OpenAI Hiring Signals Image and Video Ads for ChatGPT

OpenAI is actively recruiting engineers to build image, video, native, and conversational ad formats for ChatGPT, signaling a major expansion beyond the basic sponsored unit it has been testing since February. This hiring push, first reported by Digiday, marks a strategic move to embed paid placements more deeply into the user experience, potentially reshaping how brands gain visibility within the AI platform.

Three job postings on OpenAI’s careers page outline roles within a new monetization team, tasked with developing ads across text, image, video, native, conversational, and interactive surfaces. The goal is clear: give advertisements a larger footprint inside ChatGPT, which could raise the stakes for the organic mentions that brands currently rely on for exposure.

Two of the positions are mobile-focused, one for iOS and one for Android, each requiring at least four years of experience. Both belong to an “Ad Formats” team responsible for the rendering and presentation layer of OpenAI’s advertising system. The third role is a more senior monetization and ads position, demanding seven or more years of experience, and is described as foundational, spanning infrastructure, APIs, and user-facing experiences.

Privacy and safety language runs through each listing. Candidates are asked to uphold OpenAI’s stated standards for safety, privacy, fairness, and policy compliance across its ad systems. The company has been explicit that its advertising plans depend on maintaining user trust in ChatGPT.

The format OpenAI is expanding from is a simple ad unit featuring a headline, short description, an image, and a link. Digiday reported last month that mockups have shown a larger image and an optional call-to-action button that advertisers could personalize. The single format tested so far has already reached seven markets, moving from cost-per-impression to cost-per-click bidding with a self-service ads manager, according to Marketing Dive. Criteo, an early ad-tech partner, reports that more than 2,000 brands now run ChatGPT ads through its platform. On its advertising page, OpenAI says it will evolve the program over time to support additional formats, objectives, and buying models, including a conversational unit where users could ask an ad questions before making a purchase decision.

This expansion matters because new formats may occupy more screen space than the small ad box currently placed at the bottom of a response. This could shift user attention toward ads and away from the answer, where organic mentions are displayed. Whether earned visibility can remain prominent as paid ads increase is a concern we have tracked since testing began. The company claims its ads won’t alter the content of its answers, but now it is the surrounding space that is changing.

Looking ahead, OpenAI hasn’t announced when the new formats will reach testing. Its ads chief told Digiday that the roadmap is being shaped by feedback from test advertisers, leaving the sequence open. The hiring is the clearest indication yet of what the company is building toward. The format the ads take will ultimately determine how prominent paid placements become within a ChatGPT response.