ChatGPT Ads for Shopify goes global on 23 September 2026, alongside HubSpot CRM integration and Sponsored Agents test

From 23 September 2026, the ChatGPT Ads app in the Shopify App Store is available to merchants in every market where ChatGPT Ads operate, not just the United States. Alongside that rollout, OpenAI has connected its ad platform to HubSpot CRM and is running an early test of something called Sponsored Agents, where users can start a separate, branded conversation with an advertiser directly from a ChatGPT ad.

These three things are related but distinct. This post focuses on what they mean in practice if you run a Shopify store, manage campaigns in HubSpot, or are simply curious about where ChatGPT advertising is heading.

What the Shopify app actually does

The ChatGPT Ads app for Shopify is free to install and was developed by OpenAI. It first became available to US merchants on 3 September 2026; the international rollout happened on 23 September 2026.

Once installed, it connects your Shopify Catalog directly to ChatGPT Ads Manager. There is no manual product feed export. Products sync automatically, so you can set a budget, launch a campaign, and have your products appear as clearly labelled ads inside ChatGPT without leaving Shopify’s admin interface. Conversion tracking is also handled within the app.

The app requests access to product listings, marketing events, web and server pixels, and browsing behaviour data. That is standard for any commerce ad integration, but worth knowing before you install it.

One practical detail worth flagging: the sync is automatic, which means whatever is in your Catalog is what gets served. If you have placeholder images, stale product titles, or missing descriptions sitting in your store, they will show up in campaigns. A quick catalog audit before installing is time well spent.

What the HubSpot integration adds

On 16 September 2026, OpenAI published its “Reimagining advertising with AI” piece alongside HubSpot’s own announcement of a ChatGPT Ads integration in the HubSpot Marketplace.

For HubSpot users, the integration lets you create ChatGPT Ads campaigns, set budgets and schedules, use free-form context hints to target relevant conversations, and compare performance against Google, LinkedIn, and other channels, all from within HubSpot. Crucially, HubSpot automatically appends UTM parameters to ChatGPT Ads URLs, so clicks map to contacts and deals in your CRM. That means you can measure return on ChatGPT ad spend using the same attribution model you already use for other channels.

HubSpot’s existing ChatGPT connector had seen 250% growth in weekly active users since its 2025 launch. Putting the ad workflow directly inside that connector is a practical extension of something users were already reaching for.

As a side note, HubSpot and OpenAI announced a promotional bundle running through 30 September 2026: HubSpot Starter and credits at up to 65% off for one year, a buy-one-get-one-free offer on ChatGPT Business seats, and a $750 match on ChatGPT Ads spend for new accounts. If you were already weighing both platforms, the timing is relevant.

Sponsored Agents: what they are and why they matter

The third piece is still early-stage, but it points to something genuinely different about advertising inside a conversational AI.

OpenAI is testing Sponsored Agents with a small number of advertisers in the United States. The concept: a user clicks an ad in ChatGPT and can choose to start a separate, clearly labelled conversation with an AI agent representing that advertiser. That agent can answer follow-up questions, help compare options, and link to the advertiser’s website when appropriate. It is a distinct conversation from the user’s original ChatGPT session, and from ChatGPT’s own independent answers.

Early pilots include Wayfair for furniture and Angi for home services. Both are verticals where a user typically needs to describe a situation before they are ready to buy, which makes a conversational format more useful than a standard product listing or landing page redirect.

OpenAI is clear that advertising does not influence ChatGPT’s answers, and that advertisers do not receive access to private conversations. Ads serve to Free and Go subscribers; Plus and above remain ad-free.

The broader picture

ChatGPT Ads reached a $1 billion annualised revenue run rate roughly 200 days after launch, with ads now running in more than 40 countries. OpenAI is projecting $2.5 billion in ad revenue for 2026. For context, Google AdWords took four years to reach the same $1 billion milestone.

Those numbers are striking, but eMarketer’s current forecasts put ChatGPT’s US audience at around 34.9% of the population in 2026, compared with 77.7% for Google Search. ChatGPT advertising makes sense as a complementary channel, not a replacement for established platforms, at least for now.

OpenAI’s stated reasoning for building directly into Shopify and HubSpot is straightforward: “Adopting a new advertising channel shouldn’t require businesses to rebuild the way they work.” Whether that rationale holds up over time depends on how well the integrations perform in practice, but the logic is sound. Requiring merchants to learn a new interface, export product feeds, and rebuild attribution from scratch would slow adoption considerably.

What this means for you

If you run a Shopify store outside the United States, 23 September 2026 is the date you can install the ChatGPT Ads app and start running campaigns if ChatGPT Ads operate in your market. The setup is genuinely low-friction compared with most ad channel onboarding. The main thing to do before you install is make sure your catalog is clean, because the sync is automatic and unforgiving of placeholder content.

If you manage advertising in HubSpot, the integration gives you a new channel inside the reporting framework you already use. The UTM automation and cross-channel comparison are the parts most worth exploring first.

If you are watching Sponsored Agents from a distance, the US test is worth tracking. A conversational format between an interested user and an advertiser’s AI agent is a different kind of ad interaction than anything that existed before ChatGPT, and the early verticals being tested, considered purchases that benefit from back-and-forth, are a sensible place to start.

You can get started at ads.openai.com, through the Shopify App Store, or through the HubSpot Marketplace.