New in AI

◆ E-COMMERCE · Marketing AI

ChatGPT ads left the US on August 11, and they run on the product feed you already give Google

One SFTP upload, one extra field, and OpenAI builds the ad from your catalogue at serve time.

Chandni Melwani

Chandni Melwani

Founder & Editor

Aug 11, 2026 · 2 MIN READ

A sponsored product slot inside a ChatGPT conversation on a phone Global Image: OpenAI

The News

OpenAI said on August 11, 2026 that ChatGPT ads have launched in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea, extending a test that began in the US in February 2026 and runs only on the Free and Go tiers. Alongside the expansion, OpenAI's advertiser documentation describes a product-feed campaign type that accepts Google-compatible product data feeds: a merchant uploads its catalogue to an SFTP location from Ads Manager, marks each product is_ads_eligible, and OpenAI selects an eligible item at serve time and fills the ad's title, description and price from the feed. Buying began on impressions, added cost-per-click bidding on May 5, 2026, and now offers conversion-optimised bidding in open beta, which optimises toward a conversion event while still billing per click.

Know More

  • — What launched: ChatGPT ads in the UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea on August 11, 2026, after a US start in February. Free and Go tiers only; Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education carry no ads.
  • — The feed: OpenAI accepts Google-compatible product data feeds, uploaded over SFTP from Ads Manager, with `is_ads_eligible` set to true on every product that should serve.
  • — How the ad is built: one product-ad template per ad group, its title, body and price filled from whichever eligible product is selected at serve time. The feed item supplies the image and the destination URL.
  • — How you buy: CPM at the start, cost-per-click added May 5, 2026, and conversion-optimised bidding now in open beta for standard and product-feed campaigns.
  • — The limits: advertisers receive aggregate performance only, with no access to chats, history or memories. OpenAI says ads do not run alongside sensitive or regulated topics such as health, mental health or politics, or for users it predicts to be under 18 or who tell it they are.

ChatGPT has been putting sponsored cards under its answers for free-tier users in the US since February. On August 11 it started doing the same in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea. Underneath, while the test ran, OpenAI built a catalogue channel: product-feed campaigns that read a merchant’s existing shopping feed and assemble the ad when it serves.

The schema is the detail worth acting on. OpenAI’s advertiser documentation says the system takes Google-compatible product data feeds. A merchant uploads the catalogue over SFTP from Ads Manager, sets is_ads_eligible to true on the products it wants live, and OpenAI picks an eligible item at serve time, filling the title, description and price from the feed. There is no separate creative per SKU, and performance comes back segmented by product, so you can see which items actually drew impressions and clicks.

The buying side has caught up in the same period. Campaigns started on impressions, added cost-per-click in May, and now run conversion-optimised bidding in open beta, which chases a purchase or sign-up while still billing per click. Measurement runs through a pixel and a Conversions API, and advertisers get aggregate numbers only.

The switching cost is what makes this worth a test rather than a memo. A brand already running Google Shopping has most of a ChatGPT feed sitting in a bucket, which is a low bar to clear at a moment when AI-referred shoppers are converting better than the traffic they replaced. Low bars are also how a channel fills up. The measurement tools arrived in July, which is usually the last quiet moment before the money does.

#OpenAI#ChatGPT#Advertising#Product Feeds#Google Shopping#Retail Media#E-commerce

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to build a new product feed for this?

Mostly no. OpenAI's documentation says its ads system supports Google-compatible product data feeds and uses the same base schema, with one addition: each product that should serve needs is_ads_eligible set to true. The catalogue goes to an SFTP location shown in Ads Manager rather than through the public advertiser API.

What does conversion-optimised bidding change?

The campaign optimises toward a conversion event you define, such as a purchase or sign-up, while the ad group still bills per valid click. It is in open beta, and OpenAI requires exactly one active standard conversion event setting on the campaign, which means the pixel or Conversions API has to be in place first.

Can advertisers see what people typed into ChatGPT?

No. OpenAI says advertisers receive only aggregate information such as views and clicks, and have no access to chats, chat history, memories or personal details. Ad selection happens on OpenAI's side, matching the conversation topic, past chats and prior ad interactions.

Sources

Chandni Melwani

Chandni Melwani

Chandni Melwani is the founder and editor of New in AI, covering AI agents, M&A, and enterprise adoption. She holds a Master's in Management of Artificial Intelligence from Queen's University and brings a practitioner's perspective from her work in Data and AI leadership.

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