---
title: "September 2026 Amazon News: FTC Ad Auction Case, ChatGPT Ads, and Seller Updates"
description: "September 2026 Amazon news was led by FTC allegations that Sponsored Products advertisers paid their own bid about 80% of the time by 2024. Sellers also saw ChatGPT Ads arrive through Amazon DSP, a new quantity variation theme, and Prime Big Deal Days dates set for October 6-7. Amazon advertisers can now buy ads inside..."
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url: "https://myamazonguy.com/news/september-2026-amazon-news-recap/"
date_modified: "2026-10-12T01:18:16-04:00"
---

![September 2026 Amazon News FTC Ad Auction Case ChatGPT Ads and Seller Updates](https://myamazonguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/September-2026-Amazon-News-FTC-Ad-Auction-Case-ChatGPT-Ads-and-Seller-Updates.png)

## September 2026 Amazon news was led by FTC allegations that Sponsored Products advertisers paid their own bid about 80% of the time by 2024. Sellers also saw ChatGPT Ads arrive through Amazon DSP, a new quantity variation theme, and Prime Big Deal Days dates set for October 6-7.

Amazon advertisers can now buy ads inside ChatGPT, a channel whose ad business reached a $1 billion annualized run rate in August. The pilot is only one part of the September 2026 Amazon news, and it was not the month’s biggest story.

The FTC and 22 states also sued Amazon over its ad auction pricing, while Amazon rolled out changes to variations, campaign setup, and Seller Assistant. Each update affects how sellers and their Amazon agency plan ads and listings ahead of Black Friday.

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Timestamps: 00:00 - FTC Amazon Ad Pricing Lawsuit 01:06 - DSP ChatGPT Ads Integration 02:44 - Product Quantity Variation Theme 03:53 - Prime Big Deal Days 2026 Strategy 05:11 - Increase Conversions Beta 06:36 - Amazon Seller Assistant AI Update

## September 2026 Amazon News Starts With the FTC Case

The Federal Trade Commission and 22 state attorneys general sued Amazon on August 31.[ The FTC’s announcement of the lawsuit](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/08/ftc-states-sue-amazon-over-secret-ad-surcharge-scheme) alleges Amazon secretly inflated prices in its search ad auctions for more than seven years.

The complaint says more than 1 million brands and sellers were affected, including over 500,000 small and medium-sized businesses. The case covers Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Display ads, which places the Amazon FTC allegations on the same campaigns many sellers run every day.

### FTC Alleges Amazon Added a Hidden Soft Reserve Price in 2019

According to the complaint, Amazon told advertisers it ran a generalized second-price auction, where the winner pays one cent more than the next highest bidder. The FTC says Amazon added an undisclosed surcharge in 2019, which the company referred to internally as a “soft reserve price”.

The agency alleges this surcharge caused advertisers to pay substantially more than the price set by the auction. One internal Amazon document cited in the complaint described the auction pricing as having “a surcharge hidden in it”.

### Sponsored Products Advertisers Paid Their Full Bid 80% of the Time by 2024, FTC Says

For Sponsored Products, the FTC says advertisers paid their full winning bid between 30% and 40% of the time in 2021. That share rose to 70% in 2022 and to roughly 80% by 2024.

The complaint also alleges Amazon applied larger surcharges on high-volume shopping days such as Prime Day and Black Friday. According to the FTC, Amazon raised those surcharges gradually in the days before each event to hide the price increases from advertisers.

## Amazon Denies Wrongdoing in the FTC Amazon Advertising Lawsuit

[Reuters reported](https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/ftc-file-lawsuit-alleging-amazon-deceived-advertisers-wsj-reports-2026-08-31/) that Amazon denied wrongdoing in a blog post published the same day the lawsuit was filed. Amazon said average cost per click remained flat from 2019 to 2024, while the sales generated from those clicks increased.

Amazon also told the outlet that average winning bids on Sponsored Products search ads fell 50% from 2019 to 2025. The company estimates its relevance-based auctions saved advertisers about $8 billion between 2021 and 2025.

