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OpenAI’s Partners With Smartly to Advance Ad Ambitions, Pushes ChatGPT Toward Conversational Commerce

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

OpenAI’s advertising business is moving from cautious experiment to strategic expansion, with the company signing adtech firm Smartly as a key partner in what could become one of the most consequential shifts in the digital media industry.

The deal marks a deeper push into monetization for ChatGPT, as OpenAI looks to transform its vast free-user base into a scalable advertising business without undermining the trust that underpins its product. At the heart of the partnership is a simple but commercially significant objective to make ads inside ChatGPT feel less like interruptions and more like extensions of the conversation.

Smartly, the 13-year-old advertising technology company led by industry veteran Laura Desmond, will initially help brands optimize how sponsored placements appear to users in real time, adjusting messaging and performance as campaigns run.

That first phase, however, is only the beginning. The broader ambition is to build fully conversational ad formats that mirror the ChatGPT interface itself, allowing brands to engage users in a question-and-answer flow designed to guide discovery and conversion.

This is a material departure from traditional digital advertising. Instead of static display units or sponsored search links, the future model being tested points toward interactive brand conversations, where a retailer, travel company, or entertainment brand can respond dynamically to user intent.

In practical terms, a consumer searching for holiday destinations could be guided by a branded assistant toward flights and hotels, while a shopper researching skincare products could be led through personalized recommendations inside a dialogue window.

Laura Desmond described the commercial logic behind the shift.

“The opportunity with conversational advertising is you can do more follow-ups, and you can ask again,” she said.

“The experience for people will get way more relevant, way more personal, and hopefully be seen as a much better value exchange. All of the research indicates people want to be known. Don’t serve me shoes I bought three weeks ago. Don’t serve me ads that aren’t relevant.”

The company’s U.S. advertising pilot has already crossed $100 million in annualized revenue within just six weeks of launch, according to Reuters, underscoring the speed with which advertiser demand is building. More than 600 advertisers are now participating, with a self-serve platform due to launch this month.

That pace of early monetization suggests that ChatGPT is rapidly emerging as a new layer of commercial discovery, one that could challenge parts of the digital advertising ecosystems long dominated by Google and Meta Platforms.

For nearly two decades, digital advertising has revolved around search queries, social feeds, and e-commerce marketplaces. ChatGPT introduces a different form of intent, one based not on keywords or scrolling behavior but on active conversation.

That means advertisers are no longer simply buying impressions; they are buying context. A user asking for “the best running shoes for marathon training under $150” presents a far more commercially valuable signal than a conventional search phrase, because the request contains purpose, urgency, and constraints.

This is precisely why the Smartly partnership matters.

The company has built its reputation on helping major clients such as Spotify and Uber adjust campaigns in real time across platforms. Bringing that capability into ChatGPT gives OpenAI an early operational framework as it builds out its own advertising stack.

Industry sources suggest the company is also moving steadily toward greater control over that stack, including campaign tools, ad measurement, and inventory management.

However, unlike search engines, ChatGPT’s interface offers limited screen real estate, and the company has been careful not to embed ads directly into its organic responses.

That separation is central to preserving user confidence. OpenAI has repeatedly stressed that sponsored placements are clearly labelled, separate from answers, and do not influence outputs. User conversations are not shared with advertisers, and ads are restricted around sensitive topics such as politics and health.

This is where the competitive contrast becomes particularly interesting. Anthropic has explicitly rejected advertising in its Claude chatbot, arguing that it could compromise its mission and trust architecture.

OpenAI, by contrast, appears to be betting that trust and advertising can coexist, provided the user experience remains carefully managed. That balancing act may define the next stage of the AI business model.

Subscriptions and enterprise contracts remain major revenue streams, but advertising offers something larger: access to hundreds of millions of non-paying users. Recent estimates suggest ChatGPT now serves roughly 900 million users globally, the vast majority of whom are on free tiers.

For a company facing massive compute and infrastructure costs, monetizing that audience is seen as a viable revenue source.

However, the move is mired in concern about whether conversational advertising can scale without feeling invasive. Some believe that if OpenAI gets the experience right, it could create an entirely new category of intent-driven media. But if it gets it wrong, it risks alienating the very users that made ChatGPT a mass-market product.

Iran Targets U.S. Tech Giants in Middle East with Fresh Threats, Signaling Wider Risks Beyond Energy Markets

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps escalated its rhetoric Tuesday by naming 18 major American technology and defense companies as “legitimate targets” for retaliation in the ongoing war with the U.S. and Israel.

The threat marks the latest attempt to broaden the conflict beyond traditional battlefields and energy infrastructure.

