What are ChatGPT ads and what changed in 2026?
Short answer
ChatGPT ads are OpenAI’s advertising programme inside ChatGPT. Ads appear below the answer when a sponsored product or service fits the conversation; they are labelled and kept apart from the model’s text, and only logged-in adults on the Free and Go plans see them. They run in the US, the UK and, since 24 August 2026, 31 European markets.
Until this year, the only way for a brand to appear in ChatGPT was to earn a place in what the model says. That has changed. OpenAI announced on 16 January 2026 that it would test ads in ChatGPT to fund free access, and in eight months it has gone from a US trial to a self-service advertising network in Europe.
The ChatGPT ads news has moved fast. According to OpenAI on 31 August 2026, the business reached a $1 billion annualised revenue run rate in under 200 days, with tens of thousands of advertisers and a presence in more than 40 countries. These are the company’s own figures, but they give a sense of scale.
The OpenAI ads ChatGPT news timeline, January to September 2026
- 16 Jan 2026
OpenAI announces it will test ads in ChatGPT
For adults on the Free and Go plans in the United States. It publishes its principles: ads do not influence answers and conversations are not shared with advertisers.
- 9 Feb 2026
The US test begins
The first ads appear at the end of the answer, marked and kept apart from ChatGPT’s text.
- 26 Mar 2026
Pilots in Canada, Australia and New Zealand
OpenAI extends the test to three more English-speaking markets.
- 5–7 May 2026
Ads Manager in beta and cost-per-click
On 5 May it unveils the self-service tool and adds cost-per-click to impression-based buying. On 7 May it announces expansion to the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea.
- 11 Aug 2026
Ads confirmed live in the UK
An update to OpenAI’s test announcement confirms that ChatGPT Ads has launched in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea.
- 24 Aug 2026
Ads reach 31 European countries
Announced on 18 August: the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, without personalisation at first.
- 31 Aug 2026
Self-service in Europe; ChatGPT becomes a ‘very large search engine’
Ads Manager opens to European businesses. On the same day, the European Commission designates ChatGPT a very large online search engine under the Digital Services Act.
- 24 Sep 2026
Seven more Asian markets
According to Adgully: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan.
How does ChatGPT advertising work and who sees the ads?
ChatGPT advertising works by context: when the conversation matches what an advertiser offers, ChatGPT shows a sponsored block below its answer. According to the help article ‘Ads in ChatGPT’, the system chooses the ad based on the intent of the conversation, the ad’s copy and landing page, and the advertiser’s targeting settings. The bid also counts when deciding the order.
Each ChatGPT ad carries a sponsored label and is visually separated from the model’s text. In the initial test, the example OpenAI showed was a product card with a price, and the company has said it will add more formats, objectives and buying models over time.
Who sees the ads and who does not
- They are shown to logged-in adults on the Free and Go plans.
- They are not shown on the Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans.
- They are not shown to accounts of under-18s, whether by declared age or by OpenAI’s age prediction.
- They do not appear next to conversations about health, mental health or politics, and political advertising is not allowed.
- They can be avoided on the Free plan with an ad-free option, in exchange for fewer messages and limits on tools such as image generation.
ChatGPT, ads and your data: OpenAI’s principles
When it announced the programme, OpenAI published its principles. The one that matters most to a brand is the independence of the answer: “Ads do not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you”, the company wrote on 16 January 2026. In other words, ads do not change what ChatGPT replies.
- Separation: the ad sits apart, labelled and below the answer.
- Privacy: advertisers do not see conversations, chat history, memories or personal data; they only receive aggregated data, such as views and clicks. OpenAI says it does not sell data to advertisers.
- Control: you can dismiss an ad, see why you are seeing it, turn off personalisation and delete your ad data.
- No engagement bait: OpenAI says it does not optimise for the time you spend in the app.
In Europe, no personalisation (for now)
Are ads coming to ChatGPT in the UK and Europe? Where things stand in October 2026
They are already here. OpenAI’s test announcement confirmed in its 11 August 2026 update that ChatGPT Ads had launched in the United Kingdom. Then, from 24 August 2026, adult Free and Go users across Europe started to see ads: OpenAI announced it on 18 August for 31 European markets which, according to EU Perspectives, are the 27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. It is the largest expansion of the programme so far.
