Amazon gives OpenAI's ad business a boost, letting its advertisers into ChatGPT

Amazon has officially partnered with OpenAI to allow select U.S. advertisers to run advertising campaigns directly within ChatGPT. Under the agreement, Amazon will manage and set up ad campaigns across its demand-side advertising platform, while OpenAI's system controls delivery decisions, displaying ads as text or images beneath chatbot responses. The partnership marks a significant milestone in AI-driven commerce and advertising monetization. OpenAI's advertising arm recently reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate following its initial rollout of sponsored placements in February. For Amazon, which had previously restricted external AI chatbot access to its online store, the move indicates a strategic shift to capture rapid growth in conversational advertising formats. ChatGPT currently reaches approximately 900 million weekly active users, offering Amazon advertisers expanded reach beyond traditional e-commerce search. Analysts expect conversational ad models to intensify competition for digital advertising dollars against legacy platforms like Google and Meta, presenting new growth avenues for both Amazon's high-margin ad business and OpenAI.