On September 16, 2026 OpenAI announced that an ad in ChatGPT can now lead somewhere new: a conversation with an agent run by the advertiser. It calls these Sponsored Agents, and they are in test with select advertisers in the United States. The same post opened a ChatGPT Ads app to US merchants on Shopify and added two AI tools for building campaigns.
This post is for advertisers, Shopify merchants and agencies deciding what to do this month. It reads OpenAI's announcement and the app's Shopify App Store listing, which we read on September 17. OpenAI published no prices, no cost-per-click figures and no performance data for any of it, so none appear here.
- 01Sponsored Agents are a test, not a product you can buy.OpenAI says they are being tested with select advertisers in the United States. It gave no date for wider access and no detail on how they are built or billed.
- 02The Shopify app is live for US merchants only.OpenAI says it reaches the other markets where ChatGPT Ads are sold starting September 23. That is a scheduled date, not a completed rollout.
- 03AI text customisation is opt-in.When enabled it adapts your headlines and descriptions to the conversation and translates them. Regulated advertisers should decide their stance before anyone ticks the box.
- 04The useful preparation needs no access.Catalogue data quality, the questions an agent must answer, conversion events and a copy policy can all be done now.
01 — The tableWho gets what, and when
The announcement bundles six things with different audiences and different states of readiness. The status column uses OpenAI's own words where it gave them.
| Feature | Who | Where | Status on Sep 16 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsored Agents | Select advertisers | United States | "Now being tested" |
| Ads Manager plugin in ChatGPT | Advertisers | Not stated | Rolling out: create, update and analyse campaigns by prompt |
| Suggested copy and imagery in Ads Manager | Advertisers | Not stated | Rolling out; advertiser reviews and edits before adding |
| AI text customisation | Advertisers who opt in | Not stated | Launching; adapts and translates existing headlines and descriptions |
| ChatGPT Ads app for Shopify | Shopify merchants | US now; other ChatGPT Ads markets scheduled from Sep 23 | Available to US-based merchants |
| CRM integration | Customers of the first CRM partner | Not stated | "Starting today" |
HubSpot is named as OpenAI's first CRM partner and Shopify as its first ecommerce partner. For the list of countries where ChatGPT Ads are sold at all, which decides where the Shopify app can go next, see our ledger of every ChatGPT Ads market and date.
02 — The new formatWhat a Sponsored Agent is
Today a ChatGPT ad ends in a click to a website. A Sponsored Agent adds a step in between. After seeing an ad, the user can choose to open a conversation with an agent sponsored by that business, inside ChatGPT. OpenAI's example is a shopper who sees a dining table and wants to know whether it fits the room, how many it seats and how to care for the finish. The user asks, the agent answers, and a link to the business's site is there when the user is ready.
OpenAI states three things that keep this apart from ChatGPT's ordinary answers:
- The user chooses to start it. It follows a click on an ad, not a question to ChatGPT.
- The conversation is "clearly labeled" as sponsored.
- It is "distinct from ChatGPT's independent answers and separate from the original conversation" the user was having.
The post does not say how an advertiser builds the agent, what it can access, how it is billed or how its claims are reviewed. Until OpenAI publishes that, treat any description of the mechanics as guesswork.
A search ad needs a headline and a landing page. A sponsored agent needs answers. It will be asked about sizes, delivery, returns, compatibility and price, and a wrong answer is a wrong statement by your brand. The preparation is closer to writing a support knowledge base than writing ad copy.
03 — EcommerceThe Shopify app
OpenAI says US-based Shopify merchants can use the new ChatGPT Ads app to create and manage campaigns, and that products are "already integrated through Shopify Catalog", so a merchant can start without building a feed. The app "will be available internationally in markets where ChatGPT Ads are available starting September 23".
The Shopify App Store listing, read on September 17, shows OpenAI as the developer, a free install, English as the only language and a listing launch date of September 3, 2026. It describes five functions: connect or create a ChatGPT ad account from Shopify, sync the product catalogue to ChatGPT Ads Manager automatically, create ads from catalogue data, run campaigns using a Shopify pixel and conversion events, and track performance inside Shopify.
Read the listing's data-access section before installing. It says the app can view customer names and email addresses, device and activity data such as IP address and browsing behaviour, and store-owner contact details, and can view and edit customers, products, marketing and store analytics. That is normal for an ads app with a pixel. It still belongs in your privacy notice and your record of processors.
04 — DecisionsThe decision for each reader
On measurement, nothing in this announcement changes what ChatGPT Ads report or how conversions are attributed. Our ChatGPT Ads measurement playbook still applies, and the guide to ChatGPT Ads audience and creative tools covers the Ads Manager features these new ones sit on top of.
05 — ChecklistWhat to prepare without access
Four jobs pay off whether or not you are in the test, because every AI-built ad format draws on the same inputs.
- Product data. If ads are built from the catalogue, the catalogue is the creative. Check titles, descriptions, variants, prices, stock and images for the 20 products you would advertise first. Missing dimensions and vague titles become vague ads.
- The question list. Pull the 30 most common pre-sale questions from support tickets, chat logs and sales calls. Write the approved answer to each. This is the brief for a sponsored agent and it improves your product pages today.
- Conversion events. Confirm which events count as a conversion, that they fire once, and that values are passed. An AI tool that recommends what to do next is only as good as the events it reads.
- A copy policy. Decide who may enable AI text customisation and for which products. OpenAI says it adapts existing headlines and descriptions to the conversation and translates them into the user's preferred language. If your copy carries required wording, such as financial or health disclaimers, keep it off until you have seen how adapted copy reads.
Our paid media team runs first tests on new ad surfaces with a fixed budget and a written stop rule, which is the right shape for a channel with no public benchmarks.
06 — Next stepOne thing is live, one is scheduled, one is a test
Clean the catalogue and write the question list this week
US Shopify merchants can test the app now. Everyone else has the same two jobs: make product data complete enough that an ad built from it is accurate, and write down the questions a buyer asks before purchase with the answers you stand behind. Both are useful on your own site today, and both are what a Sponsored Agent will need when the test widens.