31
European markets with ads since 24 August 2026
OpenAI, 18 August 2026
+40
countries where ChatGPT ads were sold as of 31 August
OpenAI, 31 August 2026
<200 days
to reach a $1 billion annualised revenue run rate
OpenAI, 31 August 2026
159M
monthly users of ChatGPT search in the EU (159.1 million)
OpenAI figure, via Search Engine Journal
ChatGPT Ad Manager: how to run ads on ChatGPT
The ChatGPT Ad Manager, officially called Ads Manager, is OpenAI’s self-service tool for advertisers. OpenAI launched it in beta on 5 May 2026 and it has been open in Europe since 31 August. As of 12 October 2026, its availability page lists the United Kingdom, the United States and Spain, among others, with one condition: the entity that advertises and is billed must be based in a listed country. If you are wondering how to run ads on ChatGPT, this is the route:
- What you do in it: register the company, add payment, set a budget, bid and pacing, upload ads and see results.
- How you pay: per impression (CPM), per click (CPC) or optimising for conversions. On the pages consulted, OpenAI does not publish rates: the brand sets its own budget and bid.
- How you measure: with the OpenAI pixel and its Conversions API, always with aggregated data.
- How you target: by geography and with custom audiences.
- Other ways to buy: OpenAI’s sales team, agencies such as Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis and WPP, and technology partners.
Searches for ChatGPT advertising often end in agency offers. A ChatGPT Ads agency can manage bids and creatives, but you do not need one to start: self-service is open, and a small test with a fixed budget gives you your own data before you decide.
ChatGPT is already regulated as a large search engine in the EU
Ad or organic mention: what does your brand need in ChatGPT?
It needs both, because they fill different gaps. The ad gives you immediate, controlled presence below the answer, but only in front of some users; the organic mention puts you inside the answer, in front of every plan, and it cannot be bought.
This is the point that causes the most confusion. What many people search for as ChatGPT search ads does not exist as paid positions in search results: OpenAI says ads do not influence answers, and its shopping help article makes clear that product results are selected independently by ChatGPT, are not ads and do not depend on partner deals.
| Criterion | Ad (ChatGPT Ads) | Organic mention |
|---|---|---|
| How you get it | By paying: bidding per impression, click or conversion | By earning it: being crawlable, being citable and having others talk about you |
| Where it appears | Below the answer, labelled as sponsored | Inside the answer, as a named brand or cited source |
| Who sees it | Adults on Free and Go; never next to health, mental health or politics | Any user, including on Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise |
| Who writes the message | You, within OpenAI’s policies | The model, based on what it finds about you |
| When it disappears | When you stop the campaign | It depends on your sources and your competitors’: there is no on/off switch |
| How it is measured | Ads Manager: aggregated views, clicks and conversions | Traffic tagged utm_source=chatgpt.com and a fixed panel of questions |
The ad rents a space below the answer. The mention puts you inside it. If you only work on one, your competitors take the other.
My reading, as José Galán, Search & AI Visibility consultant and AI agent designer: the ad performs best when it confirms what the answer already says. If ChatGPT recommends your competitor in the text and your ad appears below, you are at a disadvantage, because the user has just read a recommendation they perceive as neutral. If the answer already names you, the ad reinforces it.
How to earn the organic mention
With the same work I explain in my guide to what GEO is and how it differs from SEO. In three layers:
- Be found: according to OpenAI’s crawler documentation, if you block OAI-SearchBot your site will not appear in ChatGPT’s search answers. Check it with my guide to robots.txt for AI bots.
- Be citable: pages that answer in the first few lines, with facts, indicative prices, lead times and who your product or service is for.
- Be chosen: presence on comparison sites, review platforms and trade media. If you sell products, look after your catalogue: OpenAI integrates Shopify’s and lets other merchants apply to submit their feed.
One route does not replace the other
How do ChatGPT ads differ from ads in Google’s AI Mode?
They differ in three ways: where they are placed, how they are bought and where they are available. ChatGPT separates the ad from the answer and sells it through its own platform; Google blends ads into its AI answers and serves them from the Google Ads campaigns you already run.
| Criterion | ChatGPT ads | Google: AI Overviews and AI Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Placement | Below the answer, separated and labelled | Above, below or within AI Overviews; in AI Mode, below the answer or integrated into it, labelled ‘Sponsored’ |
| How it is bought | Ads Manager (self-service), sales team, agencies and technology partners | Through your Google Ads campaigns: Search with broad match, Shopping, Performance Max and AI Max |
| Placement control | Campaigns specific to ChatGPT | You cannot target or exclude the AI Overviews placement |
| New formats | More formats announced, no date | In testing since May 2026: conversational ads and ads inside AI Mode recommendation lists |
| In the UK and Europe | Yes: UK confirmed in August 2026; EU since 24 August 2026, without personalisation at first | Ads within AI Overviews are English-only and in 12 countries, including the US but not the UK or Spain; the sources consulted do not list countries for AI Mode |
| Excluded topics | Health, mental health and politics | In AI Overviews: adult, alcohol, gambling, finance, healthcare and politics |
The sources are the Google Ads help page on AI Overviews, the announcement of ads in AI Mode on 21 May 2025 and the new formats from Google Marketing Live on 20 May 2026.
