OpenAI is b building the ad tech stack it's currently borrowing

"None of which is stopping OpenAI from leaning on Criteo to bring advertisers into ChatGPT in the meantime, or reportedly holding talks with The Trade Desk to do the same at scale. For now, these moves could solve a real problem: OpenAI has no advertiser relationships, no measurement history and no agency integrations. Criteo and The Trade Desk have all three. But companies don't build out an internal ads org - let alone pay up to $385,000 to do it - if they're planning to rely on outside vendors forever."

"Smarter still, he continued, would be to channel those efforts around three areas: a demand side tool which allows buyers to indicate which creative they want in what conversations, a decision layer that helps OpenAI decide which ads will be most profitable and a measurement tool that provides self-serve metrics and optimization, as well as integrates with third-party modeling platforms."

OpenAI is actively hiring specialized roles including a monetization infrastructure engineer, engineering manager, product designer, and trust and safety specialist to develop its advertising systems in-house. While currently partnering with Criteo and The Trade Desk to access advertiser relationships and measurement capabilities, these partnerships serve as temporary solutions. OpenAI's significant investment in building internal infrastructure—with compensation bands reaching $385,000—indicates long-term ownership intentions rather than vendor reliance. Industry analysts suggest OpenAI should focus on developing demand-side tools for buyer control, decision layers for ad profitability optimization, and self-serve measurement tools integrated with third-party platforms to create the innovative advertising model the company envisions.

Read at Digiday