Amazon defended its use of reserve prices, and[ coverage of Amazon’s rebuttal](https://www.homepagenews.com/retail-articles/amazon-disputes-ftcs-understanding-of-advertising-bid-policy-that-led-to-lawsuit/) reports that the company describes a hard reserve as covering its costs and a soft reserve as its estimate of a placement’s market value. According to Amazon, a winning advertiser pays the soft reserve when its bid clears both thresholds, or pays its own bid when the bid clears only the hard reserve.

The FTC alleges the surcharges cost advertisers $20 billion or more, and the states could seek civil penalties and attempt to recover part of that amount. The case adds to Amazon’s history with the FTC, which includes a $2.5 billion Prime settlement in September 2025 and a separate antitrust case expected to go to trial next year.

## Advertisers Gain Access to ChatGPT Ads Through Amazon DSP

[Marketing Dive reported](https://www.marketingdive.com/news/amazon-pilots-ad-services-in-chatgpt-what-marketers-need-to-know/829945/) that Amazon advertisers can now extend their campaigns into ChatGPT through a new partnership with OpenAI. ChatGPT Ads inventory is sold through Amazon DSP as a managed service, with Amazon’s team handling campaign setup and optimization.

The pilot is limited to the U.S. at launch, and inventory is available on a cost-per-click or cost-per-thousand-impressions basis. OpenAI controls ad delivery, and the ads appear as text and image units with sponsored labels below ChatGPT responses.

Delta Vacations is among the select U.S. brands testing the integration, and the outlet notes the offering could appeal to advertisers that do not typically sell goods on Amazon. Advertisers in the pilot receive aggregated performance data covering impressions, clicks, cost per result, CPM, and CPC.

ChatGPT ads reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate in late August, and OpenAI says tens of thousands of advertisers use the service. Amazon’s ad business neared $70 billion in revenue last year, making it significantly larger than the retail media networks OpenAI previously partnered with, including Target and Albertsons.

## Seller Updates Cover Variations, Prime Big Deal Days, Ads, and Seller Assistant

Amazon also introduced a new quantity variation theme, according to a September 2026 Amazon news recap video. The theme displays “X count” for single packs and “X count, Y packs of Z” for multipacks, and sellers listing under it must enter both the unit count and the number of packs.

Prime Big Deal Days ran October 6 and 7, about a month ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The original deal submission deadline was September 8, and Brand Tailored Promotions remained available for sellers targeting high-intent and at-risk customers after that date.

Amazon Ads also launched an “increase conversions” beta in the Sponsored Products campaign builder, which creates a complementary Sponsored Brands campaign in the collections format. Collections can feature up to 10 products, with Amazon selecting which ones each shopper sees as the company[ phases out Product Collection ads](https://myamazonguy.com/news/amazon-product-collection-ads-deprecated/).

Amazon upgraded Seller Assistant and released a plugin that connects Seller Central data to Amazon Quick and Anthropic’s Claude. Sellers can use the upgrade to automate routine tasks around the clock, and Amazon highlighted the update at its Accelerate conference.

## Amazon Changes in Effect Ahead of Black Friday 2026

Black Friday falls on November 27, 2026, followed by Cyber Monday on November 30. Each of the September 2026 Amazon news updates remains in place heading into those dates.

The FTC Amazon advertising lawsuit is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, and no ruling or damages amount has been announced. The complaint’s allegation that surcharges rose on high-volume days such as Black Friday covers Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Display ads.

The quantity variation theme is available for new and existing listings, and the increase conversions beta appears in the Sponsored Products campaign builder. The ChatGPT Ads pilot launched for select U.S. advertisers buying through Amazon DSP.

Amazon’s Seller Assistant upgrade and its plugin for Amazon Quick and Anthropic’s Claude are available to sellers ahead of peak season. Together, these Amazon seller updates affect ad pricing, catalog setup, campaign creation, and account management during the year’s highest-volume shopping weeks.