Ali Ikhwan
While OpenAI publicly advises marketers to view ChatGPT as an experimental "test channel" rather than a core performance driver, the company’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering suggests a much more aggressive play for the advertiser’s budget. Recent reports indicate that OpenAI has struck a strategic partnership with Skai, a commerce media platform, marking a significant evolution in how the AI giant intends to monetize its massive user base.
This move, following a similar integration with Criteo, signals that OpenAI is not looking to build a walled garden in the style of Google or Meta—at least, not yet. Instead, it is positioning ChatGPT as a high-intent, bottom-of-the-funnel destination for performance marketers who operate in the commerce and retail ecosystems.
The Strategic Shift: Integrating into Existing Workflows
For years, the "Big Three" of digital advertising—Google, Meta, and Amazon—have maintained proprietary, closed-loop ad systems. They controlled the data, the inventory, and the bidding tools, forcing advertisers to adopt their specific interfaces. OpenAI is taking a different, more collaborative path.
By partnering with infrastructure players like Skai and Criteo, OpenAI is effectively outsourcing the barrier to entry. Skai is a management layer widely used by search marketers to manage campaigns across Amazon, Walmart, and Google. By integrating ChatGPT into the Skai ecosystem, OpenAI is removing the friction that typically accompanies a new ad platform.
"Search marketers, who may never buy programmatic display or video, can gain access through Criteo and Skai," says Anthony Costanzo, chief analytics officer at Mile Marker. "These platforms have done a great job in recent years of sitting on top of existing inventory and making it more accessible to buyers and sellers."
For the average search marketer, ChatGPT becomes just another tab in a workflow they are already navigating daily. This integration bypasses the need for marketers to master a new, standalone OpenAI platform, instead meeting them where they already live.
Chronology of a Growing Ad Business
OpenAI’s journey into the advertising ecosystem has been rapid, marked by a steep learning curve and constant iteration:
- The Early Days (The "Baby" Phase): Initially, OpenAI’s ad pilots were plagued by chronic underdelivery. The company struggled with technical infrastructure, leading to reports of unspent budgets and a lack of sophistication that earned it the nickname of an "advertising baby" among industry veterans.
- The Technical Cleanup: Over the past year, OpenAI has aggressively optimized its ad delivery. Sources note that fill rates have improved by 30% to 50%, with some performance metrics now rivaling non-brand search results on Google.
- The Introduction of Action-Based Ads: OpenAI recently turned on cost-per-action (CPA) ads for select advertisers. This allows brands to pay only when a user clicks through, signs up, or completes a purchase, supported by a newly developed conversion-tracking pixel.
- The Partnership Era: The shift toward third-party integrations began with Criteo, acting as a demand aggregator. Now, the inclusion of Skai represents a move toward deep integration into retail and commerce media workflows.
Why "Intent" is the New Currency
The core value proposition for OpenAI is the unique nature of the user query. When a user asks ChatGPT to compare two specific SUV models or evaluate the pros and cons of two high-end kitchen appliances, they are not passively scrolling through a feed. They are in a state of high-intent research.
"Someone asking ChatGPT to compare two specific SUVs isn’t browsing so much as they’ve already narrowed it down," says Liz DeAngelis, managing director of integrated media at Brainlabs. "Partnering with companies like Skai or Criteo positions them much more squarely in the retail and commerce space, while also unlocking valuable shopping and purchase data."
This "pay-for-performance" model is vastly different from the CPM-based (cost per mille) models that define display advertising. In the ChatGPT ecosystem, the ad is not an interruption; it is a potential answer to a specific problem. If OpenAI can successfully capture this intent without degrading the user experience, it will have built the most efficient conversion engine in the history of digital advertising.
The Risk of Gaming the System
However, this strategy comes with a significant risk. Part of ChatGPT’s current appeal is that it feels unbiased and untainted by corporate influence. Users trust the AI’s answers because they appear to be synthesized data, not sponsored content.
The moment advertising begins to feel like it is "shaping the answers" rather than simply "sitting beneath them," the intent signal will begin to erode. If users perceive the AI as just another "virtual shop window," the trust that drives the intent will vanish.
OpenAI is walking a fine line. It is likely keeping the "test channel" messaging to manage expectations while it refines the user experience. The company needs the performance advertisers to drive revenue, but it cannot afford to turn its flagship product into a spam-filled search engine.
The "Walmart Play": A Strategic Lesson?
The most compelling question regarding OpenAI’s current strategy is whether these partnerships are a permanent philosophy or a temporary tactical bridge.
Consider the case of Walmart and The Trade Desk. Walmart provided The Trade Desk with exclusive access to its massive repository of shopper data for four years. The Trade Desk provided the tech; Walmart provided the intelligence. Once Walmart had learned enough to understand its own data’s value and how to deploy it, it ended the partnership.
Is OpenAI following the same blueprint? By allowing Criteo and Skai into their ecosystem, they are effectively using these platforms to build their own ad infrastructure and educate the market. Once OpenAI has enough data and a sufficiently sophisticated in-house tool, it may decide that it no longer needs the middlemen.
Implications for the Future of Search
As the dust settles, the industry is left to wonder what the landscape will look like in 2026 and beyond.
- Fragmentation vs. Integration: While marketers would prefer a unified platform, the current reality is that they must manage a growing patchwork of AI-integrated channels. Platforms like Skai are becoming essential "middleware" to keep these fragmented channels organized.
- The Death of the "Neutral Middle": With big agencies and tech giants like Publicis and LiveRamp striking massive data-infrastructure deals, the "neutral" ad-tech layer is disappearing. Brands are increasingly forced to choose their sides, often moving data into secure, internal environments where it cannot be leveraged by rivals.
- The Rise of Conversational Commerce: We are witnessing a transition from "Search" (which provides a list of links) to "Answer" (which provides a definitive solution). If OpenAI captures the "Answer" phase of the funnel, it will become the ultimate gatekeeper of the purchase decision.
Official Responses and Industry Outlook
Despite the growing evidence of its ad-tech ambitions, OpenAI remains tight-lipped. The company declined to comment on the reported Skai partnership, maintaining its public stance that its ad initiatives are in the experimental, learning phase.
Industry observers, however, are not waiting for an official announcement. As Lauren Beerling of Collective Measures points out: "Partnering with companies that already sit inside those ecosystems positions OpenAI inside the purchase funnel at the moment of highest intent."
Whether OpenAI becomes the next great advertising titan or a cautionary tale of "over-commercialization" remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the company is no longer just a research lab. It is a commercial entity that understands that the path to profitability is paved with high-intent, performance-driven data. For the digital marketing world, the "AI era" has arrived, and it is looking for a seat at the table.
Nana Wu
Lina Irawan
