OpenAI started rolling out ads inside ChatGPT[1] to free-tier users in the United States. This is the most consequential new ad platform launch since Google AdWords debuted in October 2000.
Here's what we're seeing.
How It Differs from Google Ads
- Google Ads run on a four-step model: user types keywords → sees a sponsored result → clicks through to the advertiser's site → converts. The advertiser controls the experience from click to conversion.
- ChatGPT Ads compress that into four steps: user has a multi-turn conversation → an ad shows up embedded in the response → the user keeps talking, potentially about the product → conversion happens in-chat.
The advertiser gives up control of the narrative. In return, they get something potentially more powerful: agent-mediated credibility inside a conversation the user already trusts.
The Ad Format
ChatGPT ads show up at the bottom of responses, clearly labeled as sponsored. Two formats at launch:
- Shopping Carousel. Plugs into Etsy and Shopify. Shows product images, prices, and direct checkout. When a user asks about products, relevant sponsored items appear in a horizontal carousel. First-wave advertisers include Target, Ford, Adobe, and Expedia.
- Conversational Banner. This is the one to watch. A sponsored product appears below the response, but here's the twist — users can ask ChatGPT questions about the product right inside the ad unit. No click-through. No landing page. Just a conversation about the product, mediated by the agent, in the same interface.
Both formats are contextually triggered. No keyword bidding. The agent decides relevance based on the full context of the conversation.
Pricing: $60 CPM, High Barrier to Entry
OpenAI set initial pricing[1] at roughly $60 CPM with a $200,000 minimum commitment. Unlike Google's CPC model, these are impression-based — you're paying for awareness inside conversational context, not clicks. The $200K floor filters out smaller advertisers and signals enterprise-first, mirroring Google's early playbook of working with large advertisers before opening self-serve. At $60 CPM, this is well above typical display ($2–5 CPM) and closer to premium video and connected TV rates. OpenAI is betting that conversational context is worth the premium.
What Brands Should Do Now
Fix organic agent visibility first — if your brand is invisible to ChatGPT's models because it's JavaScript-rendered, poorly structured, or behind login walls, paid ads are a bandage over a structural problem. ChatGPT's shopping features[7] already power product recommendations from structured data, and the ad system builds on that foundation. Then build conversational brand narratives, because the agent will discuss your product with potential customers and what it says depends on the content you've put out there.
