You already know ChatGPT can show you a small, labeled ad. Now OpenAI is testing something new: an ad that turns into its own conversation. On September 16, 2026, OpenAI announced it's piloting a format called Sponsored Agents — a labeled ad that, when you tap it, hands you off to a chat with the advertiser's own AI, right inside your ChatGPT window.
How it's different from the ads you've already seen. Regular ChatGPT ads are a short, labeled blurb next to an answer — you can ignore them and keep talking to ChatGPT. A Sponsored Agent goes a step further: tap it, and you're now chatting with a company's branded AI representative, which can ask follow-up questions, walk you through options, and — when you're ready — send you to the company's website or, in some cases, straight into that company's own request process. OpenAI describes it as letting you "spell out what matters to them, pose follow-up questions, and click through to the business's website when they are ready to move forward."
Who's testing it first. The two named pilot partners are the furniture retailer Wayfair and the home-services marketplace Angi. Angi's version is the one most worth knowing about if you've ever asked ChatGPT a question about a home repair or renovation: its sponsored agent can appear in a relevant conversation, let you describe your project in more detail, and then move you into Angi's own request flow to get matched with a local pro. Angi co-founder Angie Hicks described the goal as letting "homeowners go directly from discussing a home project in ChatGPT to connecting with a skilled local pro who can help."
It's still small and labeled. According to OpenAI's own help center, Sponsored Agents are "currently available only to selected advertisers in a limited alpha test," and the company isn't taking early-access requests from other businesses yet. So most people won't run into one soon, and when you do, it's supposed to be clearly marked as sponsored — not blended into ChatGPT's own answer.
What's worth keeping in mind. A Sponsored Agent is a business's own AI, built to represent that business — not a neutral assistant. Treat it the way you'd treat a salesperson on a phone call: fine for browsing products or getting a repair quote started, but not the place to hand over more than the project details needed to get help. Our guide on what not to tell an AI chatbot is a good gut-check before you share your address, financial details, or anything sensitive in any chat window, sponsored or not. This sits on top of the ad system already in place for free and Go-tier ChatGPT accounts, which we covered when ads went live in Europe; OpenAI hasn't said whether Sponsored Agents will follow the same free-tier-only rule.
If you've been using ChatGPT to think through a home repair before calling anyone, our guide on diagnosing home problems with AI covers how to do that on your own terms — with or without a sponsored agent in the mix.
Sources
- Sponsored Agents in ChatGPT Ads — OpenAI Help Center
- Angi Among First Brands to Pilot Sponsored Agents in ChatGPT — GlobeNewswire (Angi Inc.)
- OpenAI's Sponsored Agents Turn ChatGPT Into an Ad Platform Where Brands Are the Product — Yahoo Finance