In a Telegram post on an IRGC-affiliated channel, the group warned that attacks on the listed firms would commence at 8 p.m. Tehran time Wednesday (12:30 p.m. EDT), urging employees to evacuate workplaces immediately “to protect their lives.” The message carried a blunt vow: “From now on, for every assassination, an American company will be destroyed.”

The roster reads like a who’s-who of the global tech and finance elite: Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, IBM, Dell, Palantir, JP Morgan, Tesla, GE, Boeing, and UAE-based AI developer G42, along with smaller defense-intelligence player Spire Solutions.

The threat underscores a dangerous new dimension given how the Iranian military has targeted the infrastructure of U.S. allies in the Gulf, including Qatar and the UAE.

The five-week-old conflict, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28, is no longer confined to energy chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz. It is now bleeding into the digital economy and commercial infrastructure that powers everything from AI training to cloud computing and global supply chains.

This is not entirely new ground for Tehran. Earlier this month, Iranian forces struck Amazon Web Services data centers in the region, triggering outages for apps and digital services across the UAE. The latest warning appears designed to raise the stakes, forcing Western companies with heavy regional footprints to divert resources, heighten security, and potentially rethink exposure in a part of the world that has become a magnet for hyperscale AI investment.

Cheap energy, abundant land, and supportive Gulf governments have drawn billions from Silicon Valley into the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar have positioned themselves as alternative hubs for data centers and AI infrastructure, offering power costs far below those in the U.S. or Europe.

Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and others have poured money into local partnerships and facilities to serve both regional demand and global back-end computing needs. Disrupting that presence, even through credible threats, carries ripple effects far beyond the immediate theater.

Intel responded quickly, emphasizing that “the safety and wellbeing of our team is our number one priority.” The company said it was taking steps to protect workers and facilities while monitoring developments. Microsoft, Google, and JP Morgan declined to comment. The rest of the listed firms had not issued public statements by early Wednesday.

However, the broader backdrop remains grim. More than 3,000 drones and missiles have been launched at targets in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait since late February, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Iranian casualties exceed 3,400, while the U.S. has lost 13 service members. President Donald Trump, speaking Tuesday, said he expected American forces to leave Iran “in two or three weeks” and is scheduled to address the nation on the war Wednesday night.

For the tech sector, the implications are expected to be far-reaching. Even if the threats amount to little more than psychological warfare, they are expected to undermine the Middle East’s emerging role as an AI and cloud hub. Insurance premiums for regional operations could rise, cybersecurity budgets will likely swell, and some firms may quietly accelerate contingency plans to shift workloads elsewhere.

The episode also underlines Iran’s evolving strategy to internationalize the pain. By targeting the commercial crown jewels of the U.S. economy, the very companies driving the AI revolution, Tehran aims to create pressure points that go well beyond oil prices and tanker traffic.

Energy markets have borne the brunt so far, but the IRGC’s move signals that other pillars of global commerce are now in play.

With threats still flying from both sides, the conflict is likely not coming to an end soon. Wednesday’s deadline and Trump’s evening address will offer the next test of just how far that escalation might go.

Fraud Emerges As a Leading Complaint Among Digital Financial Service Users Worldwide

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Fraud has emerged as one of the most widespread consumer complaints facing digital financial service providers globally, according to GSMA “The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026”. With fraud-related losses estimated at nearly $500 billion worldwide, the scale of the challenge is immense.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the situation is particularly concerning, as more than 30% of adults are believed to have received scam or online extortion messages. On a broader scale, cybercrime is projected to cost the global economy at least $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, equivalent to approximately $333,000 per minute.

Within the mobile money ecosystem, fraud manifests in multiple forms. The most prevalent typologies include impersonation, insider fraud, agent fraud, and cyber fraud. Identity fraud ranks as the most common, affecting about 90% of cases, followed closely by social engineering schemes at 88%.

Insider fraud accounts for 87%, while SIM swap fraud represents 79%, and cyber fraud stands at 60%. These figures highlight the increasingly sophisticated and diverse nature of threats facing digital financial systems.

AI and Machine Learning as Defensive Tools

To address rising fraud risks and strengthen consumer trust, mobile money providers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). These technologies enable the analysis of vast datasets to detect subtle anomalies that may indicate fraudulent activity.

For instance, M-PESA in Kenya has implemented AI-driven systems capable of identifying unusual transaction patterns. When a user initiates a transaction that deviates from their typical behavior, the system flags it for further review.

