ChatGPT serves ads. Here's the full attribution loop
OpenAI's ad platform has two halves. On the ChatGPT side, the backend injects structured single_advertiser_ad_unit objects into the conversation SSE stream while the model is responding. On the merchant side, a tracking SDK called OAIQ runs in the visitor's browser and reports product views back to OpenAI.
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28 Apr 2026 How ChatGPT serves ads. Here's the full attribution loop. OpenAI's ad platform has two halves. On the ChatGPT side, the backend injects structured single_advertiser_ad_unit objects into the conversation SSE stream while the model is responding. On the merchant side, a tracking SDK called OAIQ runs in the visitor's browser and reports product views back to OpenAI. The two are tied together by Fernet-encrypted click tokens, four of them per ad.I captured both halves on a consented mobile-traffic research fleet. Everything below comes from observed traffic.How an ad gets into a conversationWhen you send a message to ChatGPT, the backend opens an SSE response at chatgpt.com/backend-api/f/conversation. Most events in that stream are model-output. Some are ad units.
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