My reading: for most businesses, Google is still the mature channel and ChatGPT the new one. On Google, your existing campaigns can already reach AI results without you doing anything; on ChatGPT you need to open an account and build separate campaigns. What changes on both is the same: the user first reads an answer written by an AI, and being in it matters as much as the ad. I go into more detail in what Google AI Mode changes for your website.
What do ChatGPT ads mean for your business?
They mean ChatGPT becomes a marketing channel with two sides, one paid and one organic, and someone in your company has to decide how to work each of them. The impact is not the same across every area:
LeadershipHigh impact
Decide whether ChatGPT goes into the 2027 media budget and with what goal. Note: if your teams use Business or Enterprise, they see no ads and will not work as a barometer. If you are choosing a plan, see what ChatGPT Business includes and what it costs.
MarketingHigh impact
You now need to measure two things: ad performance in Ads Manager and organic presence with a panel of questions. And adapt landing pages to conversational questions, not just keywords, before spending on ads on ChatGPT.
Sales and customer serviceMedium impact
More customers will arrive after reading a ChatGPT recommendation: add AI as an option to ‘How did you hear about us?’. If a user messages your brand from an ad, you see those messages; decide who replies. Automating that first reply is the territory of custom AI agents.
IT and dataMedium impact
Install the OpenAI pixel or its Conversions API, check that robots.txt lets OAI-SearchBot through and separate traffic tagged utm_source=chatgpt.com in your analytics, which ChatGPT adds to its links according to its publishers FAQ.
If you need AI consultancy for businesses that looks at both routes at once, or want to see what other companies are already doing, there is context in what companies are really doing with AI. And if your concern is where to start in-house, the MAPA method for mapping and automating processes with AI helps you set priorities.
What should your brand do about ChatGPT ads now?
First, measure where you stand; then decide whether to pay. This is the order I recommend, with what you can do this week and what is worth planning for the quarter:
This week: ask ChatGPT about your category
Write 20 real questions your customers ask, such as ‘Which invoicing software would you recommend for a small business?’, and run them several times. Note whether it names you, whom it names and which sources it cites. With a Free account in a market where ads run, such as the UK or the EU, you will also see which ads appear.
This week: check the technical basics
Make sure your robots.txt does not block OAI-SearchBot and that your analytics separates traffic tagged utm_source=chatgpt.com. The llms.txt file is optional: it is not a requirement for appearing in ChatGPT.
This week: check whether you can advertise
See whether your sector depends on topics with no ads (health, mental health or politics) and whether the billing company is based in an available country. The UK, the US and Spain all are. If it fits, open an Ads Manager account.
This quarter: launch a small, measurable pilot
Fixed budget, cost-per-click, two or three landing pages that answer specific questions and conversions measured with the pixel or the API. Compare the cost per customer with your other channels before scaling. The success stories OpenAI publishes come from specific advertisers, not from your sector.
This quarter: work on the organic mention
Rewrite your key pages so they answer in the first few lines, add sourced facts and build your presence on comparison sites, reviews and trade media. That is the work of my Search & AI Visibility service for ChatGPT and Google.
This quarter: measure paid and organic together
Repeat the question panel every few weeks and set it next to the Ads Manager data. If the ad converts but the answer recommends someone else, raising the bid will not fix it.
Start with free material
Is your brand ready for ChatGPT ads?
To find out, tick what your company already does. The assessment separates the organic route from the paid one, because a brand can be ready to pay and still be invisible in the answers. It is indicative, and what blocks everything else weighs more.
Key points
- ChatGPT ads are live in the UK (confirmed on 11 August 2026) and in 31 European markets since 24 August 2026: ads below the answer, only on the Free and Go plans.
- Ads Manager is open to businesses based in listed countries, including the UK, the US and Spain, with payment per impression, per click or per conversion.
- Ads do not influence the answer: the organic mention cannot be bought, it is earned with SEO and GEO.
