The news: OpenAI is in early talks with The Trade Desk (TTD) about a partnership that would help the AI firm sell ads within ChatGPT, three sources told The Information.

TTD’s infrastructure could be used to quickly scale up ChatGPT’s ad business, rather than OpenAI building walled gardens that rival Meta and Google.

This potential deal is in addition to OpenAI’s work with Criteo, which it tapped this week as its first ad tech partner.

Why it's worth watching: The genAI platform may be seeking to piggyback onto or integrate into existing programmatic ecosystems for ad tech to avoid starting from scratch.

Some firms, including Amazon Publisher Services, are looking into becoming providers of chatbot-focused ad tech, showing how a market for ads in AI is cropping up.

The involvement of established ad partners—like TTD, Criteo, and Amazon—could offer a sense of familiarity to marketers to assuage concerns around advertising within a nascent technology format.

Zooming out: A TTD partnership could make it easier for marketers to buy ChatGPT ads en masse, turning it into a real ad channel instead of just an experiment. By tying into existing ad pipes, ChatGPT could start competing for the same dollars that currently go to social and search.

Plugging into ChatGPT would let TTD sell access to one of the internet’s fastest-growing, high-intent attention pools and offer marketers a new place to chase discovery.

• TTD ended 2025 with solid but declining growth—Q4 2025 revenues grew 14% YoY, down from 22% growth in Q4 2024—amid Big Tech competition, weakness among CPG and auto advertisers, and economic uncertainties.
• Working with ChatGPT would show it can tap into novel AI-driven ad opportunities as traditional categories soften.

What brands should do: Consider what AI categories you want your brand to appear in, be it all-purpose chatbots, on-site retail conversational assistants, or on-device assistants. Test AI-driven placements through partners that integrate with existing buying tools—don’t wait for standalone AI platforms’ tech to mature.

Early experimentation will help decide whether these placement opportunities drive intent and reach or just take dollars from social and search.

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