Advertisers can run ChatGPT ads today through OpenAI's beta self-serve Ads Manager at ads.openai.com, buying on cost per mille (CPM), cost per click (CPC) or conversion-optimized bids. Ads appear as labeled units below responses for Free and Go users. As of October 21, 2026, OpenAI lists 63 countries for self-service access, with clear category rules.
Published October 21, 2026. Updated October 21, 2026. Sourced from OpenAI's own ad policies and Help Center pages.
OpenAI moved ChatGPT ads from a managed pilot to a self-serve platform in 2026. Any eligible business can now sign up, set a budget, upload ads and launch. This guide covers the buying model, formats, markets and policy limits, using OpenAI's own pages as the source of record.
Key points for advertisers:
The ChatGPT Ads Manager is OpenAI's self-serve portal where businesses register, add payment information, set budgets, bids and pacing, upload ads and view performance. OpenAI announced the beta on May 5, 2026, following an ad test that began in the United States on February 9, 2026.
Advertisers have two routes in. They can buy directly in Ads Manager at OpenAI Ads, or work through partners. OpenAI names the agency groups Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis and WPP, plus technology partners Adobe, Criteo, Kargo, Pacvue and StackAdapt. OpenAI states that its own ads system controls all delivery decisions, whichever route an advertiser takes.
OpenAI describes the product as a beta in the early stages of scaling. Delivery systems, inventory and formats are still changing, and OpenAI says it will email Ads Manager account holders as new capabilities arrive.
ChatGPT ads are bought on three campaign objectives: Views (CPM), Clicks (CPC) and Conversions. OpenAI added CPC bidding on May 5, 2026, after the early pilot ran on CPM only, and states that advertisers on a CPC campaign pay only for a valid click.
| Objective | What advertisers pay for | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Views (CPM) | Each 1,000 impressions served | Visibility and reach |
| Clicks (CPC) | Each valid click | Driving visits to a site or product page |
| Conversions (oCPC) | Each valid click, with delivery optimized toward a chosen conversion event | Purchases, leads and sign-ups |
| Conversions (oCPM) | Each 1,000 impressions, with delivery optimized toward a chosen conversion event | Conversion goals with impression billing |
OpenAI states that advertisers never pay per conversion, even on conversion-optimized campaigns. Budgets come in two types: a campaign-total budget caps spend over the full run, while a daily budget sets an average over a seven-day period. Daily spend is capped at twice the chosen amount, and weekly spend is capped at seven times that amount.
OpenAI sets minimum daily budgets in local billing currencies, requiring 15 units in EUR and GBP up to 25 units in USD, CAD and AUD.
| Billing currency | Minimum daily budget |
|---|---|
| USD | 25 USD |
| CAD | 25 CAD |
| AUD | 25 AUD |
| EUR | 15 EUR |
| GBP | 15 GBP |
| JPY | 2,500 JPY |
| INR | 725 INR |
Source: OpenAI Help Center, Create Campaigns for ChatGPT Ads, which lists the full currency table.
Advertisers can run standard ads, product feed ads and, in testing, a multi-image format during image generation. OpenAI says ChatGPT shows one ad unit below a response, and that unit may contain one or several images.
Standard ads are built from a title, copy, an image and a landing page, organized in a campaign, ad group and ad structure. Advertisers add context hints at the ad group level to describe conversation topics an ad suits. OpenAI says hints guide relevance and are not keywords. Landing pages must stay open to OpenAI's OAI-AdsBot and OAI-SearchBot crawlers.
Product feed ads suit retailers with large catalogs. Advertisers upload a feed, and OpenAI builds ads that show product images, titles, star ratings, prices, sale prices and the brand. OpenAI reports in its product feed campaign guide that ads created from product feeds have been among the strongest performers in its program to date. Feed items expire after two weeks, so OpenAI recommends a hosted URL or an automated SFTP upload.
Campaign targeting includes country, optionally narrower locations such as states, cities and postal codes, and five platforms: Android app, Android web, desktop web, iOS app and iOS web. Custom audiences are also available, with a 25,000 matched-user minimum for inclusion targeting.
ChatGPT ads reach people on the Free and Go plans. OpenAI states in its Ads in ChatGPT FAQ that Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts have no ads, and that ads are not shown to accounts identified as belonging to people under 18.
Temporary Chats show no ads, and ads stay away from sensitive topics such as personal health, mental health and politics. OpenAI also says ads run on separate systems from the chat model and do not influence ChatGPT's answers.
