Albertsons is piloting ads on ChatGPT ahead of Valentine’s Day as part of the OpenAI Ad Pilot Program, becoming the latest retailer to test marketing within a generative AI platform.
Under the program, ads from Albertsons Companies may appear when consumers enter prompts such as “best flowers for Valentine’s Day” or “chocolates and sweets as a gift.”
The ads will be clearly labeled and will not influence ChatGPT’s responses. Participating banners include Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme and Tom Thumb.
Users who click on an ad will be directed to a dedicated Valentine’s Day portal featuring deals, recipes and gift options such as flowers, chocolates and treats. Orders can be delivered in as little as 30 minutes through the company’s Flash fast-fulfillment service.
Other retailers testing ads in ChatGPT include Target and Williams-Sonoma, though neither is running a Valentine’s-specific campaign.
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Jennifer Saenz, chief commercial officer at Albertsons Cos., said the pilot offers an opportunity to connect with shoppers “at the right time” within digital experiences they already use.
As the ad program develops, the retailer’s Albertsons Media Collective retail media arm plans to offer brand partners targeted access to customers via ChatGPT.
The move builds on Albertsons’ broader AI strategy. The grocer recently launched an agentic AI shopping assistant powered by OpenAI models that can complete recurring shopping tasks, and earlier in 2025 introduced its Ask AI assistant featuring a Google Cloud Conversational Commerce agent.
The company says it aims to cut grocery shopping time from 46 minutes to as little as four minutes.
Based in Boise, Idaho, Albertsons operates 2,243 stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia under 22 banners, along with 1,708 pharmacies, 404 fuel centers, 22 distribution centers and 19 manufacturing facilities.
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