ChatGPT Ads: Complete Guide to Costs, Setup and Ad Copy

The complete guide to ChatGPT Ads: how they work, what they cost, where they're available, how they compare with Google Ads, a step-by-step first campaign and how to write the ad, based on OpenAI's official docs.

By Hadrien Bonato-Pape · Published on September 27, 2026 · Strategy

Updated October 13, 2026.

ChatGPT Ads are the ads OpenAI shows below ChatGPT's answers to people on the Free and Go plans. Businesses buy them per click (CPC), per thousand impressions (CPM) or with conversion optimization, through a tool called Ads Manager. Instead of buying keywords, you describe your offer, and OpenAI's system decides when it's relevant to the conversation. Self-serve buying opened in the US in May 2026 and in 31 European markets on August 31, 2026.

This guide brings together everything you need to decide and get started: where ads show up, who sees them, how they're picked, what they cost, who can buy them, how they differ from Google Ads, how to open an account and launch a first campaign, how to write the ad and how to measure results. Everything below comes from OpenAI's and Google's official pages, read on September 30, 2026 and linked in the text. The platform is still in beta and details change quickly, so double-check in Ads Manager before you commit a budget. If you're new to marketing automation in general, start with our guide to automating your social media.

What exactly is ChatGPT Ads?

ChatGPT Ads is ChatGPT's advertising platform. According to OpenAI's help page on ads, testing started in the United States on February 9, 2026, and buying has opened to more countries since. The premise is straightforward: people tell ChatGPT what they're trying to get done (plan a trip, pick software, furnish an apartment), and a relevant ad can appear at that moment.

The big difference from a search ad platform is that you don't buy keywords. You describe your offer, and OpenAI's system decides when it's relevant to the conversation. OpenAI is emphatic on one point: ads do not influence ChatGPT's answers. They run on systems separate from the chat model, and advertisers can't shape, rank or alter a response.

Where do the ads appear?

Ads show up below the end of a response, labeled as sponsored and visually separated from the answer. Per Ads in ChatGPT: The Basics, each ad includes:

• the advertiser's name and favicon (logo);
• a title;
• description copy;
• an image;
• a landing page.

There are no ads in Temporary Chats, and none in the ChatGPT Atlas browser during the test. Ads are also kept away from sensitive conversations such as personal health, mental health and politics, plus the broader contexts listed in OpenAI's ad policies.

Who sees these ads?

Only users on the Free and Go plans. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts are ad-free. OpenAI also doesn't show ads to accounts it identifies as belonging to people under 18.

Users get an "Ad Controls" menu to turn off personalization, hide an ad or see why it was shown. If you plan to advertise in Europe, note this: personalized ads are not initially available in the European Economic Area or Switzerland. There, ads are matched to the current conversation, not the user's broader history. In the US, personalization is on the table when the user has it enabled.

How does ChatGPT decide which ad to show?

OpenAI's system picks ads based on expected relevance and outcomes, using several signals:

1. the context and intent of the current conversation;
2. the ad's landing page, title and copy;
3. "context hints" provided by the advertiser;
4. your targeting choices (countries, platforms, audiences);
5. select signals from the user's broader ChatGPT use, only when ad personalization is on.

Context hints take the place of keywords. They're phrases describing what you offer, who it helps and when it's useful. OpenAI stresses that they guide matching but are not exact-match keywords and don't guarantee delivery. When several ads are eligible, OpenAI runs a relevance-weighted, second-price auction, so the highest bid doesn't automatically win if the ad is less useful.

How much does a ChatGPT Ads campaign cost?

There's no set price: you choose a budget and a maximum bid, and you pay based on your objective. OpenAI's page on creating campaigns lists three objectives.

OpenAI publishes two useful numbers, as of September 2026:

• Minimum daily budget: $25 for a USD-billed account (€15 in euros, £15 in pounds, CHF 20 in Swiss francs, CAD 25 in Canadian dollars).
• Recommended starting bid for CPC: $3 to $5 per click.

A daily budget is an average over seven days: one day's spend can reach twice the amount you set, but the week won't exceed seven times it. And OpenAI says it plainly in its advertiser FAQ: because the platform is new, there are no performance benchmarks yet by industry or campaign type. Be skeptical of any "average ChatGPT CPC" figure floating around without a source. If CPM, CPC or CPA are still fuzzy, our explainer CPM, CPC, CTR, CPA and ROAS explained walks through each one.

