choose to enter a conversation with the agent, which is clearly labeled as distinct from ChatGPT's own responses and separate from the user's original session, per OpenAI's announcement. The user asks follow-up questions about a product and then follows a link to the vendor's website when ready to act. OpenAI described the current rollout as a test with "select advertisers in the United States."

Two platform integrations shipped the same day. HubSpot CRM customers can now connect a ChatGPT Ads account, build campaigns, track performance, and follow up on leads from within HubSpot using their existing CRM context to inform ad delivery, per the announcement. US-based Shopify merchants can create and manage ChatGPT ad campaigns via a new ChatGPT Ads app in the Shopify App Store, with product catalogs already synced through Shopify's catalog integration; international availability in supported markets starts September 23, per OpenAI.

Alongside Sponsored Agents, OpenAI rolled out a natural-language Ads Manager plugin for ChatGPT Work that lets advertisers create, update, and analyze campaigns via plain text prompts. A parallel AI assistance layer inside Ads Manager suggests copy and imagery based on a landing page and campaign objective. An opt-in text customization feature adapts existing headlines and descriptions to conversation context and auto-translates copy to a user's preferred language.

Why it matters

For marketing teams at HubSpot accounts and Shopify merchants, this is configurable today. The HubSpot integration and the Shopify App Store app both shipped September 16; US merchants can launch campaigns without leaving their existing platform. Shopify's international rollout follows on September 23.

The format changes a basic assumption of paid advertising tied to ChatGPT. A user who clicks a Sponsored Agent does not reach a landing page; they stay inside ChatGPT and interact with a session that responds to their specific questions. OpenAI has not published performance data from the test group, so whether conversion rates justify the interaction model is an open question.

For AI-tool operators outside those two platforms, the more immediately relevant development is the Ads Manager plugin's natural-language interface. A marketer already working in ChatGPT Work can now manage campaigns from that surface rather than switching to the Ads Manager dashboard. That capability is not tied to the Sponsored Agent format and is available to any advertiser on the platform today.

What to watch next

The nearest competitive signal is whether Google extends its AI Mode ad inventory into a comparable interactive format. OpenAI named only two integration partners at launch; how quickly the Sponsored Agent API opens to additional CRM and ecommerce platforms will determine how far the format reaches beyond HubSpot and Shopify accounts.

Sources