Criteo's ChatGPT Ads Reached 89 Countries — So Why Is It Shrinking?
Updated: 2d
French ad-tech firm Criteo scaled ChatGPT advertising from 7 to 89 countries with 2,000+ brands on board — yet its Q3 net revenue still fell about 17% and it cut its full-year guidance for the second time, a sharp reminder that reach isn't revenue.
Criteo used its Q3 2026 results to trumpet the expansion of its OpenAI partnership: ChatGPT advertising is now live in 89 countries (up from 7) with more than 2,000 brands running campaigns, including names like Turkish Airlines. It's exactly the kind of buzzy 'new channel' headline the industry loves. The numbers underneath tell a more sobering story.
The channel grew; the business shrank
Criteo's net revenue fell roughly 17% to around $240m, net income dropped sharply, and it cut its full-year forecast for the second time — now guiding 2026 net revenue down 10 to 12% at constant currency. The drag came from budget cuts by big travel and fashion advertisers and lost retail-media contracts, with two clients alone costing around $20m in the quarter. The most hyped new placement in advertising scaled to 89 markets and still couldn't offset erosion in the core.
Our read: this is the clearest 'reach isn't revenue' case study of the year. A channel can be everywhere and still not move the P&L. For marketers it cuts two ways. First, AI-search advertising is now genuinely buyable at scale — worth a test budget. Second, Criteo's own results are the warning label: footprint is not performance, so measure incrementality, not how many countries a channel claims to cover.
What to do with this as a marketer
If you're tempted by ChatGPT or AI-search ad inventory — and you should be curious — ring-fence a small test budget and hold it to the same standard as any other channel: incremental sales, not impressions or 'we're in 89 markets'. Novelty and scale are easy to sell; incrementality is what pays the bills. Let the vendor chase footprint; you chase proof.
Quick FAQ
Can you really advertise inside ChatGPT now?
Criteo says its OpenAI partnership now supports advertising across 89 countries with 2,000+ brands, so AI-search ad inventory is increasingly buyable — but you should test it on measurable incremental sales, not reach.
Why did Criteo's revenue fall despite the expansion?
Its results point to budget cuts from large travel and fashion advertisers and lost retail-media contracts, which outweighed the new AI-search growth.
Here's the trap in every shiny new channel: it can be everywhere and still earn you nothing. Criteo put ads in 89 countries and its revenue still fell — that's the whole lesson. Be curious about AI-search ads, ring-fence a test budget, and judge it on incremental sales, not on how many flags the vendor can wave at you. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
A channel being 'everywhere' tells you nothing about whether it works. Test new AI-search inventory on incrementality, not footprint.
When you try a new ad channel, are you measuring real incremental sales — or just how impressive its reach sounds?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: PPC Land, Tech Coffee House, CB News.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
