ChatGPT Ads Are Here: What Marketers Need to Know

ChatGPT’s top brass previously refuted the idea of ads on the AI platform. Now, OpenAI has started testing ads on some free and paid subscription levels. Here’s what we know so far, and what it could mean for digital marketers.

ChatGPT was the first generative AI tool to reach mass adoption, “giving millions of people around the world a taste of what large language models are capable of,” according to data journalist Felix Richter.

As this platform and others like it continue to iterate and expand their user bases, competition increases.

Perhaps that’s why, despite OpenAI CEO Sam Altman previously saying that he’s resistant to ChatGPT ads, the platform now appears to be full steam ahead on digital advertising.

OpenAI officially began testing ads for logged-in U.S. ChatGPT users in February 2026. Sponsored placements are now starting to appear in limited tests on the Free and Go plans, marking OpenAI’s first major move into AI advertising.

To learn more about what to expect from ChatGPT’s ad offerings, we spoke with HawkSEM co-founder and CEO Sam Yadegar.

Read on to see what he has to say about what this new development means for marketers and how we can do our best to be prepared for what comes next.

What ChatGPT advertising looks like

“The internal projections [have shown] potential billion-dollar revenue from ‘free user monetization’,” says Yadegar.

Ads currently appear as clearly labeled sponsored placements below responses. At this time, they are not included directly in AI-generated answers.

Yadegar adds that serving ads on ChatGPT could certainly change how people interact with the platform. Considering the costs of running these AI models, Yadegar isn’t surprised that some form of monetization is being introduced.

OpenAI has stated that ads will be clearly labeled and only show when a brand’s “sponsored product or service is relevant to the conversation,” according to Search Engine Land.

Who can see ChatGPT ads

At this time, not all users are shown ads.

As of spring 2026, OpenAI says tests will only be for logged-in adult users on the Free and Go subscription tiers. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education tiers, as well as logged-out users, will not see ads.

More recently, the company has announced plans “to expand the ads pilot in ChatGPT in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea.”

This comes after seeing what they classify as encouraging results from initial testing in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

What ChatGPT ads cost

As far as pricing, OpenAI states that, for CPM campaigns, “the default max bid is $60 CPM.” They also advise a starting max bid of $3-$5 per click.

However, in our own personal experience running ads on the platform, the estimates are blanket. So, depending on your particular competitive landscape, the CPCs may be much higher in order to serve.

In spring 2026, some industry publications began rumbling about ad cost changes. Digiday reported that “the rate advertisers pay to reach every thousand [ChatGPT] users has fallen from $60 at launch nine weeks ago to as low as $25 now — and counting.”

There’s no minimum spend required to participate, but your account does need to meet eligibility requirements and complete account onboarding and verification.

How to prepare for AI platform ads

As this new advertising opportunity continues to develop, one of the main questions digital marketers have centers around how to best approach this nascent option.

According to Yadegar, “We should all be thinking about conversational marketing rather than just keywords. How would your brand sound in a natural conversation?”

For starters, dig into what your advertising options are, what campaigns will look like, what the parameters are, and how you’ll be charged.

While OpenAI hasn’t shared anything official about what campaign management will look like, some industry pros are offering a peek behind the curtain via their personal experience making ads on the platform.

Here’s what entrepreneur Juozas Kaziukėnas observed:

• Targeting is known as “context hints,” which offer guidance on when your ad should appear. You can describe the type of queries your ad will be most relevant to or share relevant keywords.
• Country-level targeting is the only other geographic targeting option.
• Reporting tracks impressions and clicks, with conversion tracking reportedly in the works
• There are three objective options for campaigns: reach, clicks, and conversions. Only reach (CPM) is available right now.
• Campaigns have daily budgets.
• Campaigns can be set with specific start and end dates.
• Ads contain a headline, a short description, and an optional 250×250 square image. No video ads.

Note: OpenAI says topics including health, mental health, and politics will not be eligible for advertising. The platform also doesn’t plan to serve ads to those identifying as minors or whom the platform has identified as such through age-prediction capabilities.

Expert tips for AI advertising

One mistake we often see is that companies will simply repackage campaigns for different platforms, rather than approaching each one individually.

But a strong Google Ads campaign won’t necessarily have the same success on a social media platform like Facebook Ads. The same goes for AI.

“Don’t assume your current strategies will just transfer over [to AI platforms],” Yadegar cautions. The strategies you currently use for PPC or social campaigns might not apply here at all. “We’re all figuring this out as we go.”

He suggests avoiding being too pushy or obviously promotional, similar to our advice for Reddit Ads. After all, people expect helpful responses from AI, not sales pitches.

Feeling overwhelmed by all the information above? Understandable! But the truth is, when it comes to ChatGPT ads, there’s a lot we don’t know.

Rest assured, we’ll be keeping a close eye on how OpenAI rolls out this initiative and what new information they release.

Breaking down ChatGPT and learning language models (LLMs)

ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot developed by the team at OpenAI. The platform leverages generative artificial intelligence to respond to prompts and questions. It’s powered by OpenAI’s exclusive GPT roster of gen AI (generative artificial intelligence) models.

GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, which “is basically a description of what the AI models do and how they work,” according to Zapier.

So, where does the LLM come into play? Well, LLMs are the AI systems put in place to generate prompt responses that have human-sounding text. As a result, it appears less like you’re getting answers from a bot.

The ways people are using ChatGPT and other AI agents are virtually endless. It can do everything from meal planning and travel itinerary creation to image generation and everything in between. Many use it in the same way they use Google Search or another search engine.

ChatGPT ads FAQ

What are the ChatGPT ad specs?

Here’s a breakdown:

Headline: 50 characters max (We recommend 25 characters or less)
Description copy: 100 characters max (Try under 60 characters to avoid truncating)
Image asset: 250×250 Square image
Destination URL: Click-through link (supports UTM tracking parameters)

What are ChatGPT ad spend minimums?

The self-serve ChatGPT Ads platform has no minimum spend requirement. Advertisers can run campaigns on a pay-as-you-go basis. However, OpenAI does enforce a minimum daily spend of $25 per campaign.

Advertisers can set custom max bids for their CPC campaigns. The platform recommends a starting max bid of $3-5 USD per click. For CPM campaigns, the default max bid is $60 CPM.

How does tracking work for ChatGPT ads?

According to OpenAI, “Ads Manager Beta reporting currently includes impressions, clicks, spend, click-through rate (CTR), average CPC, average CPM, and conversions.”

To measure conversions from ChatGPT Ads, you can set up conversion measurement in the beta version of Ads Manager.

Advertisers can also track traffic by adding static UTM parameters to landing page URLs.

The takeaway

ChatGPT advertising is now a reality. How it evolves and impacts user experience remains to be seen.

And while the current platform is simple in nature, there is no visibility or transparency into what your ads are matching to. Because of that, the best optimization is truly accomplished through testing — mainly the context hints, ad copy, and bids.

“OpenAI’s bold vision for ChatGPT seems poised for a familiar business model: ads that drive value for users as well as advertisers,” says Yadegar.

The AI community seems to value authenticity and valid responses, he adds. So, whatever digital advertising emerges will need to feel genuinely useful. It’s going to be interesting to watch how it all develops.

Want more help with your current (and future) digital marketing goals? We’re here to help.

This article has been updated and was originally published in July 2025.