When you advertise in OpenAI ChatGPT, the ads show up below the end of a ChatGPT response and are clearly labeled as “Sponsored”. To advertise like this, you need to create an OpenAI Ads Manager account. If you wish to advertise effectively and not burn money, you need two things:
- Catalog (Special list of your products you want to advertise.)
- Events (Tracking data of your site visitors and customers.)
Catalog
The catalog itself is a .csv or .xml file based on the Google specification. This file is uploaded to OpenAI Ads Manager. Although it is possible to manually create a .csv file and upload it, this approach is time-consuming and prone to errors. Instead, the software is used to generate the file as a product feed that is regularly regenerated. The URL to the feed is submitted to OpenAI Ads Manager and set to regularly consume the feed so the catalog is always up to date with the online store.
If you are on a predefined system like Magento 2 Open Source or Adobe Commerce, there is an automated solution that lets you set it once and forget about it.
For Magento 2 or Adobe Commerce, check Catalog Product Feed for Magento Adobe Commerce.
Events
The tracking data is very important. Without it, you will burn money on ads because ad effectiveness and campaign performance will be minimal. To provide tracking data to OpenAI, two different technologies are used.
- Measurement Pixel (browser-side events)
- Conversions API (server-side events)
Measurement Pixel (browser-side events)
The Measurement Pixel is a piece of JavaScript code for your website that enables you to send events like “product page was viewed (ViewContent aka contents_viewed)”, “product was added to the cart (AddToCart aka items_added)”, “customer purchased these products (Purchase aka order_created)”. Most events include a product identifier, price, currency, quantity, etc. Based on these events, you can measure, optimize, and build audiences for your ad campaigns.
Important to note: The Measurement Pixel sends events from visitors’ or customers’ web browsers to OpenAI servers. This means iOS updates, web browser privacy features, third-party privacy plugins, and cookie blockers can block Pixel events. That is why the second technology was created.
Conversions API (server-side events)
Due to the weakness of Pixel technology noted above, the Conversions API technology was developed. It does the same thing as the Measurement Pixel (sends events), but the way it sends events is different.
Important to note: The Conversions API sends events from your web server to OpenAI servers. These events cannot be blocked by iOS updates, web browser privacy features, third-party privacy plugins, cookie blockers, or anything else on a visitor’s/customer’s side.
Implementation Overview
We will list all implementation types from worst to best.
- Paste initialization code into the head tag. [Useless]
- Properly implemented Measurement Pixel with dedicated code to send events with proper event data. [Not Good] (Due to the blocking.)
- Using a third-party service to send events for you. [Varies from Bad to Not Recommended] (Most of them use the same Pixel approach that is not yet blocked. They will have all of your tracking data, including your customers’ data. They can charge you anything they want monthly. The quality of tracking data is questionable.)
- No Measurement Pixel, only properly implemented Conversions API with dedicated code to send events with proper event data. [Not Recommended] (OpenAI does not recommend this setup despite being technically correct. There is no straight answer why.)
- Properly implemented Pixel and Conversions API with dedicated code to send events with proper event data, where events are sent simultaneously and share the same event ID. [Recommended] (This is the best way. Also called redundancy setup.)
Check the video below to see how properly implemented Pixel and Conversions API work. (The left side of the screen is the Pixel, and the right side is the Conversions API.)
Unfortunately, the best way is also the most difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. However, if you are on a predefined system like Magento 2 Open Source or Adobe Commerce, there is a ready and very affordable solution. All the coding and development are already done. You can be up and running in minutes. Just install the extension and paste your Pixel ID and Conversions API Key.
For Magento 2 or Adobe Commerce, check OpenAI Pixel and Conversions API for Magento Adobe Commerce.
Hope this article was helpful. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to send us a message.