• by Laurie Sullivan , Yesterday

Smartly.io has become OpenAI’s first creative ad-tech partner, allowing advertisers to place ads in the ChatGPT interface where users can engage with the chatbot for product advice and recommendations.

While Smartly has become a primary partner, the move follows Criteo's appointment in March as OpenAI first overall advertising-technology partner for the ChatGPT advertising pilot, which in February began running basic ads to some users in its free and Go tiers.

Smartly is tasked with optimizing advertising content in real-time based on performance and user interaction.

The company has signed entertainment, retail, and sports clients to participate in a pilot.

Its technology allows ads to have conversations with users in the chat interface, and manage initial campaigns for major entertainment, retail and sports brands. 

The ads have been described as “mini-chatbots” embedded in conversations through two-way interactions between the bot and consumer.

The chatbots use immediate content from the conversation to target content and ads. They appear as "promoted responses" or small cards at the end of a GPT-generated answer, rather than interrupting the flow.

OpenAI is looking to turn ChatGPT into a shopping mall where ads work as store clerks who only converse with consumers when they search for something. 

ChatGPT functions as a "shopping mall" by serving as a centralized discovery layer, even if brands retain control over payment processing and fulfillment.

The latest announcement moves Smartly from a social-media manager toward becoming a foundational infrastructure provider for conversational commerce. The creative is intended to prompt consumers to take actions such as making a purchase.

Earlier this month, Smartly announced the acquisition of Incremntl, an AI-powered incrementality measurement platform that does not rely on user-level data or tracking.

The technology enables advertisers to gain insights and apply them to multiple channels, and allows Smartly to build stronger connections between creative, media and intelligence.March was a busy month for announcements from Smartly.

The company also integrated with Amazon DSP to allow advertisers to extend their Smartly video campaigns to Amazon's premium connected TV (CTV) inventory, including Prime Video and Fire TV, as well as third-party publisher inventory.

The integration addressed demand for CTV investments, with nearly 70% of marketers planning to increase streaming budgets over the next year while seeking more personalization, agility, and measurable outcomes from their campaigns.