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Dive Brief:

• OpenAI is partnering with LiveRamp as the artificial intelligence startup builds out the advertising infrastructure around ChatGPT, its flagship program, according to an announcement shared with Marketing Dive.  
• Advertisers running ChatGPT campaigns will be able to tap into LiveRamp’s Conversions API Hub to combat signal loss and improve measurement beyond browser-based tracking. The CAPI Hub relies on privacy safe, server-to-server connections as an alternative to traditional web-based tracking methods like cookies.
• ChatGPT’s ads business, which entered a testing period in February, has attracted brands that want to reach the popular chat program’s 1 billion users. The offering has also drawn criticism for its opaqueness, a hurdle OpenAI could overcome through partnerships like the one with LiveRamp, which was acquired by Publicis Groupe in May.  

Dive Insight:

LiveRamp, a leading data-collaboration platform, is among the earliest third-party ad-tech firms to work with OpenAI on ChatGPT advertising. OpenAI’s bet on advertising has stirred both excitement and skepticism since debuting earlier this year, and the startup is racing to bolster its appeal to brands as it prepares for a hotly anticipated initial public offering. Advertising could be a critical front for OpenAI’s revenue generation, something investors will be watching closely given the steep costs tied to AI development. Wednesday’s announcement indicated this is just the first piece of LiveRamp’s work with OpenAI.   

“Moving forward, LiveRamp will continue to partner with OpenAI on its advertising journey, and we’ll look for more ways to bring the power of the leading data collaboration network to ChatGPT and beyond,” wrote Travis Clinger, LiveRamp general manager and chief connectivity and ecosystem officer, in a blog post about the news.

The ability for brands to use LiveRamp’s CAPIs could address concerns around targeting and measuring ChatGPT ad campaigns, including a lack of visibility into how these efforts drive outcomes. ChatGPT’s aim is to put its advertising more on par with the measurement and attribution muscle of established digital channels, strengthening a position around performance.    

LiveRamp introduced CAPIs as a response to cookie deprecation and to allow brands to tie conversion actions, such as offline purchases, back to digital marketing on platforms like Meta, TikTok and Snapchat. The data matching is facilitated through secure, server-to-server connections, helping to allay potential privacy concerns.

Criteo became the first ad-tech partner for OpenAI back in March. The firm, which focuses on commerce media, recently lowered its minimum spending requirements by a significant amount and has introduced other incentives to entice retailers to invest in ChatGPT advertising, Adweek reported last week. The Trade Desk, a leading demand-side platform, has also reportedly held talks about partnering with OpenAI on advertising. 

All signs point to ChatGPT encountering growing pains typical to upstart platforms. If OpenAI is able to thread the needle, realizing campaigns that are contextually relevant to user chats while also being performance-boosting, it could become a formidable player in a digital advertising ecosystem where marketers have long desired greater variety. Google, Meta and Amazon, the industry’s triopoly, are also reworking their platforms to better capitalize on the AI opportunity. 

OpenAI’s latest pact also comes at a period of transition for LiveRamp, which was acquired by the agency network Publicis Groupe for $2.2 billion in May. Publicis says LiveRamp, which has interoperability with over 25,000 publishers and hundreds of data and technology partners, will advance its goals of creating more sophisticated agentic AI on behalf of clients.