• Amazon (AMZN) is developing tools to let other apps and platforms sell advertisements within chatbot interfaces, building on its own AI advertising capabilities like Creative Agent.
  • The move comes amid rapid industry adoption of AI-powered advertising in conversational AI, with global digital ad spend reaching $740 billion in 2025.
  • Amazon's advertising revenue has grown significantly with AI integration, though the company faces challenges around user experience and regulatory scrutiny.

Amazon is exploring ways to enable other applications and platforms to sell advertisements within chatbot interfaces, according to people familiar with the matter. This initiative builds on the company's existing AI advertising tools, including Creative Agent, which launched in the US in November 2025 and expanded to the UK in early 2026. The broader industry is shifting toward AI-powered advertising in conversational AI, with Amazon positioning itself to capitalize on this trend.

Efforts to expand Amazon's advertising ecosystem have accelerated in recent months, with the company reportedly in discussions with potential partners about integrating its technology. One person briefed on the plans described it as "a natural extension" of Amazon's existing advertising business, which generated over $50 billion annually in 2025. The company's market capitalization stands at over $2 trillion as of late 2025, with advertising contributing significantly to its $638 billion in annual revenue.

Without a broader platform strategy, Amazon risks falling behind competitors in the rapidly evolving AI advertising space. The company has been investing heavily in AI initiatives, with increased capital expenditures noted in recent financial reports. Amazon reported $76.5 billion in trailing 12-month profit through early 2026, though exact first-quarter 2026 advertising figures are pending. CEO Andy Jassy has emphasized AI as a priority, with expansions like Alexa+ utilizing Amazon Nova and Anthropic (ANTH) models.

Industry trends show AI shopping assistants like Amazon's Rufus driving substantial growth, with some reports indicating 805% year-over-year traffic increases to retail sites and conversion boosts of 38%. This technology democratizes video advertising for small and medium businesses, reducing costs that were previously prohibitive for all but the largest brands. Creative Agent, which generates ad content automatically, is now available UK-wide at no extra cost, according to company statements.

Regulatory considerations loom over these developments. The EU AI Act requires disclosure of sponsored content in large language models, while data privacy laws like GDPR could limit cross-border ad targeting. OpenAI (OPEN) has been testing ads in ChatGPT's Free and Go tiers since January 2026 through a partnership with Criteo (CRTO), signaling some regulatory tolerance for pilot programs in the U.S. Amazon did not respond to requests for comment on how it plans to address these compliance issues.

Some industry observers express concern about user experience. "There's a real risk of intrusive 'embedded ads' being perceived as manipulative or biased," said one advertising executive who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. This could potentially erode trust in chatbots just as they're gaining mainstream adoption. Perplexity, another AI company, paused its 2025 ad tests over revenue and measurement issues, highlighting the challenges in this emerging space.

Looking ahead, experts predict native, conversational advertisements—such as sponsored questions within chatbot interactions—could become standard. Amazon's potential third-party ad sales might integrate with AWS or through partnerships, similar to the Criteo-OpenAI deal that shows ecosystem integration is already underway. Long-term projections suggest significant revenue potential, with OpenAI estimating $46 billion from nonpaying users by 2030 through ads and commissions.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the timing of Creative Agent's UK expansion; it occurred in early 2026, not late 2025.