Criteo, a global platform connecting the commerce ecosystem, has revealed that it is the first advertising technology partner integrating with OpenAI’s advertising pilot in ChatGPT’s Free and Go versions.
“This integration with OpenAI represents an exciting step forward in advancing advertising in an emerging AI experience,” said Michael Komasinski, Chief Executive Officer of Criteo.
Komasinski added, “Through this pilot, we are helping shape how advertising can support discovery and consideration within Large Language Model (LLM) platforms, grounded in experiences that are additive, relevant, and built on user trust.”
Aggregated insights observed across Criteo’s U.S. clients show that users referred from LLM platforms like ChatGPT convert at approximately one and half times the rate of other referral channels, reinforcing the high-intent nature of these AI experiences.
As conversational discovery grows, this pilot represents an opportunity to thoughtfully evaluate how brands can participate in advertising within ChatGPT while also driving incremental demand back to retailer and brand destinations.
Criteo activates more than $4bn in annual media spend and works with 17,000 advertisers globally, connecting brands, retailers and publishers through commerce intelligence and AI-driven decisioning technology to drive cross-channel outcomes.
This combination enables Criteo to support commerce-focused advertising across a wide range of categories and environments, including emerging discovery surfaces like conversational AI.
The integration will begin rolling out in the coming weeks as part of the ongoing advertising pilot in ChatGPT.
ChatGPT is used by hundreds of millions of people for learning, work and everyday decisions. However, keeping the Free and Go tiers fast and reliable requires significant infrastructure and ongoing investment.
According to OpenAI, advertisements help fund that work, supporting broader access to AI through higher quality free and low cost options, and enabling OpenAI to keep improving the intelligence and capabilities we offer over time.
People who prefer not to see ads, can upgrade to Plus or Pro plans, or opt out of ads in the Free tier in exchange for fewer daily free messages. People can also control the ads they see in ChatGPT, including dismissing ads, sharing feedback, learning how and why they’re being shown a particular ad, deleting ad data with one tap, and managing ad personalisation at any time.
In terms of answer integrity and independence, ads do not influence the answers ChatGPT gives people. Answers are optimised based on what’s most helpful to people. When they see an ad, they are always clearly labeled as sponsored and visually separated from the organic answer.
