From September 15 to 17, 2026, three platforms opened new places for ad budgets at once. OpenAI updated ads in ChatGPT and started testing Sponsored Agents. Telegram began showing ads inside bots. Pinterest started selling placements in visual search. Meanwhile, Google and Facebook keep tightening their gambling rules. So, predictably, affiliates are asking whether they can enter the new ad accounts with casino offers.
At CPAgetti, we looked into all three launches. We explained how they work, what the platforms’ policies say about gambling, and which affiliates should try them right now.
ChatGPT Ads
What launched
On September 16, OpenAI rolled out a major update to its ad account:
- Sponsored Agents. A user clicks an ad and lands in a separate, labeled conversation with a brand’s agent. This conversation doesn’t mix with the main chat or with ChatGPT’s own answers. The format is currently in closed alpha in the US. Early access applications are not being accepted.
- Building campaigns with prompts. With the Ads Manager plugin in ChatGPT Work, you can create a campaign, edit it, and view stats in plain language.
- AI suggests copy and images when you create an ad.
- Conversation adaptation. If you enable it manually, the platform adapts headlines and descriptions to the context of the conversation and translates them into the user’s language.
- Integrations with HubSpot and Shopify.
How it works
- GEOs. The pilot started in the US on February 9. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea were added later. Since August 31, self-serve has been available in 31 European countries.
- Pricing models: CPM, CPC, and conversion optimization such as oCPC and oCPM. Once a campaign is created, its goal and pricing model stay the same. To choose a different one, you need to create a new campaign.
- Targeting across five platforms: Android app and web, iOS app and web, desktop.
- Audience. Ads are shown only to users on the Free and Go plans. Plus, Pro, and business plan subscribers don’t see them.
- Europe. There’s no personalization in the EEA and Switzerland yet. Custom audiences work poorly there.
What about gambling
In OpenAI’s ad policies, gambling is classified as a regulated product. At the start of the program, gambling was immediately added to the list of prohibited categories. Moderation is mostly manual. The platform is new and acts cautiously. So promoting gambling there is pointless.
Who should test it
Those with a whitehat vertical: online stores, services, apps.
For those who want to try it carefully. Separate campaigns by platform. Decide in advance what you’ll optimize for: clicks (oCPC) or impressions (oCPM).
If you ever get access to Sponsored Agents, prepare a product FAQ in advance with 20 or 30 real user questions. The agent will answer based on these questions.
Telegram Ads in Bots
What launched
Since September 15, Telegram Ads has offered the Banner in Bot format. Ads now run inside bots with more than 1,000 monthly users. There’s no official announcement from Telegram. The terms are described only by official resellers. At the same time, the ad account gained optimization for actions inside Mini Apps. The system now sees what the user did after the click.
How it works
- Creative: text up to 160 characters, a logo, and custom emoji. Photos and videos can’t be used.
- Targeting. You can’t choose a specific bot. Impressions are tied to demographics, channel subscriptions, interests from external segments, and your own phone number database.
- Pricing: CPM auction. The minimum bid matches the Target Users rate.
- Links can only point inside Telegram, for example, to channels and bots. You can’t link to external websites.
What about gambling
There’s no outright ban.
Who should test it
Of the three new launches, this is the most convenient for affiliates — not as a source of direct traffic, but as a way to grow your Telegram audience. A channel or bot with sports analytics and news is an asset that won’t disappear along with an ad account. Keep in mind that both the channel itself and the ads must pass Telegram moderation.
What to do before launch:
- Prepare 3–5 text variations of 160 characters each. After 24–48 hours, turn off the ones with the lowest CTR.
- Check whether the bot can handle the load and whether it has a welcome sequence. A cold user who comes from a banner without warm-up leaves quickly.
- Calculate cost per subscriber with retention factored in from the start, not just based on the subscription itself.
Pinterest Visual Search Ads
What launched
On September 17, at the Pinterest Presents summit, the platform introduced Visual Search Ads — paid placements in visual search results and in pin close-up. In the coming weeks, the format will roll out in beta to eligible advertisers in all of Pinterest’s ad markets.
Pinterest also added:
- Priority Products in Performance+, to manually select products for promotion;
- self-serve A/B tests for creatives, targeting, and settings;
- an app install objective in global beta.
- How it works
- Volume: more than 80 billion searches per month. Most of them are visual. More than half are commercial.
- Compatibility with Performance+. According to third-party guides, participation may require an active Performance+ campaign with a connected product catalog.
- Pinterest has not yet disclosed the pricing model or benchmarks.
What about gambling
The new format is better suited for physical products and beauty.
Who should test it
Those working with apps should take note of the new app install objective.
Bottom line
ChatGPT – the most promising new source in terms of volume. It’s useful if you have a whitehat vertical and a test budget for the US or Europe.
Telegram ads in bots – help gambling grow its Telegram audience. You need short copy and internal links only. It uses a CPM auction.
Pinterest Visual Search Ads – a fit for physical products and e-com.
Don’t abandon working setups for the sake of new ad accounts. Test them on a small, separate budget. Keep most of your budget where the economics are already clear.
Want to know which offers and GEOs are consistently delivering results right now? Message our managers.
