ChatGPT has taken a major step towards large-scale commercialisation after entering a landmark advertising partnership with global adtech firm Criteo, opening its platform to more than 17,000 brands worldwide. The deal significantly expands advertising access beyond the limited group of brands involved in ChatGPT’s initial pilot phase and signals a shift towards structured, programmatic monetisation.
Under the agreement, Criteo becomes the first advertising technology company to integrate directly with ChatGPT’s advertising ecosystem. The integration allows Criteo’s global advertiser base to purchase ad inventory programmatically within ChatGPT conversations, alongside existing web, mobile, and video placements, using Criteo’s demand-side platform. The rollout will initially cover ChatGPT’s Free and Go subscription tiers in the United States.
Brandspur Brand News reports that the partnership effectively ends ChatGPT’s experimental advertising phase, replacing early manual brand collaborations with a scalable commercial framework. The platform’s first ad tests, which began on February 9, 2026, were limited to direct relationships involving major agency holding companies such as Dentsu, Omnicom, and WPP, acting on behalf of select clients.
With Criteo’s integration, advertising within ChatGPT now becomes accessible to mid-sized and smaller brands that were previously excluded due to high entry costs and technical requirements. The move plugs ChatGPT directly into the global programmatic advertising ecosystem, dramatically widening participation and lowering barriers to entry.
Criteo Chief Executive Officer Michael Komasinski said the partnership offers an opportunity to help define how advertising operates within large language model platforms, emphasising discovery, relevance, and user trust rather than intrusive direct-response formats. According to Criteo, the focus is on supporting consumer decision-making at moments of high intent.
Internal data from Criteo suggests that users referred to retail websites from AI platforms such as ChatGPT convert at significantly higher rates than traditional referral channels. An analysis of 500 US retailers in February 2026 showed that referrals from large language model platforms delivered conversion rates approximately 1.5 times higher than other sources, reinforcing industry views that AI-assisted search reflects strong commercial intent.
Advertisements on ChatGPT will appear below generated responses and will be clearly marked as “sponsored.” OpenAI, ChatGPT’s parent company, has reiterated that advertising placements do not influence responses generated by the model, maintaining a structural separation between commercial content and information delivery as monetisation expands.
Beyond expanding advertiser access, the partnership also provides strategic momentum for Criteo as it continues repositioning itself from a traditional retargeting business to a broader commerce media and AI discovery infrastructure provider. The company has increasingly focused on connecting retail media networks, open web inventory, and emerging digital surfaces through unified data systems.
The development comes amid financial pressure for Criteo, which reported fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of $541 million, representing a two percent year-on-year decline, and projected a $75 million revenue impact from reduced client scope across much of 2026. Against this backdrop, the ChatGPT integration strengthens Criteo’s narrative as a key infrastructure player in the evolving AI-driven advertising economy.
As ChatGPT continues to grow its estimated 300 million weekly active users, the partnership positions conversational AI as a mainstream advertising channel, reshaping how brands engage consumers at critical decision-making moments while intensifying scrutiny over trust, transparency, and content integrity in AI-powered platforms.