Who can buy ChatGPT ads?

To use self-serve Ads Manager, the legal entity that advertises and gets billed must be based in a country listed as available on the Ads Manager Availability page. The United States, Canada, Mexico, the UK and most of Europe are on it, among roughly sixty countries. Three more rules matter:

• only business accounts qualify; individuals can't sign up as advertisers;
• an agency can't create the account on a client's behalf, but it can be invited once the client has created it;
• every account goes through identity verification and a review, during which OpenAI checks that your business falls into an allowed category.

Allowed categories are still limited. OpenAI's ad policies mainly cite lifestyle and household goods, local services, travel and experiences, and digital products or education. Alcohol (above 0.5% ABV), gambling, political content and individual job or housing listings are prohibited. Some financial, health and legal advertisers may be approved case by case in the US, while those categories are generally prohibited elsewhere. Larger advertisers can also work through OpenAI's sales team or its agency and technology partners.

Where is it available?

One caveat for new accounts: some can initially advertise only in their home country. Other countries open up once identity verification is approved and you've reached the required spend at home.

ChatGPT Ads vs. Google Ads: what changes?

Google Ads puts your ad in front of a query typed into a search engine; ChatGPT Ads puts it below the answer to a conversation. On Google you pick keywords; on ChatGPT you describe your offer and the system judges relevance. Google Ads is a mature, well-tooled platform; ChatGPT Ads is in beta, more restricted and has no published performance benchmarks. And if you're not sure you need paid ads at all yet, our piece on whether to boost a post or run a real ad covers the basics.

A query or a conversation

On Google, someone types a few words: "beginner running shoes." Your ad is in the running if your keywords match that query. On ChatGPT, the same person is more likely to write: "I'm just starting to run, I want to do a 10K in three months, my knees hurt, what should I buy?" OpenAI describes ChatGPT as exactly that: a place where people explain what they want to get done, what matters to them and what constraints they face (OpenAI's Europe announcement).

The upshot: on Google, you guess the words your customers will type. On ChatGPT, you describe the situations where your offer helps, and OpenAI's system makes the match with the conversation.

Side-by-side comparison

Sources: Google Ads Help on keyword matching options and Ad Rank; OpenAI Help Center pages Ads in ChatGPT: The Basics and Ads in ChatGPT; OpenAI's ad policies.

Keywords or context hints

In Google Ads, the keyword is still the building block. The match type decides how far a query can stray from it: broad match covers related searches, exact match zeroes in on specific ones, and negative keywords keep your ad off certain terms. Google recommends pairing broad match with Smart Bidding.

ChatGPT Ads has no keywords. Each ad group gets context hints. OpenAI's own example: "cushioned everyday running shoes for beginners training for their first 5K" beats "running shoes." Hints guide matching but don't guarantee delivery in any given conversation. Your title, copy and landing page count too. If you already write tight, benefit-led Google ads, most of that work carries over; what changes is that you no longer control the trigger word by word. In practice, writing for ChatGPT is less like building a keyword list and more like writing a good product description: who it's for, what problem it solves, when it's useful.

Two ways to set the price

• Google Ads calculates Ad Rank for every auction. It combines your bid, the quality of your ad and landing page, rank thresholds, competition, the context of the search and the expected impact of assets. Google notes that a highly relevant ad can win a better position at a lower price than a competitor bidding more.
• ChatGPT Ads uses a relevance-weighted, second-price auction. You set a maximum bid per ad group; OpenAI recommends starting at $3 to $5 per click for CPC.

Don't compare the two platforms' cost per click based on averages you find online. The only comparison that counts is yours, measured on your conversions. If you're also getting started with paid social, our guide to your first Meta Ads campaign rounds out this comparison.

Which one is right for your business?

1. Your category is prohibited or restricted on ChatGPT (alcohol, gambling, political content): case closed, stick with Google. Some financial, health and legal advertisers can be approved case by case in the US.
2. Your customers search for a specific, urgent need ("plumber open Sunday"): Google Ads keeps the edge, since the query says it all.
3. Your customers compare at length before buying (travel, gear, courses, software): ChatGPT Ads is worth a test, because that's exactly the moment the platform targets.
4. Your budget is tight: start with the channel already working for you and set aside a small amount to test the other.
5. You're targeting Europe with custom audiences: hold off, since OpenAI advises against them in the EEA and Switzerland while personalization isn't available there.

