ChatGPT Drops Native Checkout Plans
Fried Bids, Digital News | 1-8 Mar 2026
OpenAI’s pivot makes strategic sense.
Consumers may enjoy researching products in ChatGPT, but when money is involved, they default to checkout flows they already trust. Forcing transactions inside the chatbot before habits are formed would have been premature. Shifting focus to discovery while enabling purchases through retailer apps lowers friction and keeps partners comfortable.
At the same time, bringing in Criteo signals where monetization is heading: ads, not transaction fees, at least for now. If chatbot referrals truly drive 1.5x higher purchase likelihood, brands will pay attention—especially with a $200,000 entry point signaling premium inventory.
The real question is whether ChatGPT becomes a high-intent discovery layer or just another ad surface competing for budgets.
Ciao Digital Folks, here’s the latest news in Digital Marketing, 1-8 Mar 2026
📌 AI Max Drives 13% Revenue, 16% Higher CPA
📌 AI Mode Self-Citations Jump to 17%
📌 Google Still Drives 20% of Web Visits
📌 Social Engagement Drops Across Major Platforms
⭐ ChatGPT Drops Native Checkout Plans
📌 Criteo Brings Ads to ChatGPT
📌 Netflix Expands Ad Targeting With Amazon
📌 Meta Narrows Click Attribution Rules
📌 OpenAI Launches GPT-5.4
📌 IAB Updates Multi-State Privacy Agreement
📌 Onetag Bets on Interactive Ad Formats
Enjoy!
AI Max Drives 13% Revenue, 16% Higher CPA
Mike Ryan, Head of Ecommerce Insights at Smarter Ecommerce (SMEC), analyzed more than 250 Google Search campaigns using AI Max to assess its real-world performance in ecommerce accounts. Reviewing campaign structures, keyword behavior, and revenue data, he found AI Max often runs alongside Dynamic Search Ads and Performance Max, creating overlap and potential reporting fragmentation. Based on one million impressions, 80% of query expansion stemmed from Exact Match keywords. Across campaigns, AI Max delivered a median 13% increase in conversion value but raised CPA by 16%, with widely varying ROAS results. The findings suggest AI Max functions primarily as a volume expansion tool rather than an efficiency optimization feature.
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/what-smecs-data-reveals-about-ai-max-performance/568866/
AI Mode Self-Citations Jump to 17%
SE Ranking has found that Google’s AI Mode now cites Google-owned properties far more frequently, with self-citations rising from 5% to 17% of all links in nine months, based on an analysis of 68,313 keywords and 1.3 million citations collected in February. Unlike earlier data, when 97% of Google links led to Business Profiles, 59% now point to organic search results, expanding the impact beyond local queries. Google is the top-cited domain in 19 of 20 niches studied, reaching over 53% in Travel. The shift suggests organic rankings play a growing role in AI Mode visibility as the feature evolves across industries.
Google Still Drives 20% of Web Visits
Barry Adams argues that the “Google Zero” narrative predicting the collapse of Google traffic to publishers is false and dangerous, citing client data, Similarweb figures, and industry reporting to counter claims of steep declines. He explains that while Google has reduced clicks over time through enriched results and AI features, overall traffic losses are modest, with global data showing only a 2.5% decline and Google still accounting for nearly 20% of web visits. Adams suggests some reports exaggerate losses due to skewed datasets or penalties affecting large sites. He warns that reducing SEO investment based on fear could create a self-fulfilling decline, urging publishers to diversify without abandoning Google.
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-zero-is-a-lie/568668/
Social Engagement Drops Across Major Platforms
Buffer has reported that engagement rates declined in 2025 on Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads, while Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok saw slight increases and X recorded a modest rise, based on analysis of tens of millions of posts from more than 191,000 monthly users. Measuring likes, replies and shares, the data shows competition, algorithm changes and shifting content formats—such as Instagram’s focus on Reels—may have influenced performance. Although most changes were minor, X engagement rose from 2.0% to 2.8%. Buffer also found that replying to comments significantly boosts engagement, with notable lifts on Threads, LinkedIn and Instagram, and highlighted stronger reach for Reels and higher engagement for carousel posts on Instagram and LinkedIn.
