Integration Over Checkout: OpenAI Gets Serious About Advertising

OpenAI is formalizing its advertising strategy and is now moving from initial announcements to concrete action. After confirming tests for ads in the free version of ChatGPT, the first technological partnerships are now official. With Criteo as the first confirmed ad-tech partner and advanced talks with The Trade Desk, Sam Altman’s team is demonstrating how the technical and strategic monetization of the AI platform will be implemented. Simultaneously, annual revenue has already climbed to $25 billion.

The road ahead looks even more expansive. OpenAI recently closed a funding round of $110 billion, backed by heavyweights like Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank. With this capital, the company is aiming for an annual revenue of over $280 billion by 2030. The current growth rate of 17% since the end of last year highlights the immense pressure to scale. Moving forward, the revenue structure will rest on several pillars, with the advertising business supplementing—but not fully replacing—existing income from subscriptions and the enterprise sector.

Technically, the partnership with Criteo will make ChatGPT significantly smarter regarding shopping. Criteo provides the necessary data to ensure that recommendations within the chat flow do not feel like foreign objects but instead fit the conversation precisely. Thanks to new interfaces, the AI can likely check in real-time whether a product is available or currently trending. Consequently, advertisers aren't just booking static banners; they are becoming part of a recommendation logic based on the user's actual context. Beyond Criteo, the interest in The Trade Desk signals an entry into the programmatic advertising market—a move that has already spurred movement in ad-tech stocks.

OpenAI’s preference for setting the stage rather than managing the point of sale is also evident in its e-commerce plans. A recent report from The Information suggests a move away from plans for a direct checkout within ChatGPT. Instead, OpenAI intends to continue processing transactions via integrated third-party apps or merchant websites.

This decision is reportedly driven by the realization that while users utilize ChatGPT intensively for research and advice, they prefer to complete the actual purchase in the familiar environment of the retailer. Furthermore, technical hurdles regarding inventory management and fraud prevention proved too complex for a large-scale internal solution. OpenAI is instead focusing on directing traffic specifically to the sales points of its advertising partners.