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Sponsored Prompts is an ad format that helps marketplaces monetize chatbot conversations by adding sponsored product tiles to chatbot responses. Marketplace chatbots are now a major product discovery surface. Shoppers use them for high-intent questions like gift ideas, replacements, and product comparisons. Sponsored Prompts turns those moments into auction-eligible inventory while keeping recommendations useful and relevant.

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Why It Matters

  • Monetizes chatbot discovery
  • Preserves shopper trust with blended sponsored and organic recommendations
  • Captures intent semantically, not only through strict keyword overlap
  • Uses existing sponsored listings setup and operations

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What Sponsored Prompts Does

When a shopper asks a product question in a chatbot connected to Topsort MCP, Topsort evaluates the prompt against active campaigns using semantic matching. When a marketplace connects its chatbot to Topsort’s Sponsored Prompt server, Topsort returns products when users query for them. If the user query matches eligible sponsored products, sponsored tiles are returned first. Otherwise, Topsort returns organic recommendations. This creates value for all sides:
  • Shoppers get useful recommendations
  • Advertisers reach high-intent users
  • Marketplaces monetize conversational discovery

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How It Works

  1. Marketplace enables Conversational Prompts in Topsort UI
  2. Marketplace creates Sponsored Prompt campaigns with prompts, products, targeting, and timing
  3. Chatbot sends shopper prompts through Topsort MCP
  4. Topsort semantically matches prompt intent to active campaigns
  5. If a query matches eligible sponsored products, Topsort returns sponsored tiles first and then organic tiles; otherwise, it returns organic recommendations

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Semantic Matching Example

A campaign targeting sports watch can match prompts like:
  • “Help me find a watch for running”
  • “I need a fitness watch under 60”
  • “Can you recommend a workout watch?”

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Where Are Metrics Reported?

Dedicated Sponsored Prompts UI reporting is on the roadmap. In the meantime, teams can request ad hoc reporting or use their data room exports.

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Availability

Sponsored Prompts is available now for all Topsort customers. For setup and API integration details, see Setup and Integration. For setup steps, see Create Sponsored Prompts Campaign.