ChatGPT Drops Native Checkout Plans
OpenAI has scaled back plans to enable native Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT, shifting purchases to retailer apps connected to the platform after finding users research products in ChatGPT but complete transactions elsewhere. The company will now focus on improving product search and discovery within ChatGPT while continuing to work with Stripe on its Agentic Commerce Protocol to support app-based transactions. Only a small number of merchants had adopted native checkout, and Shopify reported limited AI commerce usage among its sellers. Infrastructure challenges and consumer trust in established payment systems have slowed adoption, raising questions about whether ChatGPT will monetize shopping discovery through advertising instead of transactions.
https://searchengineland.com/chatgpt-instant-checkout-plan-change-471033
Criteo Brings Ads to ChatGPT
Criteo has partnered with OpenAI to sell ads within ChatGPT, becoming the first adtech company to integrate into the chatbot’s new advertising pilot. The move follows OpenAI’s January announcement that ads would be tested in ChatGPT’s Free and Go tiers, with agencies such as Dentsu, Omnicom, and WPP participating. Criteo said the integration will roll out in the coming weeks and cited data from 500 U.S. retailers showing shoppers are 1.5 times more likely to purchase when referred from a chatbot. Ads first appeared in ChatGPT on Feb. 9, and OpenAI requires a minimum $200,000 commitment from brands to test placements.
https://www.adweek.com/commerce/advertisers-will-soon-be-able-to-buy-chatgpt-ads-through-criteo/
Netflix Expands Ad Targeting With Amazon
Netflix is expanding its advertising capabilities by deepening integrations with Amazon and Yahoo demand-side platforms and introducing a new Conversion API tool, aiming to strengthen targeting and measurement ahead of the upfronts season. Starting in Q2, U.S. advertisers can access Amazon Audiences data drawn from extensive first-party shopping, streaming and browsing signals, along with Yahoo’s deterministic audience segments based on interest, behavior and purchase data. The new Conversion API provides real-time insights for campaign optimization and has shown strong early results in pilot tests. The upgrades bolster Netflix’s in-house Ads Suite as the company seeks to accelerate growth beyond the $1.5 billion in ad revenue generated last year.
Meta Narrows Click Attribution Rules
Meta has updated its ad measurement framework to narrow click-through attribution so that only link clicks count toward website and in-store conversions, excluding likes, shares and other interactions. The change aims to reduce reporting discrepancies between Meta Ads Manager and third-party analytics tools and better align with search-style attribution models. Conversions from non-link interactions will now fall under “engage-through attribution,” and the engaged-view window for video ads will shrink from 10 seconds to five seconds, reflecting faster conversion behavior on formats like Reels. Rolling out later this month, the update seeks to clarify performance reporting while still capturing the incremental value of social engagement.
https://searchengineland.com/meta-introduces-click-and-engage-through-attribution-updates-470629
OpenAI Launches GPT-5.4
OpenAI has launched GPT-5.4, introducing standard, Pro and Thinking versions of its latest foundation model aimed at professional work. The API supports context windows up to 1 million tokens and improved token efficiency, while benchmark tests show record scores in computer-use and knowledge-work evaluations, including an 83% result on GDPval. OpenAI reports the model is 33% less likely to make individual factual errors than GPT-5.2. The company also unveiled a Tool Search system to streamline tool calling and reduce token use, and added new safety evaluations indicating lower risks of deceptive chain-of-thought reasoning in the Thinking version.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/05/openai-launches-gpt-5-4-with-pro-and-thinking-versions/
IAB Updates Multi-State Privacy Agreement
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has announced major updates to its Multi-State Privacy Agreement (MSPA), marking the most significant changes since 2023 to help advertisers navigate expanding U.S. state privacy enforcement. The revised framework streamlines compliance, reduces contracting friction and clarifies that ad tech partners are generally treated as service providers when processing personal data, with certain exceptions under California law. It also simplifies opt-out operations and preserves flexibility for targeted advertising where legally required. Prompted in part by recent enforcement actions in California, the updates aim to create a consistent compliance baseline across the digital advertising ecosystem and accelerate speed to market for participating companies.
https://www.iab.com/news/iab-announces-updates-to-multi-state-privacy-agreement/
Onetag Bets on Interactive Ad Formats
Onetag has acquired Italian creative ad tech startup Aryel to strengthen its sell-side curation platform and differentiate itself in a crowded SSP market. The deal adds tools for adapting and testing interactive ad formats, including shoppable and camera-enabled experiences within standard IAB units, and will help power an upcoming AI-based deal optimization engine. Aryel’s 45 employees, including its co-founders, are joining Onetag, bringing total net revenue to $70 million based on last year’s figures. The companies had partnered for 18 months prior to the acquisition. Onetag plans to expand into CTV and grow its U.S. presence while leveraging Aryel’s brand relationships to attract more buy-side clients.
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