Early indications suggest OpenAI to partner with The Trade Desk for ad sales.
Adtech firm The Trade Desk has reportedly entered early discussions with AI giant OpenAI, to help build its advertising model as part of a newly introduced pilot for ads within its Large Language Model (LLM) ChatGPT.
While the details of the potential partnership have not yet been publicised, early indications suggest OpenAI is looking to work with adtechs to ramp up its ads business, according to The Information confirms.
The Trade Desk is a cloud-based demand-side platform (DSP), which works with advertising firms to deliver data-driven, automated marketing tools for digital ad campaigns. It currently works with platforms such as Spotify and Disney to deliver personalised, targeted ad content.
Affiliate Leaders did contact The Trade Desk for comment, but they declined to offer one on this occasion.
The Trade Desk is not the only firm in discussions with OpenAI for a potential partnership. The Open AI ad pilot programme has also attracted investment from the big holding companies such as Dentsu, Omnicom Media Group, and WPP.
Recently, Criteo became the first adtech firm to join ChatGPT’s ad pilot, announcing the integration of the digital advertising platform into the LLM. These partnerships are significant for OpenAI, which is on track in 2026 to post losses of roughly $14bn (by its own admission).
So far, the ad trial has been narrowly focused, with a specific set of design-forward brands like Adobe, Ford, and Williams-Sonoma all participating in the testing.
Referral rates from AI chatbots and LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity can be up to one and a half times more successful at conversion, data suggests – outlining the attraction for AI firms to implement new advertising techniques.
ChatGPT began testing advertising within the LLM earlier in 2026, with trials introducing ads for US free and Go tier users. Banner-like ads often appear following prompts, directing users to product or service pages that directly correlate with the users query or correspondence.
The potential partnership could also bring strength to The Trade Desk, which has seen growth slow to 18% – down from 24% in 2024. This signals a shift in the advertising landscape that has seen pressure mounting from organisations like Amazon which has been aggressively expanding and strengthening its market position and advertising performance.
OpenAI is likely to move to in-house adtech functions once the ad trials are complete, bringing the company more in line with large ad sellers like Google or Meta.