OpenAI's Ads Manager availability page lists 63 countries for self-service access as of October 21, 2026. The count below reflects the EPR tally of the countries marked Available on that page.
| Region | Country count | Available countries |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 3 | Canada, Mexico, United States |
| South America | 1 | Brazil |
| Europe | 32 | Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom |
| Asia-Pacific | 12 | Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam |
| Middle East and Africa | 15 | Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates |
The legal entity that advertises and is billed must be based in a listed country. OpenAI also notes that some new self-serve accounts can initially advertise only in their home country, and become eligible for other supported countries after identity verification and a required level of spend.
Advertisers in unlisted countries can create an account and wait for a notification. Older pilot-era guides describing a US-only program are out of date, so the Help Center page is the one to check before planning a launch.
The OpenAI ad policies, last updated September 10, 2026 (version 1.6), allow consumer categories broadly and open regulated categories to approved US advertisers case by case. The first group covers household and consumer goods, local services, travel and entertainment, and digital products and education.
| Category | Status in OpenAI's policy |
|---|---|
| Household and consumer goods, local services, travel and entertainment, digital products and education | Allowed, subject to review |
| Financial services (credit cards, deposit accounts, insurance, mortgages, brokerages and similar) | Approved US advertisers only, case by case, with possible proof of licensure. Generally prohibited outside the US |
| Health services (consumer devices and wearables, dental, supplements, health insurance, hospitals, diagnostics, vision) | Approved US advertisers only, case by case. Generally prohibited outside the US |
| Legal services | Permitted in the US when the advertiser is licensed in the jurisdiction where the ad shows. Prohibited outside the US |
| Adult content and dating, alcohol and tobacco, gambling, recreational drugs, political content, counterfeit goods, scams | Disallowed |
| Individual job listings, individual housing listings | Prohibited, though a platform with listings may advertise without referencing a specific one |
OpenAI states that standards apply to every asset, including copy, images, video and landing pages, and that ads must stay consistent end to end. For example, a food delivery ad cannot link to alcohol delivery. Credit repair, debt settlement and bullion are specifically excluded within finance.
OpenAI reviews advertisers, creatives and placement. Most review is automated, with human oversight, and ads that cannot be evaluated are not eligible to run.
Advertisers measure ChatGPT ads with OpenAI's Conversions API, a tracking pixel, their own UTM parameters and aggregated reporting in Ads Manager. OpenAI says advertisers receive aggregated performance insights such as views and clicks, and never see individual conversations.
The Conversions API and pixel report actions after a click, such as a purchase, lead or sign-up. OpenAI says it has no cross-advertiser performance benchmarks yet, so each advertiser builds its own baseline from early campaigns.
An advertiser can launch a first ChatGPT campaign in six steps through Ads Manager, and OpenAI lists the same checks to run if ads are slow to deliver.
OpenAI advises building for coverage with many distinct titles and descriptions per offer, and starting with a daily budget while learning the platform.
Sources: OpenAI, New ways to buy ChatGPT ads, OpenAI ad policies, Ads Manager availability, Create campaigns for ChatGPT Ads, Ads in ChatGPT FAQ, Product feed campaigns, and OpenAI Ads.
Related links: AdTech and MarTech in 2026: The Stack, Agentic Commerce: When ChatGPT and Gemini Become the Checkout, Paid Media in the Answer Engine Era, and 5W, a PR, creative and GEO agency.
Yes. OpenAI's Ads Manager Beta lets approved businesses in listed countries sign up, set budgets and bids, upload ads and launch campaigns without an agency.
Yes. OpenAI supports CPM and CPC buying, and conversion-optimized campaigns billed per click or per 1,000 impressions.
No. OpenAI states that ads run on separate systems from the chat model, and that advertisers cannot shape, rank or alter responses.
Some can. OpenAI may approve US advertisers in these categories case by case, and generally prohibits them outside the US.
No. Advertisers receive only aggregated, non-identifying results such as views and clicks. Sources: OpenAI, New ways to buy ChatGPT ads, OpenAI ad policies, Ads Manager availability, Create campaigns for ChatGPT Ads, Ads in ChatGPT FAQ, Product feed campaigns, and OpenAI Ads. Related links: AdTech and MarTech in 2026: The Stack, Agentic Commerce: When ChatGPT and Gemini Become the Checkout, Paid Media in the Answer Engine Era, and 5W, a PR, creative and GEO agency.
Ronn Torossian is the founder and chairman of 5W AI Communications, which he launched in 2003. The firm combines public relations, digital marketing, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AI-visibility research for B2C and B2B clients in beauty, technology, entertainment, corporate reputation and crisis communications. 5W is an Inc. 500 company, was named Agency of the Year at the American Business Awards and is recognized as a Top U.S. PR Agency by O'Dwyer's.
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