On October 8, 2026, Jefferies reported what happened when it pointed Meta's Muse shopping agent at several hundred leading US shopping and travel websites. Roughly a third of the sites denied it access, and another third challenged or limited it. The rest let it through. Jefferies said new restrictions were appearing almost daily across the sites it tested.
A day later, on October 9, New Street Research analyst Dan Salmon reported that ChatGPT Ads had passed 60,000 advertisers, a figure shown on a slide at Advertising Week New York. OpenAI had cited more than 20,000 on August 31. Salmon wrote that OpenAI is well on its way to passing 100,000 advertisers by the end of the year.
Those two reports describe two separate ways a brand now reaches an AI shopper. The paid route is growing quickly. The organic route depends on whether the assistant can reach your product pages in the first place.
Jefferies named website access as an increasingly important bottleneck for AI shopping agents. Meta has responded with sanctioned connectors to Walmart, Best Buy, Wayfair, Sephora and Dick's Sporting Goods, and Jefferies notes that many of those integrations are early or not yet live. An agent that can open your product pages, or reach your catalog through a connector, can describe your products when a shopper asks.
The paid route is filling up. Commentary from tipsheet.ai noted that OpenAI's measurement and bidding tools suggest it is competing for Meta's performance budgets.
The two routes call for different checks, and they usually belong to different teams. For the organic route, ask the assistants your customers use about a product you sell and see whether the answer can state its price, availability and fit from your own pages. For the paid route, run a small ChatGPT Ads test against one specific buying need, measured against your other acquisition channels, before holiday budgets are locked.
Common questions
What did Jefferies find when it tested Meta's Muse agent?
Across several hundred leading US shopping and travel websites, roughly a third blocked Muse and another third challenged or limited it. The remaining sites let it through. Jefferies said new restrictions were appearing almost daily.
How fast is ChatGPT Ads growing?
ChatGPT Ads passed 60,000 advertisers by October 9, 2026, up from more than 20,000 on August 31, according to figures cited by New Street Research's Dan Salmon. He expects OpenAI to pass 100,000 advertisers by the end of 2026.
Which merchants have sanctioned connectors with Meta's Muse?
Walmart, Best Buy, Wayfair, Sephora and Dick's Sporting Goods, according to the Jefferies report. Many of those integrations are early or not yet live.