Something big is coming to the world of search - ChatGPT advertising. You might not be planning campaigns there just yet, but now’s the time to start thinking about how your brand could show up when it does.
This change is particularly noteworthy given OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s public stance that he "hates ads," expressing concern over products that manipulate the truth to suit advertisers. Yet, based on internal OpenAI documents, the company is moving forward, indicating a strategic pivot toward commercial monetisation.
The timeline is accelerating. While the rollout may be cautious, internal projections forecast a billion dollars in new revenue from "free user monetization" in 2026. This figure is projected to grow exponentially, reaching nearly $25 billion by 2029 of OpenAI’s total $125 billion projection (source: Juan González Villa post on X).
This blog provides a breakdown of what we know so far, where the future opportunities lie, the critical risks to watch for and the practical steps your brand can take to secure an early-adopter advantage.
What’s going on with ChatGPT (and why it matters)
The current state
With roughly 810 million weekly active users (source SQ Magazine), today, OpenAI relies on subscription and enterprise revenue. However, the signals for an imminent ad model are clear. The company is actively hiring specialised advertising talent (source Times of India), building out the necessary campaign infrastructure. While analysts broadly predict ads will begin rolling out early 2026, a timeline that could yet shift.
It's important to note the nuance: Sam Altman and other OpenAI leaders have publicly stated that advertising would be a "last resort" and must be "thoughtful." This strongly suggests the initial rollout will be gradual, subtle and highly selective, prioritising user experience and brand quality. New ChatGPT features such as Pulse, app integrations and "Deep Research" are already expanding platform functionality, making it increasingly more ad-friendly for integrated advertising.
What could ChatGPT ads look like (and how they’d work)
The true opportunity lies in the format. Based on job listings, ad-tech leaks and comparative analysis, here are the most plausible ad formats we expect to see:
| Format | How It Might Work | Best For / Use Case | Challenges / Caveats |
| Contextual (woven into responses) | Within a generated answer or recommendation, ChatGPT might say, “If you’re also interested in tool X (sponsored), here’s more on that.” |
Useful for consideration / awareness phases, product suggestions in context | The ad must feel natural and not interrupt the conversational flow |
| Embedded (sponsored links) | Similar to Google search ads: a “sponsored” link or listing before or after the AI’s answer |
Easy to understand; bridge between discovery and click | Distinguishing ad vs organic will be crucial |
| Sponsored session / deep features unlock | The user watches / interacts with an ad to unlock certain features, deeper responses or longer sessions |
High-intent users doing deep research; premium features | Too many interruptions could degrade experience |
| Carousel / visual recommendations | For product queries or e-commerce, ChatGPT might show a carousel of options (e.g. “based on what you said, here are some suggestions”) |
Retail, local, fashion, or any visual product-driven brands | Needs integration with inventory, visuals, pricing |
| Premium features session | To unlock pro features or content, user might view or interact with sponsored content |
Upsell / cross-sell possibilities | If overdone, frustrates paying / free users |
Whatever the format, expect familiar reporting mechanisms:
- Bidding models like CPM, CPC, CPL
- Ad quality scoring (user feedback, relevance, conversion)
- Audience targeting / segmentation using conversational signals
- Reporting / analytics dashboards akin to other ad platforms
- (Potential) Integrations with existing ad platforms or take ad signals and media spend from Google / Meta, enabling cross-channel orchestration. A feature hinted at in current job specifications.
How much will it cost to advertise on ChatGPT?
The exact cost of advertising on ChatGPT is currently unknown, but we expect a pricing structure that mirrors other established platforms such as Google Ads, Meta Ads, and Microsoft Advertising where advertisers are charged by either impressions, clicks, form submissions or transactions. Or it could be something else entirely.
ChatGPT Advertising Opportunities and Risks
ChatGPT Advertising Opportunities
High-intent audiences
When someone asks ChatGPT something, they’ve often moved past passive browsing and are seeking solutions and answers. Ads placed here could capture users further down the funnel.
Contextual targeting at its best
Since ads are tied directly to the immediate conversational or query context, relevance can be extremely high, significantly reducing wasted impressions.
Strong intent signals
Conversational cues (pain points, budget, timeline) can be parsed and used to dynamically tailor offers or messaging.
Seamless integration
When executed correctly, these ads won't feel like interruptions. They become part of the flow, enhancing the user experience rather than disrupting it.
Early mover gains
If you adopt early, you can test, learn, and optimise while competition is low and stake out prime real estate.
But, we’ve also got to be realistic and cautious.
ChatGPT Advertising Risks and cautions
Industry sensitivity / compliance
In regulated sectors (healthcare, finance, legal), it is unknown how will ad disclaimers and controls will work.
User experience backlash
If ads feel intrusive or biased, they could erode the platform's core value proposition: trust.
SEO / organic conflict
Marketers must monitor whether paid placements cannibalise organic citations and how ChatGPT balances advertiser interests against purely informational sources.
Ad bias / fairness
Given that the language model is the system itself, ensuring that ad placement does not influence the objectivity of responses or present bias will be a major challenge for platform governance.
Measuring impact and attribution
Linking ChatGPT ad exposure to downstream conversions (off-platform) will require clever attribution models.
Uncertain pricing / scaling
We don’t yet know whether costs will scale affordably for all advertisers or skew towards large budgets.
The introduction of ChatGPT ads will mark a significant shift in the possibilities of search advertising, moving beyond predominantly keyword-based clicks and instead focusing on dialogue-based queries to deliver ads based on clear user context. Through leveraging the existing user base, ChatGPT ads will continue to signal the evolution of search ads with a greater emphasis on conversational relevance and building trust through authenticity, with ads becoming more of a seamless experience of capturing intent
Simultaneously, it will be interesting to observe the potential disruption to traditional search advertising models and how visibility is impacted for conventional search ads amongst the increase in users turning to AI assistants including ChatGPT. This may force brands to rethink their search strategies to pivot towards this shift in user engagement at their time to convert.
Tom Saunders, Senior Performance Marketing Executive at STM AGENCY
In Summary
With roughly 810 million weekly active users as of August 2025 (source SQ Magazine), with that in mind, we believe there will be a significant advantage to being an early adopter. The initial period of low competition on a platform like ChatGPT will create a rare window of opportunity. Advertisers will benefit from high exposure and a lower cost of acquisition compared to saturated networks like Google Ads or Meta Advertising.
Our recommendation: Allocate an experimental budget now. Those who move quickly will enjoy a valuable period of low-cost, high-quality traffic before market competition inevitably drives prices up to mature platform levels.
Start Showing Up in AI Search Today
You don't have to wait for advertising to launch in 2026 to start benefiting from ChatGPT.
At STM AGENCY, we are already helping clients such as JCB, Brother and the University of Manchester earn those organic citations within AI-generated responses, putting their brands directly in front of users when it matters most.
Want to learn how we can get your brand to show up and stand out in AI search? Get in touch.
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ChatGPT Advertising: The Next Big Shift in Digital Marketing
ChatGPT advertising expected to launch in 2026, changing paid search as we know it. Ths blog provides a breakdown of what we know so far, the opportunities and risks to watch for, and the practical steps your brand can take to secure an early-adopter advantage.
