Quick Answer: ChatGPT ads are live. They appear below ChatGPT's answers for users on the Free and Go plans, are bought through OpenAI's beta self-serve Ads Manager or through partners, and can be priced by impressions or clicks. Everything below comes from OpenAI's own pages, and we say where results are still unknown.
If you manage paid media for clients, you will be asked about this. Here is what is confirmed, what is not, and how to think about it.
What OpenAI has said, and when
- February 9, 2026: ad testing started in the United States, per OpenAI's Ads in ChatGPT help page
- May 5, 2026: OpenAI began rolling out a beta self-serve Ads Manager, added cost-per-click bidding and expanded measurement, per New ways to buy ChatGPT ads
- October 21, 2026: OpenAI said ChatGPT Ads is expanding to 26 more countries, for 89 in total, and that over 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns, per its announcement
OpenAI also says more than 1.2 billion people use ChatGPT each week. That is OpenAI's own figure, and it is not the number of people who see ads, since ads only appear for some plans.
Who sees ads
According to OpenAI's help center:
- Ads may appear for users on the Free and Go plans
- Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts do not have ads
- Accounts identified as belonging to people under 18 do not see ads
- Temporary Chats do not show ads
- Free users can choose an ads-free experience, with lower usage limits and reduced features
So the audience is people on the free and lower-cost plans, in the countries where ads are available.
Where ads appear
OpenAI says you may see one ad unit below a ChatGPT response, clearly labeled and shown separately from the answer. It is also testing a multi-image visual ad format during image generation, which began as a US-only test.
Ads are not eligible to appear near sensitive topics, including personal health, mental health or politics, and OpenAI says political advertising is not currently allowed. Advertisers in some sensitive or regulated categories, such as health and financial services, may be eligible if they meet its criteria.
How ads are chosen
OpenAI says its system selects and delivers ads based on expected relevance and outcomes, using signals including:
- The context and intent of the current conversation
- The ad's landing page, title and copy
- Advertiser-provided context hints and targeting selections
- When personalization is on, select signals from the user's wider ChatGPT experience
If several ads are eligible, it says it considers relevance and advertiser bids together. This is different from search keywords: advertisers describe the topics their ad suits, and OpenAI's system decides whether it fits a conversation.
Do ads change the answers?
OpenAI says no: ads run on separate systems from the chat model, and advertisers cannot shape, rank or alter ChatGPT's responses. It also says an ad does not mean OpenAI endorses the advertiser. Those are OpenAI's statements, and we have no independent test of them.
What advertisers can and cannot see
OpenAI says it does not share conversations with advertisers and does not sell user data. Advertisers do not get chats, chat history, memories, names, emails, precise location or IP addresses. They receive aggregated, non-identifying reporting.
Users can turn off ad personalization, dismiss ads, see why they were shown an ad and clear their ads data. Personalized ads were not initially available in the European Economic Area or Switzerland.
How advertisers buy
OpenAI describes two routes:
- Self-serve Ads Manager (beta). Businesses register, add payment details, set budgets, bids and pacing, upload ads, launch campaigns and view performance
- Partners. OpenAI names agency partners Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis and WPP, and technology partners including Adobe, Criteo, Kargo, Pacvue and StackAdapt
Ads started on a CPM basis, and OpenAI has added CPC bidding, where advertisers are charged only on a click. It says it expects to support more ways to bid over time. Ads Manager access is opening gradually, and availability depends on the country, so check OpenAI's current availability list.
Measurement
Early on, advertisers received only aggregated reporting such as views and clicks. OpenAI says it has since launched Conversions API and pixel-based measurement, so advertisers can see what happens after someone engages with an ad, such as a purchase, lead or sign-up, as aggregated insights.
What we do not know yet
Be careful here, because a lot of commentary is running ahead of the evidence:
- Costs. OpenAI's pages do not give typical CPMs or CPCs, and we have not seen independent benchmarks
- Results. OpenAI quotes a brand testimonial and advertiser counts, but not performance benchmarks
- Your category. Whether your client's customers use ChatGPT for the decisions that matter to them is something to test, not assume
Treat any specific cost or conversion-rate claim from a blog as unverified unless it names its source and method.
What agencies should tell clients
- It is real, and early. Ads are live in many countries but the platform is still being built, and OpenAI describes it as a beta and a pilot
- Test, do not assume. Start with a small budget, a clear goal and a way to measure it
- Set up measurement first. Check the pixel and Conversions API work before you spend
- Read the policies. Sensitive and regulated categories have extra rules, and political ads are not allowed
- Report it separately. ChatGPT ads behave differently from search, so show them on their own line until you have a baseline
Questions to ask before you spend
- Is Ads Manager available in the client's country?
- Is the client's category eligible, and does it need review?
- What will we count as success, and can we measure it with the pixel or API?
- What budget can we afford to lose while we learn?
- Which of the client's customers are on the Free or Go plans?
Reporting ChatGPT ads
Today, the data comes from OpenAI's Ads Manager. LedgeSpace does not connect to ChatGPT Ads, so you cannot pull it into a LedgeSpace report automatically, and we would rather say that than imply otherwise. You can still report it in your own commentary alongside the platforms LedgeSpace does connect, such as Google Ads, Meta Ads and Microsoft Ads. See how to write a monthly client report and the monthly report template.
If you use AI to help write those reports, see can you trust AI in client reports. To see what LedgeSpace connects, browse the integrations, or start a 14-day free trial with no credit card.
