The short answer: OpenAI catalog ads are product ads in ChatGPT that are generated from a retailer’s product feed. They went live in 31 European markets on 24 August 2026, and Bannerflow’s Social Dynamic Ads template builds the catalog from the feed you already run, with no new production line and with customization capabilities for increased brand recognition.
Shoppers now ask ChatGPT what to buy, and the retailers that appear in a sponsored box below the response are the ones whose product data is already in good shape. OpenAI started serving ads to ChatGPT users in 31 European markets on 24 August 2026, and catalog ads let a retailer advertise straight from its product feed. Bannerflow has made getting started simple: a user-friendly template asks for the key information about your ad and builds it for you, with the same level of customization you get in other social dynamic channels.
Key takeaways
OpenAI began serving ads to ChatGPT users across 31 European markets on 24 August 2026. Ads appear below a response in a box labeled "Sponsored", and only Free and Go plan users see them. A beta self-serve Ads Manager opened to eligible advertisers on 31 August, with no agency or minimum spend.
The audience is large. Digiday reports that ChatGPT has passed 900 million weekly active users, and that about 20% of queries show direct commercial intent. Shoppers are using the product to compare options and ask detailed questions before they buy.
Catalog ads are the format built for retailers. Instead of writing an ad for every product, you connect a product feed, set filters for the products that are eligible, and the platform generates the ads from your product names, images, prices and attributes. If your catalog is already in Bannerflow, you just need to choose the OpenAI dynamic advertising template.
For European retailers, that changes the question. It is no longer whether to test a new channel, but how quickly you can get your catalog into it. Bannerflow's Social Dynamic Ads now supports OpenAI catalog ads, which is what the rest of this piece covers.
On a search results page, a retailer can win with a sharper headline. In a conversation, the ad is triggered by what the user asks. The Keyword describes it as an intent-based alternative to search, social or marketplace signals. That puts the weight on your product data.
Feed management company Productsup puts it this way in its analysis of the launch: AI can only recommend the products it understands. Clear titles, accurate descriptions, consistent attributes, a sensible taxonomy and good imagery all affect whether a product surfaces. Productsup sells feed tools, so treat that as one view, but the logic holds. An ad built from a thin feed will be a thin ad.
This is also where retailers have an advantage. If you already run dynamic ads from a product feed, you have done most of the hard work. The same feed discipline that keeps prices correct on display and social now decides how you show up in a new place. In our post on why supermarket brands use Bannerflow, the point was the same: Bannerflow reads your feed, so feed quality sets the ceiling on creative accuracy.
A new channel usually means a new build: a new file format, new rules and a new set of assets to produce. Bannerflow has taken that work out of the way. Social Dynamic Ads now includes new templates, built to OpenAI's requirements, that turn the feeds you already run into a catalog file for OpenAI.
The template is designed for people who do not want to think about file specifications. It asks for the key information about your ad and generates the ad from your answers. You are not starting from a blank page, and you do not need to learn OpenAI's format first.
It is also not a stripped-down version of what you already use. The template gives you the same level of customization you have in other social dynamic channels, so the ad can still reflect your brand and your offer.
"Teams have already put the work into their product feeds. We wanted getting those feeds into OpenAI to feel as familiar as any other social dynamic channel, so the template asks for the essentials and does the rest," says Ludvig Johansson, Product Manager at Bannerflow.
In practice, getting started looks like this:
The result is that being early on this channel is a template task, not a production project. Your team can spend its time on which products to feature and what to learn from the first campaigns.
The template asks for the following details for each product. These are standard fields in most product feeds, so if your feed already powers dynamic ads, you probably have them.
You do not need a perfect feed to begin, but a short check now saves time later. Run through these before you build your first catalog.
If your feed already powers dynamic ads, most of this is done. If not, our guide to dynamic creative optimization is a good place to start.
This is a young channel, and it is worth going in with realistic expectations.
That is the case for starting small. Early spend teaches you which products and prompts perform, at a time when the learning is cheap.
It is also worth being clear about what Bannerflow does here. It prepares the ad and the catalog. It is not a media buying platform, so budget, bidding and targeting stay where they are today.
If you already run a product feed, you are close to ready. Talk to your CSM about the new Social Dynamic Ads template, or book a demo and bring your feed.
Catalog ads are product ads that appear in ChatGPT and are generated from your product feed. They use your product names, images, prices and attributes, so you do not write an ad for each product.
Yes. OpenAI began serving ads in 31 European markets on 24 August 2026. A beta self-serve Ads Manager opened to eligible advertisers on 31 August.
No. Bannerflow's Social Dynamic Ads template works from the feeds you already run and generates a catalog file in the format OpenAI requires.
It asks for eight details for each product: item ID, title, description, product page URL, brand name, seller name, availability and price. These are standard fields in most product feeds, and you get the same level of customization as in other social dynamic channels.
They come from your feed. When the feed changes, the ad reflects it, so you do not edit ads by hand.