OpenAI has launched a new ChatGPT Ads integration for Shopify, giving US merchants a way to connect their product catalogs to the advertising platform and create and measure campaigns.
The integration was announced on September 16 as part of a wider expansion of ChatGPT’s advertising tools, which also includes conversational sponsored ads and new AI features for creating and managing campaigns.
ChatGPT Ads comes to Shopify
US-based Shopify merchants can now install a new ChatGPT Ads app from the Shopify App Store. According to OpenAI, the integration connects a merchant’s product catalog and measurement tools to ChatGPT Ads, allowing businesses to create campaigns and track their performance.
The app is initially available to merchants in the US, but OpenAI says it will launch internationally in markets where ChatGPT Ads is available on September 23. Shopify is OpenAI’s first ecommerce platform partner for the advertising service, while HubSpot has been named its first CRM partner.
The move potentially makes ChatGPT Ads more accessible to smaller ecommerce businesses by reducing the amount of technical work involved in getting products and measurement data into the advertising platform.
It also represents another step in the growing relationship between ChatGPT and ecommerce. OpenAI has previously introduced shopping features that let users discover and compare products within ChatGPT, and has been developing ways for merchants to make their product information available to the platform.
Ads that shoppers can talk to
Alongside the Shopify integration, OpenAI is testing a new advertising format called Sponsored Agents.
Rather than simply clicking an ad and immediately leaving ChatGPT for an advertiser’s website, users can choose to start a clearly labeled conversation with an AI agent sponsored by the business. They can then ask questions about a product before deciding whether to visit the advertiser’s site.
OpenAI gives the example of a shopper seeing an advertisement for a dining table and asking the Sponsored Agent whether it will fit a particular space, how many people it seats or how its finish should be maintained.
Importantly, OpenAI says conversations with Sponsored Agents are separate from ChatGPT’s independent answers and from the user’s original ChatGPT conversation. The feature is currently being tested with selected advertisers in the US.
AI takes a bigger role in creating ads
OpenAI is also adding more AI assistance to the campaign-management process.
Advertisers can now use natural-language prompts to create, update and analyze campaigns through an Ads Manager plugin in ChatGPT. Ads Manager can also suggest advertising copy and imagery based on an advertiser’s landing page and campaign objective, with businesses able to review and edit the suggestions before using them.
An optional text-customization feature can adapt existing headlines and descriptions to better match the context of a user’s conversation and automatically translate advertising copy into the user’s preferred language.
These tools could reduce the amount of time merchants spend creating campaigns and producing multiple versions of advertising copy. However, greater automation also gives AI a larger role in determining how a brand presents itself, making human review of generated copy and imagery important.
Why this matters for ecommerce merchants
For Shopify merchants, the new integration makes ChatGPT a more accessible advertising channel, with product data, campaign creation and performance measurement brought closer to tools they already use.
The bigger development, however, may be the changing nature of online advertising itself. Sponsored Agents could turn an ad from a static message into a two-way product conversation, potentially helping shoppers answer questions before visiting a store.
But ChatGPT Ads is still a relatively new channel, and merchants will need to assess its costs, conversion performance and ability to deliver profitable sales against established alternatives such as Google and Meta. For now, US Shopify merchants can try the integration first, with availability in other ChatGPT Ads markets beginning September 23.
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Matt Walsh is the Head of Content at Ecommercetrix. He also creates video content for the site and its associated YouTube channel.
Having gained a degree in Literature and Philosophy from Trinity College Dublin and an MA in International Relations from Dublin City University, Matt worked in the marketing world for a decade before taking up an education role — teaching languages, literature and creative writing in London.
Matt is an Adobe Certified Associate in Photoshop and Illustrator, and also holds a certificate in digital marketing from DMI (Digital Marketing Institute), along with a postgraduate certificate in Design Thinking, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Creative Thinking from Trinity College Dublin.