By Alavi Sumaia, Paid Media Manager at The MTM Agency
By now, you’ve likely come across the growing buzz around ChatGPT ads. It’s quickly being positioned as the next frontier in digital advertising.
As with any emerging space, many platforms and providers are beginning to claim early capabilities. Some are even sharing pricing or testing frameworks, positioning themselves as first movers.
But with so much noise so early on, the key challenge for marketers isn’t awareness; it’s understanding what’s actually possible today, and what still sits firmly in the realm of speculation.
Why ChatGPT Ads matter (and why now)
ChatGPT advertising signals a broader shift in how users discover and evaluate products and services. Unlike traditional digital environments, where users passively scroll or browse, interactions within ChatGPT are typically driven by active intent. Users are asking direct questions, exploring solutions, and comparing options in real time.
This fundamentally changes the role of advertising. Rather than interrupting attention, brands can appear alongside moments of genuine interest, when a user is already engaged in research or decision-making. In this sense, ChatGPT begins to act as a new “discovery layer” in the customer journey, sitting somewhere between search, content, and recommendation-driven platforms.
What ChatGPT Ads actually look like today
Despite the level of attention they are receiving, ChatGPT ads are still in an early stage of development, and the current reality is more limited than many might expect. Ads currently appear below the AI’s response, clearly separated and labelled as sponsored placements, rather than being embedded within the generated content itself.
Targeting is primarily contextual, meaning ads are served based on the content of a user’s query rather than traditional audience segmentation or behavioural profiling. While this introduces a new level of immediacy in intent matching, it also reduces the level of control advertisers may be used to from platforms such as Meta or Google.
From a setup perspective, the introduction of a self-serve Ads Manager has made the platform more accessible, allowing advertisers to create, manage, and monitor campaigns in a structure that will feel familiar to paid media teams. However, in its current beta form, the platform remains relatively streamlined in terms of formats, reporting, and optimisation capabilities.
The opportunity: high-Intent, underpriced attention?
At a strategic level, the appeal of ChatGPT advertising lies in the quality of intent it can capture. Because users are actively asking questions and seeking recommendations, each interaction represents a strong signal of interest, often much closer to decision-making than traditional awareness channels.
This creates an opportunity for brands to engage users at a particularly influential point in their journey, when they are still shaping preferences but already moving towards a choice. Early indications suggest that this environment could offer relatively low competition compared to more established platforms, potentially giving early adopters an advantage in both visibility and cost efficiency.
However, while the theoretical opportunity is compelling, it is important to recognise that much of the value still needs to be proven in practice.
The reality check: it’s still early
For all the excitement surrounding ChatGPT ads, the platform remains firmly in its infancy. Early hands-on testing highlights that much of the current functionality is basic, particularly when compared to the sophistication of more mature platforms like Google Ads or Meta.
Creative formats are limited, offering minimal space for messaging and differentiation, while optimisation options are still evolving. Measurement and attribution also remain unclear in certain areas, with some ambiguity around how performance, particularly conversions, is tracked and reported.
Cost dynamics further complicate the picture. While pricing models have begun to shift towards more familiar structures such as CPC and CPM, early benchmarks indicate relatively high costs given the level of control currently available.
Taken together, this paints a picture of a platform with clear long-term potential, but one that is not yet fully equipped to deliver consistent, scalable performance
Privacy & data considerations (important differentiator)
Another defining characteristic of ChatGPT advertising lies in its approach to data and privacy. Unlike many traditional platforms, ads are kept separate from the AI-generated responses, and user conversations are not directly shared with advertisers.
In regions such as the UK and EU, this approach becomes even more structured. Personalised advertising requires explicit user consent, meaning that, in many cases, ads will rely more heavily on contextual signals rather than deep behavioural tracking.
This represents a notable shift in how targeting operates. Instead of building audiences based on historical data, advertisers must increasingly focus on relevance in the moment, aligning messaging closely with the user’s immediate query or need.
What this means for advertisers
For advertisers, the emergence of ChatGPT ads should be seen less as an immediate performance channel and more as an evolving opportunity that requires careful evaluation. The platform is likely to be most effective in scenarios where users engage in longer consideration journeys, such as B2B, professional services, education, or high-value consumer purchases. In these cases, appearing during moments of active research can provide meaningful influence.
At the same time, expectations need to be managed. This is not yet a channel designed for scale, nor should it be approached in the same way as established platforms. Over-investment at an early stage, without a clear testing framework, risks inefficiency.
A more effective approach is to treat ChatGPT ads as part of a broader experimentation strategy. Starting with controlled budgets, focusing on learning, and integrating insights into a wider cross-channel plan will allow brands to build understanding without overexposure. This aligns with a broader industry shift towards more connected, insight-driven marketing ecosystems, where channels do not operate in isolation but contribute to a unified strategy
Why specialist guidance matters
With multiple players entering the conversation, the question becomes: who do you trust, and where do you start?
That’s exactly where MTM comes in. We support brands by navigating the full landscape of ChatGPT advertising, from A to Z. This goes beyond technical capabilities or test budgets. It’s about helping you understand what’s viable, what’s worth testing, and how to approach this space with a clear, commercially grounded strategy.
Get in contact with a member of our paid media team for specialist guidance on how to approach ChatGPT advertising for your brand.
FAQs
1. When will ChatGPT Ads be rolled out?
ChatGPT ads are currently in a limited beta, with access being rolled out gradually to selected advertisers. OpenAI hasn’t announced a full public launch date yet, and expansion will continue in phased stages.
2. Where do ChatGPT Ads appear in the interface?
Ads currently appear below the AI-generated response, clearly labelled as sponsored. They are not embedded within the model’s output.
3. How does targeting work on ChatGPT?
Targeting is primarily contextual. Ads are triggered by the content of a user’s query rather than behavioural or audience-based data. In the UK/EU, personalised targeting requires explicit consent.
4. Are ChatGPT Ads expensive?
Early benchmarks show CPC/CPM models that can feel high relative to the level of control available. Costs may stabilise as the platform matures.
5. What about privacy and data usage for ChatGPT Ads?
User conversations are not shared with advertisers. In regulated regions, personalised ads require explicit consent, making contextual relevance the primary targeting method.