OpenAI has entered preliminary discussions with advertising technology firm The Trade Desk to facilitate ad sales on its ChatGPT platform. Shares of The Trade Desk surged more than 18% following reports of the potential collaboration.
The initiative marks a strategic move to diversify revenue beyond subscriptions as operational costs for AI models continue to climb. OpenAI has already begun testing advertisements for users on free and lower-priced tiers within the United States.
While talks with The Trade Desk remain in early stages, OpenAI has also partnered with other ad-tech firms including Criteo. The company intends to eventually develop proprietary in-house advertising technology to directly challenge the digital ad market dominance of Google and Meta.