Frequently asked questions

ChatGPT Ads appear underneath relevant conversations, rather than interrupting them. They’re clearly labelled as sponsored content and include information a user needs to decide whether they’d like to learn more.

Each ad currently includes:

• Advertiser name
• Advertiser logo (favicon)
• Headline
• Description
• Landing page URL
• Thumbnail image

 

OpenAI is still rolling out advertising in certain markets. Ads are currently shown to users in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Japan and South Korea. Ads aren’t shown to all ChatGPT users in those countries. Currently, OpenAI does not display ads to:

• Plus subscribers
• Pro subscribers
• Business users

Users under the age of 18, or users OpenAI predicts are under 18

Rather than relying on keyword matching alone, ads in ChatGPT are matched using the context and intent of the conversation.

Advertisers can provide context hints at the ad group level, to describe the types of conversations where their products or services may be relevant. These aren’t exact-match keywords, but they help OpenAI understand where an ad is most appropriate.

The platform also considers factors such as:

• Conversation context
• User intent
• Landing page content
• Ad headline
• Ad description

This allows ads to appear naturally within conversations where they’re most likely to be useful.

At the moment, OpenAI’s creative requirements are much simpler than those of traditional advertising platforms.

Each ChatGPT ad contains:

• Advertiser name
• Logo (favicon)
• Headline – up to 50 characters
• Description – up to 100 characters
• Link URL
• Image

OpenAI hasn’t yet published detailed specifications covering image dimensions or file sizes. However, given the size of the image alongside the ad text, we recommend using a simple square visual with a single object. Cluttered images don’t look attractive in the small thumbnail. As the platform develops, more detailed creative guidance is expected.

Advertisers should focus on writing concise, informative headlines and description copy, and use high-quality imagery that supports the landing page experience.

Brand safety is a core part of ChatGPT advertising.

OpenAI aims to show ads only alongside conversations that are considered safe and appropriate. Safeguards are in place to prevent adverts appearing next to sensitive or unsuitable conversations, following OpenAI’s advertising policies.

This helps protect both advertisers and users while maintaining trust in the platform.

Both OpenAI Ads and Google Search Ads help advertisers reach users with high intent, but they do so in different ways.

Google Search Ads are triggered primarily by the keywords a user types into a search query. Advertisers bid on those keywords, and eligible ads appear alongside the search results.

Ads in ChatGPT, on the other hand, are selected based on the context and intent of an entire conversation. Rather than matching a single keyword or phrase, OpenAI considers factors such as the user’s conversation, the advertiser’s context hints, the landing page, and the ad copy to determine whether an ad is relevant.

This means ChatGPT Ads can reach users throughout a longer, more natural research journey, rather than responding to a single search query.

Ads Manager Beta currently provides reporting across the core campaign metrics, including:

• Impressions
• Clicks
• Spend
• Click-through rate (CTR)
• Average CPC
• Average CPM
• Conversions

Advertisers can also add UTM parameters to landing page URLs, making it easy to analyse ChatGPT traffic in Google Analytics or other analytics platforms.

The platform provides pixel-based and conversions API-based tracking for user events on advertiser websites. Advertisers can create multiple conversion events, including standard events such as:

• Page viewed
• Lead created
• Appointment scheduled
• Contents viewed
• Items added (to cart)
• Checkout started
• Order created (purchase)
• App installed
• App opened
• Registration completed
• Subscription created
• Trial started

Custom conversions can also be tracked in the same way. However, currently campaigns cannot be optimised for anything other than reach or clicks. Campaigns with ‘Conversion’ objectives are expected soon.

ChatGPT Ads currently support two buying models:

CPM (Cost per Thousand Impressions)

Advertisers should choose the ‘Reach’ objective to maximise impressions and pay for every 1,000 impressions served. 

CPC (Cost per Click)

Advertisers who select the ‘Clicks’ objective, optimise for website traffic and pay only when someone clicks an advert.

Advertisers set a maximum bid at ad group level. For CPC campaigns, OpenAI currently recommends starting with bids between $3 and $5 per click, although this will vary depending on competition.

Ads are delivered using a relevance-weighted second-price auction, balancing advertiser bids with ad relevance to improve the overall user experience.