Testing ChatGPT Ads without disrupting Google Ads

• Leave your Google budget untouched and open a separate budget for ChatGPT.
• Pick one specific offer and a dedicated landing page, the same on both platforms.
• Decide your success metric before launch: cost per lead or cost per sale, not click-through rate alone.
• Let it run long enough to collect conversions, then compare in the same analytics tool.

How do you launch a first ChatGPT Ads campaign?

Create a business account at ads.openai.com, get your company verified, add a payment method, then build a campaign with an objective, a daily budget ($25 minimum for a USD-billed account, €15 for a euro-billed one), ad groups described with context hints, and your ads. Expect a review period before anything runs. This walkthrough follows OpenAI's account setup guide and related pages. As a running example we'll use Maison Sirop, a fictional maker of non-alcoholic craft syrups that sells online from Lyon, France, and wants to reach customers across Europe.

First: can your business advertise?

Check the three conditions covered above before you create anything: an entity based in an available country, a business account, an allowed category. They'll save you days on an account that's going to be declined. Maison Sirop passes all three: a French company, non-alcoholic products, a household goods category. A spirits brand would stop right here.

Step 1: create the advertiser account

Go to ads.openai.com. You need an OpenAI account; OpenAI recommends one tied to your work email, and you can create it during sign-up. What follows breaks into five steps: create the account, complete onboarding and verification, fill in account details, set up billing, invite your team. One person creates the account and becomes its owner, then invites everyone else.

Step 2: enter your company details carefully

The form asks for your company name, website, logo and industry, then the account's country, currency and time zone. Review those last three before you submit: OpenAI says they can't be changed after the account is created. Pick the wrong currency and you'll be opening a new account.

Step 3: get through verification

Next you answer a few verification questions through Persona. Your application then goes into review, where OpenAI checks among other things that your products are eligible for ads. You'll get an email once full access is granted. OpenAI notes that review can take a while because of volume, that it can't be expedited, and that opening a duplicate account only slows things down.

Step 4: finish your name, logo and billing

Once you have access, go to Settings, then Account Info. The account name and logo are what people will see in your ad, and ads won't serve until this is done. Then create a billing profile (legal name, invoice email, full address) and add a card. Finally, invite colleagues or your agency from Settings, Users, Invite.

Step 5: set up the campaign

A campaign holds your objective, budget, dates and targeting:

• Objective: Views (CPM), Clicks (CPC) or Conversions. You can't change it later; you'd have to create a new campaign.
• Budget: campaign total or daily, with the minimums listed above. OpenAI suggests starting with a daily budget so you can watch delivery. Note that switching a total budget to daily can't be undone.
• Start and end dates, leaving the campaign enough time to gather data.
• Countries, and in some countries regions, cities or postal codes.
• Platforms, optional: Android app, Android web, desktop web, iOS app, iOS web.
• Custom audiences, optional. For campaigns targeting the EEA or Switzerland, OpenAI advises avoiding them while ad personalization isn't available there. An inclusion audience also needs at least 25,000 matched users.

For a first test, Maison Sirop picks the Clicks objective, a modest daily budget, France only and every platform. The maximum bid is set at the ad group level; OpenAI recommends starting at $3 to $5 per click and shows a bid-strength indicator.

One trap to know about: targeting Germany or Belgium from a brand-new French account may do nothing until identity verification is approved and you've reached the required spend in France.

Step 6: write ad groups and context hints

An ad group bundles ads that answer the same customer need. OpenAI's example is a plumber who separates "emergency repairs" from "preventive maintenance." Each group gets its own context hints.

Step 7: create the ads

An ad has a title, copy, an image and a landing page; how to write them is covered in the next section. Also make sure your site doesn't block the OAI-AdsBot and OAI-SearchBot crawlers; OpenAI requires that for landing pages.

Step 8: submit, monitor, adjust

Submit the campaign; every ad is reviewed before it can serve. In Ads Manager a live ad shows as "Serving." If it says "Not serving," hover over the status for the reason. The usual suspects, per OpenAI's FAQ: review not finished, account not verified, budget spent, end date passed, a payment issue.

Your pre-launch checklist

• Entity based in an available country, category allowed.
• Country, currency and time zone checked before creating the account.
• Account name and logo filled in, billing complete.
• Two or three distinct ad groups, each with specific context hints.
• Several ads per group, specific landing pages with UTMs.
• OAI-AdsBot and OAI-SearchBot allowed on your site.
• Pixel installed and consent handled, if you track conversions.

