OpenAI began testing ads in ChatGPT in the U.S. in February 2026, targeting logged-in adult users on the Free and Go subscription tiers. That pilot was always framed as a learning exercise. Three months later, the company has moved fast. It marks the biggest expansion yet since OpenAI launched advertising in ChatGPT, opening the platform from a handful of large test partners to any business that wants in, category restrictions aside.
A Reuters report in March suggested OpenAI banked over $100 million in revenue for its U.S. ad pilot after just six weeks. That number, if accurate, explains the pace. OpenAI is not treating this like an experiment anymore. It's building an ads business.
As someone who covers AI tools daily, this is one of the more consequential product moves I've tracked this year. Not because ads in a chatbot are novel, but because of the sheer scale ChatGPT operates at and the very specific intent signals it captures from users mid-conversation.
What Is the ChatGPT Ads Platform
OpenAI Ads Manager Beta is the platform for creating, launching, and managing campaigns in ChatGPT Ads, with tools to monitor performance and make updates in one place. OpenAI is beginning to roll out a beta self-serve Ads Manager that allows advertisers in the U.S. to sign up and purchase ads directly to appear in ChatGPT, making it easier for companies of all sizes, from SMBs and startups to global brands, to grow their businesses via ChatGPT.
OpenAI shipped its self-serve ChatGPT Ads Manager, opening up the platform to any U.S. advertiser, dropping the previous $50K minimum spend floor, and introducing CPC bidding alongside the existing CPM model. Businesses can access the platform at ads.openai.com.
How ChatGPT Ads Work
When you see an ad, it is always clearly labeled as sponsored and visually separated from the organic answer. During the test, OpenAI decides which ad to show by matching ads submitted by advertisers with the topic of your conversation, your past chats, and past interactions with ads. For example, if you're researching recipes, you may see ads for meal kits or grocery delivery.
Ads can appear below the end of a response. During the test, you may see a single ad unit below a ChatGPT response when there's a relevant match to your chat, and that unit may feature one or more items from an advertiser.
An ad is the creative unit shown in ChatGPT. It includes your brand name, logo, title, copy, landing page, and image. The format is intentionally restrained. Until a more robust measurement system is in place, the main lever advertisers have to improve performance is the creative itself, currently confined to a single format, a small favicon with text.
