The Amazon and ChatGPT partnership opens a U.S. pilot where brands buy ChatGPT placements inside Amazon DSP, but OpenAI keeps final say on which ads appear.
The Amazon and ChatGPT partnership just put Amazon ads within reach of an audience OpenAI sizes at 900 million weekly users. Many sellers read that as a sign their Sponsored Products campaigns were headed into ChatGPT next.
That isn’t the case, at least not yet. The pilot runs through Amazon DSP for a small U.S. test group, and the fine print says more about who controls the ads than the headline does.
What the Amazon and ChatGPT Partnership Means for Sponsored Products Sellers
Advertising on ChatGPT through Amazon quickly sparked a common misread among sellers. Many assumed they could launch ChatGPT ads the same way they launch a Sponsored Products campaign.
Noah Wickham, VP of Sales and Marketing at My Amazon Guy"Advertising inside of AI has just become a thing for Amazon sellers."
The ChatGPT placements in this pilot come from Amazon DSP, not from the Sponsored Products console in Seller Central. That distinction decides who can actually use the new format.
Amazon DSP is programmatic advertising, so advertisers buy audiences and placements across sites and apps instead of bidding on search terms. It works much like other demand-side platforms, and Wickham noted that Amazon’s version is one of the easiest for brands to plug into.
That helps explain why the early testers look like service businesses rather than product sellers. Delta Vacations sells travel packages, so there is no ASIN behind its ads at all.
Can Amazon sellers run ads on ChatGPT today? Only brands already buying through Amazon DSP and accepted into the pilot can, which leaves Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands budgets untouched for now.
My Amazon Guy’s programmatic and DSP team plans to test the new placement with a few brands and track the results. Wickham also expects ChatGPT to push further into shopping agents, and a way to buy on Amazon straight from a chat would matter far more to Amazon brands than this pilot.
Amazon Ads Names Delta Vacations Among First Pilot Testers
Amazon Ads announced that it now works with OpenAI so advertisers can carry their existing campaigns into ChatGPT through chat-based placements. The Amazon and ChatGPT partnership starts small, with a pilot group of U.S. advertisers and no public sign-up path shared so far.
Chris Conetta, who leads omnichannel supply for Amazon DSP, framed chat-based ads as a major growth opening for advertisers.
Chris Conetta, Director of Omnichannel Supply at Amazon DSP"Conversational ads represent the fastest growing engagement opportunity for brands..."
The pitch targets marketers who already plan and optimize full-funnel campaigns in Amazon ads. The company says those advertisers can now reach people while they weigh products, line up alternatives, and settle on a purchase inside ChatGPT.
Delta Vacations is the first brand named in the test. Its president, Katrin Koenig, said the company plans to lean on Amazon’s shopper insights when deciding the timing and placement of its offers inside ChatGPT.
For Amazon sellers, that detail matters more than the quote itself. A travel brand going first signals that the launch is built for DSP buyers, not for brands chasing Sponsored Products sales.
ChatGPT Ads Through Amazon Run on OpenAI's Delivery Rules
CNBC reported that Amazon handles campaign setup and management, while OpenAI’s system makes every call on ad delivery. That split means Amazon ads bought through this pilot don’t get to pick the conversation they land in.
Where do Amazon ads appear inside ChatGPT? According to an Amazon spokesperson, the units run below the chatbot’s reply in either a text or an image format, and OpenAI tags each one as sponsored.
The format is easy to picture in practice. Someone asking ChatGPT for marathon prep advice could see an ad for a pair of running shoes listed on Amazon.
| Question | Confirmed details |
|---|---|
|
Who sets up and manages campaigns
|
Amazon |
|
Who decides which ads show
|
OpenAI’s ads system
|
|
Ad format
|
Text or image units
|
|
Placement
|
Below the ChatGPT reply, tagged as sponsored
|
|
Buying path
|
Amazon DSP
|
|
Who can use it
|
A pilot group of U.S. advertisers
|
|
Sponsored Products support
|
Not announced
|
The audience behind these placements is huge. OpenAI put ChatGPT’s weekly user base at 900 million back in February, and its ad business now brings in revenue at a pace of $1 billion a year.
OpenAI only started selling sponsored spots in the U.S. this February, with Best Buy and Williams-Sonoma among the first retailers on board. Market intelligence data from Sensor Tower also ranked Amazon as the biggest retail advertiser on ChatGPT between April and August.
That ranking stands out because Amazon still blocks most outside AI tools, including Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT, from its storefront. The restriction shows how closely Amazon guards its own shopping experience.
Will ChatGPT let shoppers buy directly on Amazon? Nothing in this deal points that way, so checkout stays on Amazon’s own turf for now.
What the Amazon Ads Pilot Leaves Unanswered
The Amazon and ChatGPT partnership confirms less than the headlines suggest, according to an analysis by Robert Hu. The announcement never says Amazon’s audience or shopping signals shape ad selection, and it stays silent on product listings and ASINs.
Does Amazon share shopper data with OpenAI for ChatGPT ads? Neither company has confirmed it, and OpenAI has said advertisers receive rolled-up performance numbers rather than any look at user chats.
Reporting is the other open question. Amazon hasn’t explained bidding, attribution, placement-level results, Amazon Marketing Cloud support, or whether DSP reports will break out ChatGPT results separately.
This pilot also differs from the Ads MCP Server Amazon opened in February. That tool gives assistants like Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT a way to run Amazon campaigns in plain language, while this deal pushes Amazon’s buying power in the other direction.
Is advertising on ChatGPT worth it for Amazon brands? The same analysis suggests the spend likely pulls from existing retail media budgets rather than adding new money, which makes proven returns the deciding factor.
For most sellers, the practical move is to keep core Amazon ads running and get a clean read on current spend with a PPC advertising audit. DSP buyers are in a position to test first, while everyone else waits for Amazon to publish measurement for this placement.
