OpenAI announced in January 2026 that ads would begin appearing in ChatGPT. This is a big deal. The company that changed how millions of people search for information is now entering the advertising business, and with 800 million weekly users, marketers need to pay attention.
Access is currently limited to select enterprise partners, but that won’t last forever. Here’s what you need to know to be ready when the platform opens more broadly.
ChatGPT ads appear below the chatbot’s responses, clearly labeled as sponsored content. Unlike traditional Search ads, where users scroll through a list of links, these placements integrate directly into the conversational flow.
Think about it: someone asks ChatGPT for laptop recommendations and sees a contextually relevant ad right after receiving their answer. That’s advertising at the exact moment of decision.
OpenAI has made several commitments around trust and transparency. Advertising won’t influence organic responses. User data and conversations won’t be sold to advertisers. Users can see why they’re being shown specific ads, dismiss irrelevant ones, and turn off personalization entirely.
Only free users and ChatGPT Go subscribers ($8/month) will see ads initially. Premium tiers, including Plus ($20/month), Pro ($200/month), Business, and Enterprise, remain ad-free. Users under 18 won’t see ads, and OpenAI is avoiding placements near sensitive topics like politics, health, and mental health.
This mirrors what we’ve seen from streaming platforms: a free or low-cost option supported by advertising (think Google Shopping ads at the very beginning, AKA Froogle), with premium ad-free experiences for those willing to pay. For advertisers, this means the initial audience skews toward price-conscious users who haven’t committed to a paid subscription.
OpenAI is targeting a Cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) of around $60.
For context: Google Display Network ads average around $3 CPM. Google Search ads sit closer to $38 CPM. Premium connected TV inventory from Hulu and Netflix’s ad tier typically commands $40 to 65 CPM. OpenAI is pricing at the very top of the digital advertising spectrum.
But why? ChatGPT captures users at moments of genuine intent. When someone asks about running shoes for flat feet, they’re expressing unfiltered purchase consideration before narrowing their choices. That’s the high-intent moment advertisers have always coveted.
The trade-off is measurement. Unlike Google and Meta’s sophisticated attribution systems built over two decades, OpenAI is launching with basics: total impressions and total clicks. No granular conversion tracking. No demographic insights. No purchase attribution.
OpenAI says more detailed data may come over time, but for now, performance marketers face real challenges justifying spend without visibility into what’s actually driving results.
OpenAI is reaching out to advertisers directly through its enterprise partnerships team, not through traditional agency channels. The initial trial targets companies with significant spending commitments over several weeks, with ads launching in early February.
This enterprise-first approach differs significantly from how Google and Meta built their ad businesses on the backs of small businesses using self-serve tools. There’s no self-serve buying interface yet, and OpenAI isn’t working with ad tech firms to manage placements.
For agencies and smaller advertisers, this means watching from the sidelines initially, but that’s exactly when smart marketers start doing their homework.
ChatGPT’s entry into advertising signals a shift in how consumers discover products. As more people turn to conversational AI instead of traditional search, advertising dollars will follow. The implications depend on your current approach:
At JumpFly, we see ChatGPT ads as one of the most exciting developments in digital advertising in years.
With hundreds of millions of active users turning to ChatGPT for recommendations, research, and discovery, OpenAI has built an audience that most platforms would envy. The opportunity to reach consumers in a high-intent, conversational environment, right at the moment they’re actively seeking solutions, is significant.
We’re eager to get our hands on this platform. Understanding how to create compelling ads for a conversational interface, learning what optimization levers exist, and discovering how to drive measurable success for our clients on an entirely new channel is exactly the kind of challenge our team thrives on. New platforms reward early adopters who invest the time to learn their nuances, and we intend to be ready.
Yes, measurement is limited today, and pricing is premium. Like any responsible agency, we’ll approach testing with appropriate caution and clear expectations. But limited reporting at launch is the norm for emerging platforms. Meta and Google weren’t built in a day either.
What matters is the potential. ChatGPT ads have the potential to become a core component of many brands’ digital advertising strategies.
Our recommendation: lean in. Work with partners committed to understanding this new frontier. Test early to build institutional knowledge. Position your brand to capitalize as the platform matures. Conversational AI advertising isn’t a passing trend; it’s where the industry is heading. The brands that engage now will have a meaningful advantage as ChatGPT’s ad product evolves.
OpenAI’s move into advertising validates that AI-powered interfaces have become significant enough to warrant their own advertising ecosystems. The next several months will be telling:
How do early advertisers perform? How do users react to ads in their conversations? Will OpenAI develop the measurement and targeting capabilities that performance marketers need?
These questions will determine whether ChatGPT becomes a meaningful part of the media mix or remains a niche experiment. What we know for certain is that the way people discover information is changing, and advertising will adapt to follow.
ChatGPT ads are just the beginning of what promises to be a fundamental shift in how brands connect with consumers in an AI-first world.
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