A New Ad Surface Is Emerging — Slowly
Conversational AI platforms are starting to look like the next frontier for digital advertising. OpenAI has begun allowing brands to test ad placements inside ChatGPT, with Criteo onboarded as the first programmatic partner. Early adopters like Williams-Sonoma and The Knot are running initial campaigns, giving the industry its first glimpse at what advertising inside an AI assistant looks like.
But this is not a gold rush. It is an early experiment with more questions than answers.
What's Happening
A small number of brands, primarily in e-commerce and lifestyle verticals, are reportedly testing sponsored placements within ChatGPT conversations. Criteo's integration brings access to roughly 17,000 advertisers in the programmatic ecosystem, though active participation remains limited.
The pricing signals are notable. CPMs are reportedly sitting around $60, with minimum commitments in the $200K range. For most performance marketing teams, those numbers are hard to justify without clear return-on-ad-spend data. Measurement frameworks remain undeveloped — there is no standardized way to track conversions, attribution, or even viewability within a conversational interface.
As one industry observer put it, nobody is pulling budget from proven channels to test an unproven one. Not yet.
What This Signals for Marketers
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Conversational AI could become a performance channel. The user intent signals inside an AI chat are potentially richer than a search query or social scroll. If the ad format matures, it could offer strong mid-funnel and bottom-funnel value.
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Early pricing will limit adoption. $60 CPMs and six-figure commitments put this out of reach for most brands. Expect pricing to stabilize as inventory grows and competition among platforms increases.
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Measurement is the biggest gap. Without transparent reporting on impressions, clicks, and downstream conversions, it is difficult to evaluate performance against established channels.
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First movers gain learning advantages. Brands testing now will understand the format, creative requirements, and audience behavior before competitors enter. That knowledge compounds.
The Google Contrast
Google's positioning adds an interesting competitive layer. The CEO of Google DeepMind recently stated that Google has no plans to place ads inside Gemini, framing advertising within AI assistants as a potential trust risk. Whether that position holds long-term is uncertain, but it creates a clear contrast: OpenAI is monetizing the conversation layer while Google is, for now, protecting it.
For marketers, this means the conversational ad space is fragmented from day one. Each platform will have different rules, formats, and user expectations.
Should Marketers Act Now?
For most teams, the right move is informed patience.
- Monitor early case studies. Watch for CPL and CPA benchmarks as early testers share results over the coming months.
- Run small pilots if you are in a relevant vertical. E-commerce, lifestyle, and high-consideration categories are the natural starting point.
- Do not shift meaningful budget. The channel is too early, too expensive, and too opaque to justify reallocation from proven channels like search, social, or retail media.
The Bottom Line
AI assistants are likely to become a significant media surface over the next few years. The user attention is there, the intent data is rich, and the platforms have clear financial incentives to build ad products. But the path from early experiment to reliable performance channel is long. Smart marketers will track the signal without chasing the hype.
Category: AI Marketing Insights Tags: conversational ads, AI media buying, ChatGPT monetisation