How do you write a ChatGPT ad?

A good ChatGPT ad extends the conversation instead of interrupting it. It comes down to five pieces (name and logo, headline, body copy, image, landing page): a headline that states the value, copy that adds to it, a simple image, and a specific page that keeps the promise. Around them, context hints describe when the ad is useful.

How is a ChatGPT ad different?

On a search engine, an ad answers a few typed words. In ChatGPT, it appears after a conversation in which the person has often described what they need in detail. That has three consequences for your copy:

• There are no keywords to work in. Your copy and your page are signals themselves, so they need to say clearly what you offer and who it's for.
• The ad doesn't change the answer. Your ad has to stand on its own.
• Context carries a lot of weight. Users can turn off ad personalization, and in some regions, such as Europe, personalized ads aren't available at first. Write as if the current conversation is all the system knows.

What goes into an ad

Field length limits show up in Ads Manager as you type: go by the tool rather than a number you read somewhere else. OpenAI's ad creation guidance also asks for clear, specific, benefit-focused copy rather than a catchy line, and several variations per offer, each from a different angle, so the system finds more relevant moments.

What tone should you use?

The person seeing your ad just read a calm, reasoned, often nuanced answer. An ad that shouts feels out of place. Aim for the tone of a helpful recommendation:

• Informative, not exclamatory. No all caps, no strings of exclamation points, no claims you can't back up ("the best," "#1").
• Specific, not general. A product, a use case, an audience, a price or a turnaround when you can guarantee it.
• Honest about what you do. The ad has to match the landing page exactly; any gap is obvious after one click.

One hard rule: OpenAI's ad policies prohibit imitating the ChatGPT interface in your creative. No fake chat bubbles, no layout that looks like a response.

How do you phrase the promise?

The promise is the one line someone should remember. Three questions get you there:

1. In what situation are you the right answer? Not "anyone looking for a notebook," but "someone setting up for the new year who wants a planner that lasts all twelve months."
2. What does the person actually get? A result, time saved, a specific product.
3. What makes you credible? How it's made, a guarantee, a craft, a verifiable number from your own business.

Take Fernwick Paper Co., a fictional online shop selling notebooks and planners. Here are three variations on the same offer, each from a different angle:

Every variation has to be true. If you can't guarantee shipping in two business days, don't write it.

How do you write context hints?

Context hints aren't shown to anyone: they're sentences you write for each ad group. OpenAI explains in Create Campaigns for ChatGPT Ads that they guide matching but aren't exact-match keywords and don't guarantee delivery.

One ad group per need, each with its own hints: that's how the system tells your offers apart.

Which image should you use?

OpenAI recommends a simple image that's consistent with the headline and copy. In practice: the product on its own or in use, a calm background, no busy text baked into the image, and nothing that mimics the ChatGPT interface. For general legibility rules on ad creative, our article on ad creative formats and safe zones is a solid starting point. Producing several consistent image variations is also easier with a steady content workflow.

How do you get the landing page ready?

The landing page is part of the ad: the system reads it, and the person who clicks judges it. Five things to check:

1. The most specific page possible. The product page or the collection you're advertising, not your homepage.
2. The promise visible above the fold. The page headline echoes the ad's; price and the main call to action sit at the top.
3. OpenAI's crawlers allowed. OpenAI requires landing pages not to block OAI-AdsBot and OAI-SearchBot. Check your robots.txt and firewall rules.
4. UTM parameters in the URL, so you can read the traffic in your usual analytics tool.
5. Conversion tracking, if your objective needs it (see below).

Which mistakes get an ad rejected or ignored?

• A category that isn't allowed. Check yours before you write a single line.
• A mismatch between the ad and the page. A different price, offer or product.
• A tagline as a headline. "Write your story" doesn't say what you sell.
• One ad per group. Several variations give the system more relevant opportunities.
• One-word context hints. They do a poor job of describing when you're useful.

How do you measure results?

Ads Manager reports impressions, clicks, spend, click-through rate, average CPC and CPM, and conversions if you track them. Impressions and clicks refresh about every 15 minutes; spend can lag by 7 to 8 hours.

