Will ChatGPT have ads? The answer is yes, and they’re now active in the US! Let’s cover everything we know about the most exciting thing to happen in digital marketing since Google.
OpenAI has just announced that they’re testing ChatGPT advertising in the US, a move that signals a major shift in the digital advertising landscape. Logged-in, adult users in the US may now see ads relevant to their conversations.
While it’s still early days, it’s a development worth paying attention to, especially if you’re a company or marketer who has primarily relied on Google Ads as your faithful channel for capturing consumer demand.
How will ads in ChatGPT appear?
OpenAI is introducing advertising to help cover the cost of operating ChatGPT’s Free and Go tiers. Naturally, this raises a lot of questions. Luckily, OpenAI has been transparent about a few key principles:
- Ads in ChatGPT will be clearly separated from AI-generated responses
- Ads will not influence the answers ChatGPT provides and will be clearly labelled, ensuring answer independence
- Paid tiers (Plus, Business, and Enterprise) will remain ad-free
- User privacy will be prioritised; advertisers will not have access to conversations
- Users will have some control over ads, with the ability to disable personalised ads and delete ad data
We can safely say that ChatGPT won’t be turning into a traditional search results page filled with sponsored answers any time soon. What we can expect is a more sustainable revenue model that protects user trust, while also giving businesses another advertising avenue.
Where is OpenAI testing ads?
OpenAI has begun testing ads in the United States, shown only to logged-in adult users on the Free and Go plans, and at limited frequency.
At this stage, there is no confirmed timeline for rollout for PPC ads in New Zealand or Australia. OpenAI has indicated that any international expansion will be gradual as they test formats and safeguards.
For New Zealand advertisers, this is most immediately relevant if you’re already advertising in the US market, but the longer-term implications go well beyond geography.
“Even if ads roll out in the US first, this isn’t a US-only story. Any platform that changes how people discover, evaluate, and choose brands will eventually reshape global marketing behaviour, and advertisers who understand that early tend to win.”
Why do ads in ChatGPT matter for advertisers?
For much of the last decade, intent-based discovery has largely meant one thing: Google Search. Now, there’s a credible, mainstream alternative in the intent-driven discovery space.
Millions of people already use ChatGPT to:
- Research products and services
- Compare options
- Get recommendations
- Assist in purchase decisions
Historically, these behaviours have belonged almost entirely to Google Search.
That doesn’t mean Google is going anywhere, far from it. But a bit of healthy competition can be good for everyone. It pressures platforms to improve ad relevance and user experience, and to deliver better value for advertisers.
Over time, it also opens the door to new advertising environments that are more contextual, conversational, and aligned with how people actually research and make decisions.
“This is one of those moments that could genuinely change the trajectory of search marketing. We’re moving from keywords to conversations, and from answering queries to influencing decisions, that’s a massive shift for how brands think about their visibility and performance.”
What should advertisers do now?
For now, this is a development to watch closely.
While OpenAI has established an information signup form for interested advertisers, there’s no self-serve ad platform, no confirmed formats, and no clear timelines for wider rollout. As with any new channel, we expect experimentation, learning curves, and gradual adoption.
What is clear is that the digital marketing ecosystem is evolving, and reliance on a single platform always carries risk.
At Search Republic, we’ll continue monitoring how OpenAI ads develop and what it could mean alongside existing Google Ads. When this becomes a practical, testable channel for New Zealand advertisers, we’ll be ready to guide that conversation.
If you’d like to talk about how ChatGPT might fit into your broader digital marketing strategy, feel free to get in touch.
Book a 15-minute strategy call
brad@searchrepublic.co.nz
