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Advertisers are eager to understand how their ads, in different guises, can show up in generative AI-powered chatbot conversations.
While high-profile examples like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini don’t currently run ads, platforms such as Snap’s gen AI chatbot My AI—powered by Microsoft’s Chat Ads API—introduced sponsored links last September. Chinese tech firm Baidu and German media giant Axel Springer also use Microsoft’s Chat Ads API.
“Once all the big players have consumed data [from the free internet] and trained their models on it, [what will] make the AI tools stand out is the ability to use proprietary data,” said Graham Wilkinson, chief innovation officer at IPG Mediabrands marketing agency Kinesso.
Advertisers are hungry for new avenues to understand consumer behavior in light of the third-party cookie’s demise. For platforms, the cost of operating AI chatbots is enormous. Major players like Google, OpenAI and Microsoft are in an AI arms race, tinkering with monthly subscription models of $20 to bolster revenue.
Against this backdrop, different types of ad formats, including sponsored links and interactive conversations, emerge as a viable option. However, it’s too soon to judge ad effectiveness in this nascent market.
Sponsored links
Microsoft’s chatbot app Copilot currently includes links to web sources that the chatbot uses to provide relevant information, similar to how search engines from Microsoft and Google (which have integrated gen AI) include citations when they provide a response.