To track conversions, create a data source in Ads Manager and install the OpenAI Pixel (a script on your website), optionally alongside the server-side Conversions API, both described on OpenAI's Conversion Measurement page. The pixel picks up a click identifier appended to your landing page URL, stores it in a first-party cookie, and events (purchase, lead, sign-up) are matched to clicks within an attribution window. OpenAI recommends using both methods together with the same event ID so conversions aren't double-counted. In Europe, collect visitor consent where the law requires it. You can also add your own UTM parameters to landing page URLs and read the traffic in the analytics tool you already use.

OpenAI also warns that its numbers may differ from your analytics tool or other ad platforms because of attribution windows, time zones, consent and deduplication. A gap isn't necessarily an error. For a fair comparison with Google Ads, add UTM parameters on both platforms and read results in the same tool.

Advertisers only get aggregated data: never conversations, chat history or users' personal details. Once live, compare your variations on click-through rate and, if you track them, conversions. Keep what works and rewrite what doesn't. To tie those numbers to outcomes, our guide to measuring your performance lays out the method: decide what a result is worth before you buy it.

Should you jump in now?

It depends on your business. If you're in an allowed category and your customers compare options before buying, a small test makes sense: a modest daily budget, a Clicks objective, two or three clearly distinct ad groups. If your category is restricted or your site converts poorly, fix the site first.

And remember that ads don't get you recommended by ChatGPT: answers stay independent, and neither a Google ad nor a ChatGPT ad gets you into the answer itself. Getting cited in answers is a different job, driven by content and reputation, which is what our guide GEO: how to get recommended by ChatGPT without paying covers, much like the way social media algorithms reward genuinely useful posts.

Where does Oposto fit in?

Oposto doesn't run your ChatGPT Ads or Google Ads campaigns and never buys ads on your behalf. It prepares the organic content that works alongside them: it learns your brand from your website (voice, colors, products, audience), generates posts, carousels and short videos, publishes them to 8 networks once you approve, runs a weekly competitor benchmark and measures real performance so you can reuse what works. The free plan doesn't require a credit card: try Oposto for free.

Frequently asked questions

Do ads influence ChatGPT's answers?

No. According to OpenAI, ads run on systems separate from the chat model, are clearly labeled as sponsored, and advertisers can't shape, rank or alter responses.

What is the minimum budget for a ChatGPT Ads campaign?

As of September 2026, the minimum daily budget is $25 for a USD-billed account, or €15, £15, CHF 20 or CAD 25 depending on the account's billing currency.

Do ChatGPT Plus subscribers see ads?

No. Ads only appear on the Free and Go plans. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts are ad-free, as are accounts identified as belonging to minors.

Can you target keywords with ChatGPT Ads?

No. Advertisers provide context hints, phrases that describe the offer, its audience and the situations where it helps. They guide matching but don't work like exact-match keywords.

Can advertisers see users' conversations?

No. OpenAI says advertisers only receive aggregated results such as impressions and clicks, never conversations, chat history or personal details.

Does ChatGPT Ads replace Google Ads?

No. The two platforms catch different moments: Google Ads responds to a query, ChatGPT Ads appears below the answer to a conversation. ChatGPT Ads is in beta and limited to certain categories.

Which one is cheaper, ChatGPT Ads or Google Ads?

Nobody can say in general. OpenAI states there are no performance benchmarks on its platform yet. Compare your own cost per conversion, measured in the same analytics tool.

Do I need an agency to run ChatGPT Ads?

No. A business based in an available country can sign up on its own at ads.openai.com. An agency can be invited to the account afterward, but it can't create it for the client.

How long before my first ad runs?

OpenAI doesn't give a timeline. The account goes through verification and review, then each ad is reviewed. Review can't be expedited, and a duplicate account slows it down.

Can I change my account currency later?

No. The country, billing currency and time zone you pick at creation can't be changed. If one is wrong, you need to create a new ad account.

Can I use custom audiences in Europe?

OpenAI advises avoiding them for campaigns targeting the EEA or Switzerland while ad personalization isn't available there. An inclusion audience also needs at least 25,000 matched users.

Can a ChatGPT ad imitate the ChatGPT interface?

No. OpenAI's ad policies prohibit imitating the ChatGPT interface in creative: no fake chat bubbles and no layout that looks like a response.

Which landing page should a ChatGPT ad point to?

The most specific page you have, such as the product page you're advertising, with your UTM parameters. It must not block the OAI-AdsBot and OAI-SearchBot crawlers, which OpenAI requires for landing pages.