OpenAI Announces Sponsored Agents in ChatGPT, Plus Ad Integrations With HubSpot and Shopify

Our verdict: ChatGPT is now an ad channel, but there is nothing to act on unless you already buy ads through HubSpot. OpenAI has named a new ad format, Sponsored Agents, and two ad integrations. The only details we could verify come from HubSpot, so that is where to start evaluating. Everything else waits until OpenAI's own details can be checked.

Affected: ChatGPT (users and advertisers), HubSpot and Shopify (new ChatGPT Ads integrations). None of the three is in our directory yet.

Disclosure: OpenAI's announcement page returned HTTP 403 every time we tried to open it, including on 2 October 2026. What follows uses only OpenAI's news feed entry for that post and HubSpot's own announcement.

What happened

On 16 September 2026 OpenAI published "Reimagining advertising with AI". Its news feed describes the post as covering "new AI-powered advertising experiences from OpenAI, including Sponsored Agents, tools for marketers, and integrations with HubSpot and Shopify."

The same day, HubSpot announced a deeper partnership with OpenAI:

• HubSpot. HubSpot says you can build campaigns, set budgets and launch ChatGPT Ads inside HubSpot, with ROI reporting on that spend.
• Shopify. OpenAI lists a Shopify integration. We could not verify how it works or where it is available.
• Sponsored Agents and marketer tools. OpenAI names these, but we could not verify how they work, who can use them, or how they are labelled to users.

Why it matters

Ads in ChatGPT are now something marketers can buy through tools they already use. HubSpot's integration links ChatGPT ad spend to its ROI reporting, so you can judge the channel on results rather than reach. "Sponsored Agents" also points to ads that do more than show a link. We will not guess what that looks like for users until we can read OpenAI's own description.

What changes for you

• If you advertise through HubSpot: HubSpot says ChatGPT Ads can be built, budgeted and launched there, with ROI reporting. That is the one route we could verify, so start there.
• If you sell on Shopify: OpenAI lists a Shopify integration. Check Shopify's own listings for what it does and whether it is available in your market.
• If you use ChatGPT: nothing changes that we can confirm yet. Treat anything marked as sponsored as speaking for the advertiser.

FAQ

What are Sponsored Agents? A new ad format OpenAI announced on 16 September 2026. We could not open OpenAI's post, so we cannot confirm how they work or who can use them.

Can I run ChatGPT Ads from HubSpot? HubSpot says yes: you can build campaigns, set budgets and launch ChatGPT Ads inside HubSpot, with ROI reporting.