Similarly, Airtel Money Rwanda leverages machine learning algorithms trained on historical fraud data to predict and prevent future incidents. This approach allows for real-time transaction monitoring, enabling suspicious activities to be detected and addressed before financial harm occurs.

Awareness and Capacity Building

Beyond technological interventions, mobile money providers are also investing in awareness and education initiatives. These efforts aim to empower users, agents, and employees with the knowledge required to identify and avoid fraudulent schemes.

A notable example is MTN MoMo in Ghana, which launched the “Shine Your Eye” campaign in 2025. This initiative focuses on educating customers about common fraud tactics and encouraging vigilance in digital transactions. Training programs for agents and employees further strengthen the ecosystem by reducing vulnerabilities that fraudsters often exploit.

Regulatory Measures and Policy Interventions

Regulators are also playing a critical role in combating fraud through targeted policies and directives. In August 2025, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a directive mandating the geotagging of all point-of-sale (PoS) terminals within 60 days.

This measure aims to curb fraud by eliminating the use of cloned or unauthorized terminals while enhancing the traceability of transactions in real time.

In addition to such measures, there is a growing emphasis on regulatory innovation. Initiatives such as regulatory sandboxes provide controlled environments where new fraud prevention solutions can be tested before full-scale deployment. These frameworks encourage innovation while maintaining oversight and consumer protection.

Cross-border collaboration is another critical strategy. As fraud increasingly transcends national boundaries, information sharing and coordinated responses are essential. Platforms like FRONTIER+ facilitate real-time intelligence exchange, enabling stakeholders to respond more effectively to emerging threats despite fragmented legal and regulatory environments.

Outlook

The fight against fraud in digital financial services will require a multi-layered and collaborative approach. As fraudsters continue to evolve their tactics, the integration of advanced technologies such as AI and ML will become even more critical. However, technology alone will not suffice.

Sustained investment in consumer education, stronger regulatory frameworks, and deeper collaboration between providers and regulators will be essential to building resilient financial ecosystems.

Women Increasingly Left Behind as Mobile Money Adoption Accelerates Globally- GSMA Report

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Mobile money adoption continues to accelerate globally, with registered accounts surpassing 2.3 billion in 2025. Yet, beneath this impressive growth lies a widening gender gap that threatens to undermine the broader promise of financial inclusion.

According to analysis by GSMA “The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026″, women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) were 36% less likely than men to own a mobile money account in 2024, an increase from 30% in 2021.

This growing disparity is largely driven by the faster rate at which men are adopting mobile money services compared to women.

Structural Barriers Limiting Women’s Adoption

The gap is not incidental but rooted in a range of interrelated barriers that disproportionately affect women. These include limited awareness of mobile money services, lower perceived relevance, gaps in digital literacy and skills, and restrictive social norms. In many markets, mobile phone ownership among women still lags behind that of men, further compounding the challenge.

Despite these constraints, the benefits of mobile money for women are substantial. Access to such services enhances financial security, enables better household and business management, and builds resilience against economic and environmental shocks.

It also facilitates access to social transfers, strengthens economic identity, and improves adaptability to climate-related risks. Consequently, the persistent gender gap represents not only a social challenge but also a missed commercial opportunity for service providers.

Drawing on data from GSMA’s annual face-to-face consumer survey across ten countries in Africa and Asia—including Nigeria, Kenya, India, and Pakistan- the findings reveal a complex picture across the mobile money user journey from mobile ownership and awareness to account usage.

Mobile phone ownership, the first critical step, shows encouraging progress. In countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, ownership levels between men and women are nearly equal. However, significant gaps persist in markets like Ethiopia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India, where a notable proportion of women still lack access to mobile devices.

Awareness of mobile money services has improved in several countries, including Nigeria and Bangladesh, with women showing faster growth rates than men in some cases. Still, awareness gaps remain in most markets, particularly in India and Ethiopia. Even where awareness is high, it does not always translate into account ownership.

A considerable gender gap in mobile money account ownership persists in seven out of the ten surveyed countries. Pakistan records the highest disparity at 63%, while Ethiopia follows with a 56% gap. Encouragingly, Nigeria has seen notable improvement, with the gender gap narrowing significantly to 25% in 2025, and nearly half of women now owning accounts.

However, ownership alone does not equate to active usage. Across most countries, women are less likely than men to use their accounts regularly or engage in diverse transactions. This trend is evident even in more mature markets like Ghana and Kenya, where usage gaps are emerging despite parity in ownership.

Barriers to Deeper Engagement

Among individuals already aware of mobile money, the most commonly cited barriers to account ownership include a perceived lack of relevance, often driven by a preference for cash and insufficient knowledge or skills. These challenges are more pronounced among women, particularly in areas related to digital literacy and handset usage.

