ChatGPT Ads Now Plugs Into Shopify and HubSpot
OpenAI added Shopify and HubSpot to ChatGPT Ads and started testing Sponsored Agents, so owners can run ChatGPT ads from tools they already use.
OpenAI opened ChatGPT Ads up to Shopify and HubSpot on September 16, so a store owner or a business running its customer list in HubSpot can turn ChatGPT ads on this week without hiring an agency or learning a new dashboard. It also started testing a new ad format called Sponsored Agents.
What shipped
OpenAI posted "Reimagining advertising with AI" on its own site September 16, 2026. Four pieces matter to an owner.
Shopify. US-based merchants can install the ChatGPT Ads app from the Shopify App Store today, connected through Shopify Catalog so the product list is already there. It goes international, in every market where ChatGPT Ads run, starting September 23.
HubSpot. Also live today: a business managing customers in HubSpot can connect a ChatGPT Ads account, create ads, track performance, and follow up on leads without leaving HubSpot.
Ads Manager plugin. Advertisers can write natural-language prompts inside ChatGPT to create, update and analyze campaigns. Ads Manager also suggests copy and imagery based on a landing page and campaign goals, with the advertiser reviewing before anything goes live.
Sponsored Agents. A shopper who clicks an ad can open a separate, clearly labeled chat with a business-sponsored agent, ask questions, and follow a link to the business's site. This is being tested with select US advertisers. No pricing or advertiser list was published.
Sign-up is at ads.openai.com, or through the Shopify and HubSpot apps.
Why an owner should care
Businesses that tried ChatGPT Ads before had to build a campaign in one place, track it in another, and manually connect results back to the CRM or store. That gap is where ad spend quietly gets wasted. This update removes a step, not a strategy: if a business already runs Shopify or lives in HubSpot, ads now sit inside that existing workflow.
What it looks like inside a shop
For an AV or trades integrator, the direct fit is HubSpot. An integrator running it as a CRM can connect a ChatGPT Ads account and watch ad-driven leads land in the same pipeline as referrals and walk-ins.
For a business selling physical products, the fit is Shopify: a shop selling gear or parts through a storefront can turn ChatGPT Ads on this week and let Shopify Catalog handle the product feed instead of building one by hand.
Any other service business on HubSpot gets the same benefit: ad performance next to the customer record instead of a separate login nobody opens.
What to do this week
- If US-based on Shopify, install the ChatGPT Ads app from the Shopify App Store and check how the product feed looks once connected.
- If running HubSpot, connect a ChatGPT Ads account and confirm leads land in the right pipeline before turning on real spend.
- Hold off on auto-translate and AI-suggested copy until a first campaign has run clean manually, for a baseline to compare against.
Questions owners ask
Do I need an agency to run ChatGPT Ads now?
No. The Shopify and HubSpot integrations mean a business can start a campaign from a tool it already runs.
What is a Sponsored Agent, exactly?
A separate, clearly labeled chat that opens after a shopper clicks an ad. It is only in testing with select US advertisers, not yet open to every business.
Is this free to use, and how is it different from Google or Meta ads?
OpenAI did not publish pricing or a minimum ad budget in this announcement. Check current pricing at ads.openai.com before committing spend. The difference from other channels is that management and lead follow-up sit inside Shopify or HubSpot, and Sponsored Agents let a shopper ask questions before leaving the ad. Whether that outperforms an existing channel is something to test, not assume. If proposals or lead follow-up are already the bottleneck before ad spend enters the picture, that is worth fixing first. See what a slow quote costs a business or read how Claude fits a small business's daily workflows. Source: Reimagining advertising with AI
