A new ad format is being piloted that skips landing pages and launches direct conversations with AI-powered business agents. This could reshape how brands interact with potential customers and capture leads online.
OpenAI is piloting a new advertising approach that could upend the traditional click-to-website model. Instead of directing users to a business’s landing page, these experimental ChatGPT ads initiate a real-time conversation with an AI agent customized for each advertiser.
When a user clicks one of these ads, they are taken straight into a ChatGPT-powered chat designed to answer questions, recommend products, and collect lead information-all without ever visiting the company’s website. This conversational format is tailored to each business, aiming to provide immediate responses and streamline the customer journey.
The process behind these ads involves three main steps. First, ChatGPT crawls the advertiser’s website to automatically build a business profile, gathering common customer questions, support details, and general company context. Next, advertisers can configure their AI agent with custom instructions, supplementing the profile with product feeds, live business data via Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools, and lead-generation forms. Finally, campaigns are launched that send users directly into a chat with the business agent, bypassing the need for a traditional URL destination.
This technology appears to leverage the same infrastructure that powers Custom GPTs, allowing for deep customization and integration of business data. The shift means the conversation itself becomes the destination, not the website-a significant change from decades of digital advertising norms.
For businesses, this could mean faster answers to customer questions, more personalized product recommendations, and the ability to qualify leads or schedule appointments before a user ever lands on a standard webpage. The format is currently available to a limited group of advertisers through ChatGPT Ads Manager, but the exact user experience and ad placement details remain under wraps.
Industry observers are watching closely to see how these chatbot-native ads will be surfaced within ChatGPT and what impact they might have on user engagement and conversion rates. The infrastructure suggests OpenAI is committed to exploring this new model, where an AI business representative greets users at the first click.
This new ad type was first noticed by entrepreneur Juozas Kaziukėnas, who shared his findings on LinkedIn. The move follows recent developments in AI-powered search and commerce, such as the integration of real-time Yelp reviews and business info into ChatGPT’s local search results, as detailed in this report on ChatGPT’s Yelp partnership.
OpenAI, founded in 2015, has rapidly expanded its product offerings and user base. As of 2026, the company’s ChatGPT platform is estimated to serve over 180 million users worldwide, with its enterprise solutions increasingly adopted by businesses seeking to automate customer engagement and lead generation. OpenAI’s ongoing experiments in advertising signal its ambition to reshape not just AI technology, but also the digital marketing landscape.