Cultural and social factors also play a role. In countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, family disapproval significantly impacts women’s ability to adopt mobile money. Additionally, issues such as literacy gaps and limited access to SIM cards or mobile devices further hinder progress.

Outlook

Addressing the gender gap in mobile money requires targeted interventions across every stage of the user journey. Expanding mobile ownership among women, increasing awareness through tailored outreach, and improving digital literacy are critical steps. Equally important is addressing deep-rooted social norms that limit women’s financial participation.

For policymakers, financial service providers, and development organizations, the path forward lies in designing inclusive solutions that recognize and respond to the unique challenges faced by women. Closing this gap is not only essential for advancing gender equality but also for unlocking significant economic value.

As mobile money continues to reshape financial ecosystems across emerging markets, ensuring that women are not left behind will be key to achieving truly inclusive digital economies.

April Oil Shock Set to Deepen as IEA Warns of Historic Supply Crisis

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

The global energy crisis triggered by the Iran war is poised to worsen sharply in April, with the International Energy Agency warning that the supply shortfall next month could be twice as severe as in March.

The energy crisis has raised the risk of fresh inflation shocks, slower economic growth, and possible fuel rationing across vulnerable economies.

The warning from IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol is among the starkest assessments yet of the market fallout from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical oil transit chokepoint. Speaking on the In Good Company podcast, Birol said March’s disruption had been partially masked by cargoes that had already cleared Hormuz before hostilities erupted.

Those barrels are still reaching ports and refiners. But April will be different.

“The loss of oil in April will be twice the loss of oil in March,” he said, adding that the impact would be amplified by disruptions to LNG flows and refined products.

That observation is critical to understanding why markets may be underestimating the scale of the coming shock. March’s flows benefited from pipeline effects: oil and gas cargoes already at sea continued to arrive, temporarily cushioning the market. In April, that buffer largely disappears, meaning refiners in Asia and Europe are likely to confront the full force of the supply squeeze.

According to the IEA, more than 12 million barrels per day of oil supply have already been lost, a level Birol said exceeds the combined impact of the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979, as well as the gas disruptions that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

For context, each of the 1970s oil crises removed about 5 million barrels per day from the global market. This time, the world is dealing with more than that — and simultaneously facing LNG shortages, jet fuel constraints, and tightening diesel markets. That is why the IEA chief described the present disruption as potentially the biggest energy crisis in history.

The most immediate pressure point is refined products. Birol said shortages in jet fuel and diesel are already evident in Asia and are expected to spill into Europe by late April or early May. This matters because diesel is the backbone of freight, manufacturing, agriculture, and power backup systems in many economies.

A shortage here rapidly feeds through to food prices, logistics costs, and industrial output, making the inflationary implications significant.

Higher crude prices have already pushed U.S. gasoline prices above $4 per gallon, while Brent crude recorded a historic monthly surge in March before easing slightly. The knock-on effects are likely to be felt most acutely in emerging markets, where fuel imports account for a large share of trade balances and household budgets.

Birol explicitly warned that the crisis could cut economic growth in many countries, with emerging economies facing the greatest risk of dislocation. This is especially relevant for countries in Asia and Africa that rely heavily on imported fuel and LNG for power generation, transportation, and cooking gas.

The IEA is now openly considering another strategic stock release. Earlier this month, its 32 member states agreed to a record 400 million-barrel emergency release, the largest coordinated drawdown in the agency’s history.

But Birol was careful to frame that as only a temporary pain reliever.

“This is only helping to reduce the pain, it will not be a cure,” he said, making clear that the only lasting solution is the reopening of Hormuz.

That assessment is reinforced by fresh U.S. data.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude production in January fell by 410,000 barrels per day, the sharpest monthly drop in two years, partly due to severe winter storms. At the same time, distillate demand surged as colder weather boosted heating and power generation needs.

This has left diesel inventories tighter than usual, just as the global market enters a war-driven supply crunch. The consequence is a market that is increasingly vulnerable not only to crude shortages but to a squeeze in refined fuels, which tends to hit consumers and industry faster than upstream disruptions.

The bigger story is that the world is moving from an oil price shock to a broader supply-chain and growth shock. This is no longer simply about crude prices rising on geopolitical fears. It is about physical shortages of energy products, higher transport and manufacturing costs, pressure on central banks, and the growing possibility that governments may be forced into demand-side measures such as reduced speed limits, remote work directives, and fuel rationing.

If April unfolds as the IEA now expects, analysts expect the economic consequences to extend far beyond energy markets.

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