ChatGPT Tests New Ad Format With Larger Image and CTA Button

‍ChatGPT is steadily evolving from a conversational product into a monetized surface for commerce and advertising. Over the past year, OpenAI has been building the foundation for how ads could function inside AI-driven conversations, from early testing of sponsored placements to broader signals around self-serve advertising tools and retail integrations.

The latest development makes that direction more concrete. According to Digiday reporting, the platform is testing expanded ad formats that introduce larger image-based units and optional, customizable call-to-action buttons for advertisers. The tests are based on mockups seen by Digiday and suggest a shift toward more visually prominent placements inside the interface. 

The platform is also developing a dedicated e-commerce ad format designed specifically for shopping use cases. This format can appear in either portrait or landscape orientation and is structured to surface product-level data such as pricing and customer reviews.

Inside The New Ad Formats

Digiday reports that the first format being tested is still based on the existing standard ad unit, but it changes how it looks and how users can respond. The ad now includes a larger image area instead of a smaller visual block.

Advertisers can optionally add a call-to-action button. These buttons are not fixed. They can be selected from options like “Shop now,” “Book now,” “Sign up,” or “Learn more,” depending on what the advertiser wants to drive.

The second format moves closer to a shopping experience. It is a dedicated e-commerce unit that can appear in either portrait or landscape orientation. Unlike the earlier static version, this format pulls in product information such as price and customer reviews directly from advertiser feeds.

The portrait version allows multiple units to stack side by side. In practice, this means three or four product listings can sit together in a single view, which creates a carousel-style placement inside ChatGPT.

Moving Beyond Basic Ad Placements 

Until now, ChatGPT ads have followed a simple format: a headline, a short line of copy, an image, and a link. That gave advertisers a basic way to appear inside conversations, but it left little room to showcase products or guide users toward a specific action.

The new formats build on that existing setup rather than replacing it. What changes is the added structure around the ad itself. With CTA buttons, advertisers can include a direct action inside the ad unit.

Building the Ad Stack Ahead of a Reported IPO

These new visual upgrade formats build on earlier work OpenAI has already done around advertising in ChatGPT. Since first testing sponsored placements, the company has gradually been putting the systems in place to support ads inside conversations. That includes the idea of a more structured ad tool that would allow brands to manage campaigns in a self-serve environment, similar to existing digital ad platforms.

OpenAI’s Ads Manager supports CPC bidding and CPM buying options. Industry expectations point toward a future tool where advertisers could build, target, and optimize campaigns directly for conversational surfaces.

Earlier this month, reports said the company was allowing e-commerce brands to bulk create shopping ads through product feed automation. What makes the current direction more significant is the role of product and retail data. Instead of relying solely on creative assets, the emerging ad formats point toward structured commerce inputs becoming central to how ads are rendered.

Retail integrations would allow advertisers to feed product catalogs directly into the system, enabling automated generation of ad variations based on pricing, availability, and reviews. This could reduce the need for manually built creatives and shift more of the workflow toward data-driven ad generation.

How the Ads Appear

ChatGPT ads sit inside conversational responses alongside the existing standard ad units. The ads are shown to logged-in users on the Free and Go plans.

Broader rollout depends on test results. Demand inside the buyer ecosystem is already visible: Adthena CMO Ashley Fletcher said his team has more U.S. advertisers wanting to join through the Ads Manager than it can currently onboard, citing a backlog message that reads, "We are reviewing your information. Due to a high volume of signups, verification may take some time."

Advertisers continue to watch how the company tests ads in ChatGPT. Features like audience targeting, including retargeting, exclusions, and lookalike audiences, are already being tested with a limited group, Digiday reports.

The company has also said more ad formats, better campaign tracking tools, and controls for setting campaign start and end dates are coming. According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI is also preparing for a possible public listing, which may explain the faster pace of product releases.