Criteo Becomes First Ad Tech Partner for ChatGPT Ads Pilot

OpenAI is bringing ad tech into ChatGPT—and the first partner is Criteo, the e-commerce marketing platform.

Criteo announced this week that it is "the first advertising technology partner integrating with OpenAI's advertising pilot in ChatGPT Free and Go versions in the United States." The integration will begin rolling out in the coming weeks.

"This integration with OpenAI represents an exciting step forward in advancing advertising in an emerging AI experience," said Criteo CEO Michael Komasinski. "Through this pilot, we are helping shape how advertising can support discovery and consideration within Large Language Model platforms, grounded in experiences that are additive, relevant, and built on user trust."

The partnership gives OpenAI access to Criteo's network of 17,000 advertisers and its commerce data capabilities. Criteo activates more than $4 billion in annual media spend. According to data from Criteo, users referred from LLM platforms like ChatGPT convert at approximately 1.5 times the rate of other referral channels—"reinforcing the high-intent nature of these AI experiences," according to the company.

This is the next step in OpenAI's ad ambitions, following its announcement last week that ChatGPT Go ($8/month) would launch in the US alongside plans to test ads on free and Go tiers. Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise tiers will remain ad-free.

The move marks a significant shift: ChatGPT, one of the world's most-used AI assistants, is opening its doors to the same advertising technology ecosystem that powers the broader web.