ChatGPT ads went from a test to a self-serve channel in 2026. For B2B companies they offer something new: an ad placed under the answer to a problem the buyer has just described in their own words. They also come with real limits. This guide collects both, with sources. Platform details change often; we update this page when they do.
Where ChatGPT ads run
OpenAI began testing ads in ChatGPT in the US early in 2026. The self-serve Ads Manager opened to US advertisers in beta on 5 May 2026. The UK followed in June. Ads began serving in 31 European markets on 24 August, with self-serve buying there from 31 August, and by late September ads were live in more than 60 countries.
Advertisers buy through Ads Manager at ads.openai.com. Partners and resellers also sell inventory; we recommend buying directly in your own account, so costs and data stay transparent.
Who sees them
- Users on the Free and Go plans, in markets where ads are served. No ads for accounts identified as under 18, or in Temporary Chats.
- No ads for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu users.
- Ads appear in a labelled block beneath the response. They are served by separate systems and don't change the answer.
- Advertisers receive aggregate performance data, not chat content.
For B2B this matters: many decision-makers use paid or company plans and will never see an ad. Plan your organic AI visibility alongside paid campaigns.
What B2B advertisers can target
| Setting | Details | B2B use |
|---|---|---|
| Context hints | Free-text topic descriptions, up to 2,000 per ad group. Not keywords. | One ad group per buyer question and decision stage |
| Location | Countries and location IDs, up to 2,500 including exclusions | Sales territories in the US and UK |
| Platform | Android app, Android web, desktop web, iOS app, iOS web (separate since 16 Sept) | Desktop web for the work context |
| Audience exclusion | Hashed email or phone lists, no minimum since 3 Sept | Exclude customers, staff and open deals |
| Audience inclusion | Needs at least 25,000 matched users; not in the EEA or Switzerland | Large CRM and newsletter lists only |
| Bidding | CPM, CPC, oCPC, oCPM (oCPM since 16 Sept) | CPC first, then oCPC on demo bookings |
| Measurement | Pixel, Conversions API, URL parameters; click windows 7/14/30 days, view 0/1 day | UTM per ad group into GA4 and CRM |
| HubSpot | Auto UTMs and matching of clicks to known contacts and deals (since 16 Sept) | Ad clicks connected to pipeline |
What you can't do
- Target companies by name, domain or IP address.
- Target job titles, functions or seniority.
- Build lookalike audiences or retarget website visitors.
- See what users typed. Nobody can.
The practical answer to the first two: target the problems only your buyers have, then identify companies after the click on your own website.
What it costs
Trade press and agencies report CPMs of about $25–60 and suggested starting CPC bids of about $3–5 since the self-serve launch. In the US the minimum budget is $25 a day per campaign, so a two-campaign test starts at about $1,500 a month. Plan for 60 to 90 days; optimised bidding needs conversion data before it can work.
As a planning range: at a CPC of $4.50–$6.50, a $3,000 monthly budget buys roughly 460–670 clicks.
The first published B2B pilot
Windmill Strategy published a 30-day pilot for industrial manufacturing (22 June to 21 July 2026), two campaigns at the minimum budget:
| Spend | $1,470 |
| Impressions | 39,284 |
| Clicks | 259 |
| Click-through rate | 0.66% |
| Cost per click | $5.68 |
| Conversions | 0 |
Three takeaways. Clicks came at a fair price for B2B. Nothing connected those clicks to pipeline, so the test couldn't show value. And it is one pilot in one industry, so treat it as a starting benchmark, not a forecast.
Measurement
OpenAI offers a pixel, a Conversions API and dynamic URL parameters, with click attribution windows of 7, 14 or 30 days and view windows of 0 or 1 day. OpenAI notes that reports may include modelled conversions, so check results against your own analytics.
Give every ad group its own utm_content value. Organic visits from ChatGPT answers arrive with utm_source=chatgpt.com, which lets you separate paid and organic AI traffic in GA4.
From click to company
Because ChatGPT can't target companies, B2B advertisers need to know which companies clicked. Company identification tools match visits from business networks to company records. A good share of ad clicks can be named: more on desktop and at larger companies, fewer on mobile and for remote workers.
In the UK, tracking that uses cookies or similar technologies needs consent. In the US, disclose it in your privacy notice and honour opt-outs where state laws require. How to name the companies that come from ChatGPT.
Paid and organic together
Ads reach Free and Go users. Answers reach everyone. OpenAI says ads don't influence ChatGPT's answers, so paid and organic visibility need separate work. In two 2026 studies of B2B software questions, most of what ChatGPT cited were vendors' own pages and independent articles; review sites were a small share. How B2B software gets recommended by ChatGPT.
Eligibility
OpenAI reviews every advertiser. Its ad policy (version 1.6, September 2026) opened first to consumer categories and to digital products and education, with other categories restricted or not yet accepted. B2B software usually fits digital products; services for businesses are not named. B2B pilots have run, but check your category before you plan budget or sign with an agency.
We check your category against the current policy before sending any proposal.
A 90-day test plan
- Weeks 1–2. Confirm eligibility. Set up tracking, consent and company identification. Audit what AI tools say about your category. Write ad groups from real buyer questions.
- Weeks 3–6. Launch two campaigns on CPC: desktop web and all devices. Exclude customers. Review clicks, landing-page engagement and company matches weekly.
- Weeks 7–10. Move budget to the topics that bring in-profile companies. Switch to optimised CPC once demo bookings are tracked. Send hot accounts to sales the same day.
- Weeks 11–13. Decide: scale, fix or stop. Judge on identified in-profile companies, meetings and pipeline, not on clicks.
Sources
- OpenAI: Ads campaign targeting
- OpenAI Help: Ads in ChatGPT
- OpenAI: Ad policies
- Qwestyon: ChatGPT ads updates
- Windmill Strategy: ChatGPT ads B2B pilot
- HubSpot: ChatGPT Ads integration
- Demand Gen Report: G2 survey of B2B software buyers
- Clickport: ChatGPT traffic in GA4
- Factors.ai: ChatGPT ads for B2B