LiveRamp and OpenAI have expanded their corporate partnership to allow advertisers to bring existing first-party audience data directly into ChatGPT Ads. This development marks a significant step forward for digital advertising options within conversational AI platforms, enabling marketers to connect offline and online consumer information directly to advertising campaigns running on OpenAI’s interface.
What Changed in the Integration
Under the newly expanded collaboration, marketers can now use LiveRamp’s RampID to activate customer and prospect audiences directly in ChatGPT Ads. According to LiveRamp, RampID serves to connect customer data securely across advertising platforms and alternative destinations. This integration incorporates data sourced from customer relationship management (CRM) systems, loyalty programs, websites, and mobile applications.
With this capability, advertisers gain the option to either reach or suppress specific customer and prospect segments within the ad environment. Furthermore, OpenAI supports Custom Audiences directly through Ads Manager. This allows advertisers to upload CSV or TXT files containing email addresses, phone numbers, hashed versions of either identifier, or Google Advertising IDs.
Context of the Partnership and Rollout
This integration builds upon an earlier phase of collaboration between the two companies. Initially, the partnership focused on measurement. In June, LiveRamp became a measurement partner for ChatGPT Ads, establishing a mechanism to connect ad exposure with downstream conversions.
At launch, the newly expanded first-party data integration is available across 11 markets. Both companies have outlined plans to expand availability into additional markets concurrently as ChatGPT Ads rolls out globally.
Technical and Business Explanation
OpenAI Ads Manager provides robust functional controls for campaign management. Advertisers can include or exclude custom audiences at the campaign level. Additionally, they can apply bid multipliers ranging from 0.1x to 10x at the ad group level, offering granular control over ad delivery and spend.
From a buying perspective, ChatGPT Ads supports cost-per-mille (CPM) and cost-per-click (CPC) buying models. It also accommodates conversion-optimized campaigns billed specifically on clicks or impressions, fitting standard digital media planning frameworks.
Early adopters are already testing these workflows in live environments. For instance, Allegiance Group & Pursuant (AGP) is implementing the integration on behalf of a nonprofit client.
Sector Impact and Business Implications
Advertising on conversational AI surfaces represents an emerging frontier for digital marketing. Megan Morris of Allegiance Group & Pursuant stated that ChatGPT Ads is becoming an increasingly popular engagement surface for donors. Because of this shift, Morris noted that it is important to view the omnichannel impact of ads across all investments. The exact quote provided by Megan Morris underscores this perspective:
> “We’re continually optimizing the channels we use to reach our customers, and with ChatGPT Ads becoming an increasingly popular engagement surface for donors, it’s important for us to view the omnichannel impact of our ads across all of our investments.”
By leveraging tools like RampID alongside native custom audience uploads, brands and agencies can maintain continuity between their existing CRM databases and emerging AI channels. LiveRamp has also stated that it plans to share performance results from marketers utilizing the integration.
Risks, Limitations, and Uncertainties
Despite the expanded functional capabilities, several uncertainties remain for media buyers navigating the platform:
- Cost Considerations: It remains unclear whether reaching first-party audiences in ChatGPT will come at a higher cost compared to standard targeting.
- Performance Benchmarks: A lack of public benchmarks and performance data makes it difficult to predict how Custom Audiences will perform relative to ChatGPT’s other native targeting options.
- Bid Efficiency: It is yet to be determined whether utilizing higher bid multipliers (up to 10x) consistently translates into better business results.
What to Watch Next
As the integration scales beyond its initial 11 markets, industry observers will watch for published performance case studies, particularly from early implementers like Allegiance Group & Pursuant. The upcoming data shared by LiveRamp regarding marketer results will offer vital transparency into the real-world utility of first-party data targeting within conversational AI advertising ecosystems.