OpenAI expands ChatGPT ad business with Brazil next in line - Valor International

A long line formed outside the Debussy Theatre on Tuesday (23) for the first official appearance by OpenAI at Cannes Lions, the advertising industry’s leading global festival. On stage, Denise Dresser, the company’s chief revenue officer, addressed a packed audience about the impact of artificial intelligence on business, advertising agencies, and creative work. Expectations surrounding the ChatGPT maker’s debut at the event, however, exceeded the answers provided. The discussion took on an institutional tone and offered few details about the company’s financial outlook, commercial strategy, or emerging advertising business.

Even so, OpenAI’s presence in Cannes signals a shift in the company’s relationship with the advertising industry. Having established itself in the technology sector, the company is now seeking closer ties with brands, agencies, and creators as it prepares to expand its advertising business within ChatGPT into new markets, including Brazil.

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“This is virtually our first official presence at Cannes Lions,” Elke Karskens, OpenAI’s head of international marketing, told Valor at the company’s hospitality space located about 1.5 kilometers from the festival venue. Based in London, the Dutch executive leads the company’s international marketing team. “We’ve been here before, but that was before the launch of ChatGPT, when we were a research lab that most people had never heard of.”

According to Karskens, the move to Cannes reflects that artificial intelligence is reshaping not only how campaigns are created but also how work is organized and how brands connect with consumers. “We’ve entered a new era of advertising, where AI is genuinely changing how work is created, how it’s executed, and how we reach people,” she said.

The most tangible change is in OpenAI’s advertising business. Nineteen weeks ago, the company launched its commercial advertising operation within ChatGPT, currently limited to seven markets: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea. Brazil and Mexico are next in line. “I don’t have an exact date, but I’ve been told it will happen within the next few weeks,” Karskens said.

Ads appear within ChatGPT conversations but not directly inside the chatbot’s generated responses. They are clearly labeled as advertising and can direct users to pages designated by advertisers. User conversations are not shared with brands, the executive said. “Trust is extremely important when introducing a format like this.”

Advertising will be shown to users of the free version of ChatGPT and the Go subscription plan. Subscribers to the Plus and Pro plans will not see ads. The company said that advertising does not influence chatbot responses and that it is displayed separately.

OpenAI’s appearance at Cannes comes as the company seeks new revenue streams and attempts to gain ground in a market historically dominated by Google and Meta. The festival serves as a platform to introduce advertisers and agencies to its new ChatGPT advertising business and its Codex tool, part of a broader effort to build a multibillion-dollar operation ahead of a potential initial public offering, as highlighted in a recent Financial Times article.

The British newspaper reported that OpenAI has told investors it could build a $100 billion advertising business by 2030, though the company has not publicly discussed the projection.

Karskens said OpenAI is already working with “thousands” of advertisers on the platform, including agencies such as British advertising group WPP. “We’re seeing some very interesting early results from what we still consider a pilot project,” she said. “We’re excited to see how advertisers engage with this new format.”

Asked about the impact a future IPO could have on the company’s marketing strategy, she said that OpenAI’s marketing organization is still very young. “It’s very clear what our job is today, but what we’ll be doing in the future is still being defined.”

OpenAI currently has nearly 1 billion weekly ChatGPT users and more than 9 million paying enterprise users. The enterprise segment accounts for more than 40% of revenue and is expected to reach parity with the consumer business by year-end, according to one company representative. Karskens said OpenAI has dedicated teams serving both audiences. “There isn’t one audience that matters more than the other,” she said. “Our job is to make sure the right message reaches the right person at the right time.”

Brazil plays a central role in that strategy. The country is OpenAI’s third-largest global market, with 50 million monthly users. Karskens said she has visited Brazil four times over the past six months to discuss business opportunities. “Brazil is a really important market for us,” she said. “We’re seeing people adopt certain use cases in ways that aren’t happening with the same intensity elsewhere.”

As an example, she pointed to image generation, one of the areas where Brazil stands out globally. The company has also begun investing in brand campaigns in the country, including initiatives tied to the World Cup. The goal, she said, is to deepen ChatGPT usage beyond initial curiosity. “Awareness of ChatGPT is very high, but in some cases usage remains relatively superficial.”

Karskens did not disclose the size of the company’s international marketing team but said OpenAI has been hiring local leadership in priority markets such as Brazil and India. In Brazil, part of the operation is managed locally.

“We want to show up in markets the right way. That’s why we’re hiring people who understand the local culture,” she said. In Latin America, Maria Clara Fleury Osorio took the role of head of marketing in November 2025.

During her speech at the Palais, Dresser said AI adoption in companies has moved beyond isolated experimentation and is increasingly being treated as an operational layer of business, with direct involvement from CEOs and boards of directors rather than only technology teams.

Her remarks left unanswered some of the industry’s biggest questions, including how OpenAI intends to balance advertising, trust, and influence over AI-generated responses.

In her conversation with Valor, Karskens also avoided technical discussions about GEO, short for generative engine optimization, a term used to describe practices aimed at optimizing brands for AI-based answer engines. “It’s not about manipulating the system. It’s not SEO 2.0,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s about creating good work that shows the audience what the organization wants to achieve, at the right moment.”

Among client examples, Karskens cited L'Oréal, with which OpenAI announced a partnership last week. The beauty company is using OpenAI’s technology for virtual makeup try-ons, product discovery, commerce, research and development, and internal content creation.

For the advertising industry, OpenAI bets that ads will appear at moments closer to a purchase decision or a concrete user need. The unanswered question remains whether users will perceive the format as helpful or intrusive.

In Cannes, the company sought to convince the industry that it can become a key partner for agencies and advertisers. “We’re here because we want to be the best possible partner for this ecosystem—for agencies, the creative community, and advertisers,” Karskens said. “We want to help them navigate this new advertising era.”

This article was translated from Valor Econômico using an artificial intelligence tool under the supervision of the Valor International editorial team to ensure accuracy, clarity, and adherence to our editorial standards. Read our Editorial Principles.