WPP Media and Clients Across Industries Join Pilot to Test Ads Experience in ChatGPT

Today we’re sharing details surrounding our participation in the OpenAI Ads Pilot Program, designed to test the ads experience within the free and Go versions of ChatGPT for users in the United States. The test is intended to provide early feedback to OpenAI and advertisers, helping ensure ads within ChatGPT create value for all parties.

As part of our engagement, WPP Media is supporting tests being conducted by clients representing a broad range of industry verticals, including automotive, CPG, entertainment, gaming, luxury, retail, technology, and travel. Brands participating in the pilot include Adobe, Audemars Piguet, Audible, Ford, Mazda, and Mrs. Myers, among others.

The ChatGPT ads pilot program is designed to test and refine new ad experiences, while maintaining the trust users place in ChatGPT responses. Clients are each participating under test and learn conditions with approaches that are aligned with their brand values and OpenAI’s advertising principles.

Throughout the test, our focus will be on learning as much as we can about how users interact with initial ad formats and official brand messaging presented in ChatGPT. Our intention is to better understand how advertisers can leverage this platform and create trust and value for users within conversational AI environments.

"AI has fundamentally changed how people plan their lives and by extension engage with brands. We're excited to join the OpenAI Ad Pilot Program to reach new audiobook listeners through a platform they're already using daily. This test allows us to explore ways to meet customers where they naturally are – in the AI-powered spaces that have become part of their everyday routine." 

Our participation in the pilot reflects our commitment to helping clients navigate emerging platforms with strategic discipline, strong governance, and a clear focus on value creation, alongside our broader commitment to transparency, safety, and responsible AI adoption. Rather than treating generative AI as an extension of existing search or social models, we are approaching the pilot as part of our ongoing research into the ways in which intelligence and commerce-driven use cases may develop over time as consumers continue to embrace language models and conversational AI interfaces.

“Exploring new media environments responsibly is critical as marketing continues to evolve. Through this pilot program, we’re learning how AI-enabled advertising can strengthen the human connection between our brand and our customers - delivering more relevant, meaningful experiences while remaining effective, respectful, and rooted in trust.”  

As part of this learning agenda, our teams and clients will collaborate with OpenAI to explore advertising formats designed for the ChatGPT user experience; as well as guardrails and best practices that can inform future development as OpenAI’s Ads platform evolves.

“We view this pilot as the natural progression of the work we’ve been doing to understand LLM‑driven customer behavior. We’re excited to partner with OpenAI and WPP Media to gain deeper insight into how people engage with AI tools in high‑intent, conversational moments - and how we can show up in ways that create meaningful value for our customers.” 

"We believe ads play an important role in continuing to support broad access to AI,” said Asad Awan, Ads and Monetization lead at OpenAI. "By working closely with partners like WPP Media in this pilot, we’re able to thoughtfully test new ad experiences and learn together to ensure ads are separate and clearly distinct, relevant, and useful while maintaining the trust people place in ChatGPT." 

Additionally, WPP Media will leverage our industry‑leading approach to measurement through the testing frameworks developed with key partners to evaluate the effectiveness of our clients’ ads within ChatGPT. Our data science communities will work to identify meaningful early indicators and develop shared learning frameworks at an aggregate level - enabling us to move beyond isolated tests and build a clearer view of how engagement, impact, and longer-term value may emerge as the platform evolves.