Big shift in the ad world this month: OpenAI has officially opened ChatGPT Ads to U.S. advertisers through their new self-serve Ads Manager Beta. For the first time, brands can place ads directly inside ChatGPT conversations.
We're diving in head-first — building test campaigns, learning the platform, documenting what works — so when the time comes to add this to your marketing mix, we'll know exactly how to do it well.
Where & Who: Ads currently appear below relevant ChatGPT conversations, placed when the system thinks they fit what someone is asking about.
Who sees them right now:
A short, helpful description that matches what the user is exploring or trying to decide.
Advertiser name · favicon · title · copy · image · landing page.
Pricing runs on a relevance-weighted, second-price auction — you don't pay your full max bid, you pay just enough to win. Billing is postpay (charged after delivery).
Free and Go users in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand who are 18 or older. Plus, Pro, and Business subscribers don't see ads at all — so you're reaching the broadest, most casual ChatGPT user base.
You provide context hints at the ad group level — descriptions of the topics, products, or questions where your offer fits. The system blends those with your landing page, headline, and copy to decide when to show your ad. They're guiding signals, not exact-match keywords like Google.
Not yet — and this matters for local businesses. Geographic targeting is currently country-level only: you can target the U.S. as a whole, but there's no state, city, DMA, or radius targeting available at launch. The workaround is using context hints, headlines, and landing pages that signal local intent (e.g. naming your city or neighborhood). State and DMA-level targeting are on the roadmap but not shipped. We'll let you know when they are.
Yes — and this is one of the bigger upgrades since the pilot. Reporting includes impressions, clicks, spend, CTR, average CPC, average CPM, and conversions. UTM parameters carry through to landing pages, so ChatGPT traffic shows up in GA4 and your usual analytics stack.
OpenAI's stated policy is that ads only appear next to chats deemed safe and appropriate, with sensitive contexts excluded. They've published ad policies governing this. We'll be watching delivery closely as part of our testing.
Honestly? Nobody knows yet. There are no industry benchmarks because the platform is too new. Results depend on objective, creative, landing page, and how well your ad fits the conversation context. Early-mover learning is the real prize right now.
Modest, intentional, and structured for learning. Enough to deliver and generate signal — small enough that you're testing, not betting. We'll recommend specific ranges based on your objectives.
We're building a short list of clients who want to pilot ChatGPT Ads with us as soon as we open the service. No pressure, no commitment yet — just a way to flag your interest.
More soon, Amy & the Ameliorate team