Advertise on ChatGPT while the auction is still quiet
ChatGPT now shows labelled sponsored units under its answers to users in Poland and across
Europe, and any business can buy them in OpenAI's self-serve Ads Manager. It is a new
auction with new rules: no keywords, the conversation is the context, and it has its own
pixel. I set it up, connect it to the numbers you already trust, and tell you honestly
whether it beats your Google cost per lead.
Ads Manager account, ad groups and context hints built for your offer
OpenAI pixel and Conversions API, checked against GA4
Product feed ads for online stores, from the feed you already have
A test budget with a stop rule agreed before the first euro is spent
31European markets where ads show, Poland included
Free · Gothe ChatGPT plans that see ads, adults only
CPC · CPMhow you pay in the self-serve Ads Manager
Contexthints describe the conversation, not keywords
01 · The channel
What advertising in ChatGPT actually looks like
Checked against OpenAI announcements and trade press on 24 October 2026
Where the ads appear
Ads appear as clearly labelled sponsored units below ChatGPT's answer, separate from it. OpenAI states that ads do not influence the answers and that conversations are not shared with advertisers. The advertiser sees aggregated results, not what anyone typed.
Shown on the Free and Go plans, not on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu
Not shown to users who are under 18 or predicted to be
Not shown next to conversations about health, mental health or politics
Political ads are not allowed at all, and health or finance advertisers face stricter eligibility
How the timeline went
January 2026: OpenAI announces a test of ads on the Free and Go plans in the US
February 2026: the US pilot goes live, sold through large agency groups
May 2026: a self-serve Ads Manager opens in beta, with cost per click next to cost per thousand impressions; product feed ads follow
August 2026: ads start showing in 31 European markets including Poland, and self-serve buying opens for European advertisers at the end of the month
October 2026: the list of supported countries passes 80
Nine months from announcement to self-serve in Europe. The rules are still moving, which is exactly why it pays to have someone who checks them every week.
How buying works
There are no keywords. Each ad group gets context hints, short descriptions of the conversations where your ad would be useful, and the system matches them against what people discuss. Writing good hints is closer to writing a brief than to building a keyword list.
You bid per click or per thousand impressions, and once the OpenAI pixel and Conversions API report enough conversions, you can bid for conversions. In Europe, privacy rules limit how far ads can be personalised, so the context of the conversation does most of the targeting, and the ad copy has to earn the click on its own.
Product feed ads for online stores
A store can connect its product catalogue, and Ads Manager builds product ads from it. If you already keep a clean feed for Google Merchant Center, most of the work is done. If the feed is a mess, ChatGPT will show the mess, so I fix titles, prices and availability first.
Being in the answer without paying
Ads are one way to show up in ChatGPT. The other is to be the source it quotes. ChatGPT search reads the web through its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot, so your robots.txt must not block it, and pages need clear answers and structured data that a model can lift.
This site lets OpenAI's and other AI crawlers in, publishes an llms.txt summary, and marks up every service page with structured data. I do the same for clients, next to the paid side.
02 · Fit
Who should test it now, and who should wait
TEST NOW
Online stores with a clean feed
Product feed ads reuse what you already maintain for Google Shopping. The cheapest way into the channel.
TEST NOW
Considered purchases
B2B services, software, education, travel, anything people research in long conversations before they buy. That is where ChatGPT is used.
TEST NOW
You have maxed out Google
When your search campaigns already win most of the auctions they can, a new channel with fewer advertisers is the next place to look.
WAIT
Restricted categories or tiny budgets
Political advertisers cannot run at all, health and finance need to clear stricter eligibility, and a budget too small to reach a verdict is better spent on Google first.
03 · Process
A test with an exit, not a leap of faith
Week 1
Fit and policy
Is your category allowed, is your audience there, and what result would make the test a win. Written down before anything is spent.
Week 2
Build
Ads Manager account, billing, pixel and Conversions API, ad groups with context hints, the feed for stores.
Weeks 3 to 6
Run and read
A capped test budget, UTMs into GA4, weekly reading of what the context hints actually match.
Week 7
Decide
Cost per lead next to Google and Microsoft. Scale it, fix it, or stop it. All three are fine answers.
Policy, audience and budget: whether ChatGPT is worth testing for you right now.
20-minute call
Policy check for your category
Test plan you keep
Start here
Setup
from $300one-off
Account, tracking and the first campaigns, ready for a test budget.
Ads Manager and billing
Pixel and Conversions API
Context hints, ads, feed
Management
from $300per month
Weekly work on the campaigns, and a report that compares ChatGPT with your other channels.
Weekly optimisation
Cross-channel report
One fee with Google Ads
You pay OpenAI directly for the ads, from your own account. Running it next to your Google Ads or Microsoft Ads with me is covered by one flat fee.
05 · Questions
Questions about advertising on ChatGPT
Can businesses in Poland advertise on ChatGPT?
Yes. Ads have been showing to users in Poland since August 2026, and advertisers in Europe can buy them in the self-serve Ads Manager since the end of that month. Before that, buying went only through OpenAI's sales team and large agency groups.
Can I choose keywords?
No. Instead of keywords you write context hints, descriptions of the conversations where your ad fits. The skill is different from keyword research, closer to writing a precise brief.
Will my ad change what ChatGPT answers?
No. OpenAI states that ads do not influence answers and are shown separately, below them, with a label. Showing up inside the answer itself is a matter of being a good source, not of paying.
Who sees the ads?
Adult users on the Free and Go plans. People on paid plans such as Plus and Pro, business accounts, and users under 18 do not see ads.
Which businesses cannot advertise?
Political ads are banned, and ads do not appear next to health, mental health or political conversations. Health and finance advertisers can qualify only under stricter rules. The full list changes, so I check your category against the current policy before we start.
How are results measured?
With the OpenAI pixel on your site and the Conversions API from your server or CRM, plus UTM tags so the traffic shows up in your own GA4. I compare cost per lead with your other channels in the same report.
Is it better than Google Ads?
Nobody knows yet for your business, and anyone who says otherwise is selling. The channel is months old in Europe. That is why it starts as a capped test with a stop rule, next to Google, not instead of it.
What budget do I need for a test?
Enough to buy a few hundred clicks in your niche over four to six weeks. On the fit check I turn that into a number for you, with the minimum Ads Manager currently requires.
Tell me what you sell and where you advertise now. I look at the account with
read-only access, change nothing, and walk you through what I found on a
20-minute call. The list of fixes stays with you, even if we never work together.
