Amazon Ads on ChatGPT: what changes for those who sell online

The Amazon pilot on ChatGPT: what it is in concrete terms

Amazon has launched a pilot program — still limited to the US — to integrate its advertising services within ChatGPT. The access channel is Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform, Amazon's programmatic buying platform) in managed mode managed service : it means that campaigns are not managed independently, but through Amazon's specialized team.

The timing is no coincidence. ChatGPT Ads recently reached a significant advertising revenue milestone, a sign that the format is finding advertisers willing to pay to appear in the chatbot's responses. Amazon is stepping in at this precise moment to secure a prominent position in the new inventory.

For those dealing with advertising and paid media , this is the kind of news that should be read immediately, not in six months.

Why ChatGPT is a different advertising context than Google or Meta

Someone using ChatGPT to decide what to buy isn't scrolling a feed. They're asking a specific question and waiting for a structured answer. The intent is high, distraction is low. For an e-commerce brand, appearing in this context is equivalent to being present at the moment the potential customer is already actively evaluating.

The risk, however, is just as real. An ad perceived as intrusive in a text conversation can damage brand perception more than an ignored banner. Message quality matters more than impression volume.

If you are already working on advertising attribution If you can measure the real contribution of each channel to revenue, you're in the right position to evaluate a test of this format. If you don't yet have a solid attribution model, adding a new channel risks further complicating data interpretation.

Who this pilot is really for — and who it's not for

It's worth considering if:

• you already have active campaigns on Amazon DSP with sufficient budget for an incremental test;
• you sell products with a medium-long purchase cycle, where comparing options is part of the decision-making process;
• you have access to an Amazon account manager who can guide you in the managed service.

It's not the right time if:

• you don't have a structured presence on Amazon Ads yet and are still optimizing basic campaigns;
• your main market is Italy and you don't have the budget for tests on American audiences;
• you are looking for immediate and measurable short-term results: pilots on new formats require time to collect reliable data.

The topic of quality of AI traffic and budget protection is an aspect to keep in mind here too: in a new environment like ChatGPT Ads, inventory verification and impression transparency are legitimate questions to ask before allocating budget.

The bigger picture: Amazon strengthens its advertising network

This pilot fits into a broader strategy. Amazon is building an advertising network that goes beyond its own marketplace: Prime Video, Twitch, and now potentially ChatGPT. The goal is to offer advertisers access to qualified audiences — people with a real purchase history — in increasingly diverse contexts.

For those managing e-commerce campaigns across multiple channels, it's worth following the evolution of Amazon DSP integrated with ChatGPT Ads for the Italian B2B market , where adoption dynamics will likely be slower but no less relevant.

Comparison with other paid channels remains necessary. Google Ads continues to evolve on the retail front with tools like Local Customer Optimization, and the choice of where to allocate budget should be based on concrete data, not on the novelty effect.

What to do in the coming days

The pilot is American and managed service: you can't activate it by yourself tomorrow morning. But you can prepare concretely.

• Check your access to Amazon DSP. If you already have an account or work with an agency that manages it, ask for updates on the pilot and its expansion timeline in Europe.
• Review your attribution model. Before adding a new channel, make sure you know how you measure the contribution of the current ones.
• Follow the source. Official information on this pilot comes from Marketing Dive , which monitors the program's evolution.
• Define a test budget threshold. If and when the format arrives in Europe, having already decided how much you are willing to invest in a pilot allows you to move without wasting time on internal approvals.

The team at SHM Studio follows the evolution of this format to evaluate when and how to propose it to clients with a presence on Amazon. If you manage paid campaigns and want a comparison, Write to us .