OpenAI expands ChatGPT ads with self-serve manager

OpenAI has expanded how advertisers can buy ads in ChatGPT, adding a beta self-serve Ads Manager in the US and new campaign buying options.

Advertisers can now buy ChatGPT ads through agency and technology partners or directly through the new portal. OpenAI is also introducing cost-per-click bidding alongside the cost-per-mille model used in the pilot, and adding measurement tools designed to show what happens after users engage with an ad.

OpenAI has been widening access after initially working directly with a small group of advertisers. The latest phase adds agency groups Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis and WPP, along with technology partners Adobe, Criteo, Kargo, Pacvue and StackAdapt.

Through those partners, advertisers can use the planning and buying systems they already use elsewhere, while OpenAI keeps control over ad delivery decisions inside ChatGPT. The self-serve option is being rolled out gradually as the company tests the system with more businesses.

Ads Manager allows US advertisers to register, add payment information, set budgets, adjust bids and pacing, upload creative, launch campaigns and view performance in one place. OpenAI says the tool is intended for a broad range of users, from smaller businesses and start-ups to larger global brands.

Buying model

The addition of cost-per-click bidding changes how advertisers can pay for placements in ChatGPT. In the earlier stage of the pilot, ads were sold only on a CPM basis, which charges advertisers for impressions rather than user actions.

Under the new model, advertisers are charged only when a user clicks on an ad. OpenAI will continue to offer both CPM and CPC buying.

OpenAI framed the change around the nature of many ChatGPT interactions, where users are researching products, comparing services or deciding what to do next. In that context, a click offers a clearer signal of immediate user response than an impression alone.

Measurement tools

OpenAI is also addressing one of the main requests from advertisers in the pilot by adding more detailed campaign measurement. It recently introduced a Conversions API and pixel-based measurement, which can help advertisers track actions that happen after an ad interaction, including purchases, leads and sign-ups.

Advertisers will receive aggregated reporting rather than access to individual conversations or personal details. The approach reflects OpenAI's effort to build an ad business while keeping commercial targeting separate from users' private exchanges with the chatbot.

Privacy and the independence of ChatGPT's answers have been central to OpenAI's approach to advertising since it began testing formats in the product. Those principles remain in place as advertiser access widens and the company adds tools more familiar to digital marketers.

Platform build-out

The expansion shows OpenAI moving from a limited pilot toward a more structured advertising platform around ChatGPT. Bringing in large agency holding groups gives it access to established brand budgets, while a self-serve system opens the door to smaller advertisers that want to buy directly.

That combination mirrors the pattern used by major digital advertising platforms, which often begin with managed campaigns before opening automated buying tools to a wider market. For OpenAI, the challenge will be to grow ad revenue without undermining user trust in a product built around conversational responses.

OpenAI says its ads system will continue to keep paid placements clearly separate from ChatGPT's answers. Conversations will remain private, and users will stay in control of their experience.

Stronger measurement signals should help improve how ads are matched and evaluated by linking performance more closely to outcomes rather than impressions alone. Advertisers receive "aggregated performance insights that help them understand campaign impact, without access to individual conversations."