- In the EEA and Switzerland, ads are not personalised for now: the context of the conversation decides.
- Google puts ads into its AI answers from your existing campaigns; ChatGPT requires separate campaigns.
- Measure both routes separately: Ads Manager for paid, a panel of questions for organic.
Frequently asked questions about ChatGPT ads
What are ChatGPT ads?
ChatGPT ads are OpenAI’s advertising programme inside ChatGPT. The ads appear below the answer, labelled as sponsored and kept apart from the text the model writes, and only adults on the Free and Go plans see them. OpenAI began testing them in the United States on 9 February 2026; they have since launched in the UK and, from 24 August 2026, in 31 European countries.
Does ChatGPT have ads in the UK and Europe?
Yes. OpenAI confirmed in an update dated 11 August 2026 that ChatGPT Ads had launched in the United Kingdom, and since 24 August 2026 adult Free and Go users in the 27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland can see ads too. In the EEA and Switzerland the ads are not personalised at first. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu remain ad-free.
What is the ChatGPT Ad Manager and who can use it?
Ads Manager is OpenAI’s self-service tool for advertisers: you register the company, add payment, set a budget and a bid, upload the ads and see the results. It launched in beta on 5 May 2026 and opened in Europe on 31 August. As of 12 October 2026, OpenAI’s help centre lists the UK, the US and Spain among the available countries, provided the advertising and billed entity is based there.
Does paying for ChatGPT ads get my brand recommended in its answers?
No. OpenAI states that ads do not influence ChatGPT’s answers and that they are shown separately and labelled. Nor can you pay to appear in product results: according to its help centre, ChatGPT selects them independently. A mention inside the answer is earned through visibility: letting OAI-SearchBot crawl your site, content that is easy to cite and presence in third-party sources.
Are there ChatGPT search ads, like Google’s?
Not as a separate product. OpenAI does not sell positions in ChatGPT’s search results: ads appear below the answer when a sponsored product or service fits the conversation, ranked by relevance and by the advertiser’s bid. Google works differently: ads come from your Google Ads campaigns and can show above, below or within AI Overviews.
Do I need a ChatGPT Ads agency to advertise?
No, it is not required. Since 31 August 2026, a company based in an available country, such as the UK, the US or Spain, can buy ads on its own through Ads Manager. OpenAI also sells through its sales team, agencies and technology partners. A ChatGPT Ads agency brings bid and creative management; to appear in the organic answer as well, you also need SEO and GEO work.
Can you remove ads from ChatGPT?
Yes. The Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans have no ads. On the Free plan you can choose an ad-free option in exchange for fewer messages and limits on tools such as image generation or deep research. You can also dismiss an ad, see why it is shown to you, turn off personalisation and delete the data used for ads.
Sources
- OpenAI. Our approach to advertising and expanding access to ChatGPT (16 January 2026).
- OpenAI. Testing ads in ChatGPT (9 February 2026; updated on 11 August 2026).
- OpenAI. New ways to buy ChatGPT ads (5 May 2026).
- OpenAI. ChatGPT Ads expands across Europe (18 August 2026; updated on 31 August 2026).
- OpenAI. A milestone in expanding access to AI (31 August 2026).
- OpenAI Help Center. Ads in ChatGPT, Ads Manager Availability and Shopping with ChatGPT Search (checked on 12 October 2026).
- OpenAI. Overview of OpenAI crawlers and Publishers and developers FAQ (checked on 12 October 2026).
- European Commission. Supervision of the designated very large online platforms and search engines under DSA (checked on 12 October 2026).
- Google. More opportunities for your business on Google Search (21 May 2025).
- Google. A new generation of ads for the AI era of Search (20 May 2026).
- Google Ads Help. About ads and AI Overviews (checked on 12 October 2026).
- Engadget. OpenAI starts testing ads in ChatGPT (9 February 2026).
- EU Perspectives. ChatGPT ads enter Europe as Brussels weighs tougher oversight (20 August 2026).
- Notebookcheck. ChatGPT ads hit Europe on Monday, but not the personalized kind (22 August 2026).
- Search Engine Journal (Matt G. Southern). ChatGPT is now a ‘very large online search engine’ in the EU (31 August 2026).
- Adgully. OpenAI expands ChatGPT Ads into seven Asian markets as ad platform hits $1 billion ARR pace (24 September 2026).
This article was created with the help of AI and reviewed by José Galán. I take great care over every post and every translation, but the odd mistake can still slip through. If you find one, write to me: you will be helping me improve.
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