ChatGPT Ads update: carousels, oCPC, and pixel tracking opt-out ends
OpenAI bundled a multi-product carousel test and conversion-optimized bidding into this week's ChatGPT Ads Manager update. It also set August 17 as the date existing pixels switch to automatic advanced matching by default, unless advertisers opted out first.
Guilherme Hortinha · 8 August 2026 · Updated 17 September 2026
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Update, 7 September 2026: the carousel has left testing. OpenAI's 4 September product email added carousel card impressions and clicks to Ads Manager reporting for product feed campaigns, with complete data from 20 August 2026, which is only possible on a unit that is serving. The post below records what was announced on 5 August and stays as written. What changed on 4 September.
OpenAI emailed advertisers this week with a batch of ChatGPT Ads Manager updates, and the one most advertisers will miss is the one that changes their tracking by default.
What's new for product feeds
A multi-product carousel format is now in testing for product feed campaigns, showing several products from one advertiser in a single unit.
Conversion-optimized cost-per-click (oCPC) campaigns are in beta for product feed campaigns. This first release is click-billed, using fixed or manual bidding with a positive conversion bid cap.
Existing CPC campaigns can be cloned straight into oCPC, or created in bulk. Cloning prefills the conversion event when only one is eligible; otherwise you pick one.
Tracking and measurement
New dynamic URL macros, including
{campaign_id},{ad_group_id},{ad_id}, and{ad_account_id}, populate landing page parameters automatically at delivery time.Triple Whale now connects to ChatGPT Ads, and Sonar Optimize is live for the channel. Hightouch can send conversion events to ChatGPT Ads.
Pixel validation diagnostics in Ads Manager now show why events were dropped, the affected field, the error type, and a recommended fix. Find them under Tools, then Conversions.
The part with a deadline
Automatic advanced matching (AAM) is now the default for every new Web pixel. On August 17, 2026, OpenAI turns it on for existing pixels too, matching more conversions using hashed customer information pulled from website forms. Advertisers who want to keep it off had to opt out before that date, under Tools, Conversions, Data Source, then Edit pixel. Anyone who didn't will be matched by default from here on.
Also this week
OpenAI said ChatGPT Ads is launching in Brazil and Mexico within the coming week, opening the channel to advertisers in those markets for the first time.
The carousel and the bidding beta are the visible news. The AAM switch is the one that changes what happens to customer data on every account that didn't touch a setting.
Frequently asked questions
Can advertisers opt out of automatic advanced matching?+
Yes, but only before August 17, 2026. After that date, OpenAI enables AAM by default on existing Web pixels too, in addition to new ones. Opting out means going to Tools, Conversions, Data Source, then Edit pixel.
What bidding does the new oCPC beta support?+
The initial release is click-billed and supports fixed or manual bidding with a positive conversion bid cap. It does not yet include automatic bidding.
When is ChatGPT Ads launching in Brazil and Mexico?+
The source says only that it is coming in the week following the August 7, 2026 announcement, with no specific launch date given.
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Co-founder & Head of AI Innovation, Index Lab
Guilherme co-founded Index Lab, an AEO/GEO agency that makes brands the answer AI gives across ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, taking clients from zero AI visibility to top recommendations.
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