How to Sign Up for ChatGPT Ads

OpenAI has officially opened its self-serve Ads Manager to U.S. businesses of all sizes. We walk you through the process so you know what to expect.

After several months of selectively testing its advertising pilot with high-figure spenders, OpenAI’s Ads Manager has expanded its self-serve Ads Manager to businesses of all sizes. The platform is now open to anyone who wants to apply, regardless of spend. 

While ChatGPT ads will not immediately replace Google Ads or Meta campaigns, they are quickly becoming a significant new advertising channel that marketers should start learning, testing, and understanding early. As conversational AI becomes more integrated into how consumers research products, compare services, and make purchasing decisions, platforms like ChatGPT are becoming important parts of the customer journey. In this blog, we walk you through the sign-up process so you know what to expect. 

If you're already working with a Google Ads consultant to manage your paid search strategy, adding ChatGPT ads to your mix is a natural next step worth exploring. In this post, we walk you through the sign-up process so you know what to expect.

How ChatGPT Ads Work

ChatGPT ads appear below the conversation responses when the conversation topic matches the context, based on “context hints.” "Context hints" refers to language that advertisers write describing the types of conversations they want their ads to match, so it’s a departure from the traditional keyword bidding approach.  

The ads are labeled as sponsored placements. Ads run on a separate system from ChatGPT's core model, and do not influence AI’s responses.

Why This Matters

ChatGPT’s ads program marks a significant shift in the evolution of digital advertising. Instead of traditional search ads based purely on keywords, ChatGPT ads are being positioned around conversations, intent, context, and decision-making moments. ChatGPT has hundreds of millions of weekly active users, and their conversations are some of the highest-intent interactions. The platform has added new measurement benchmarks and pricing flexibility and is quickly evolving based on experiences. 

Early data from their ads pilot shows their ads are outperforming traditional benchmarks on engagement, including through higher click-through rates. Also, the early-mover advantage for advertisers can be significant, as early adopters benefit from lower competition, lower costs, and valuable performance insights before broader adoption drives prices upward.

The Sign-Up Process 

The process is straightforward. The signup page is live at ads.openai.com.

On the OpenAI Ads Manager portal you will find an application form that asks some basic questions about your business, EIN, and your website.''

What Happens After You Submit An Application

After you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation indicating that the account is being reviewed before full access is granted. 

Once your account has been verified and access granted, the platform itself will look familiar if you have worked with Google Ads Manager or the Meta Ads Manager. It includes categories such as campaigns, ad groups and ad hierarchies, reporting tools, and analytics dashboards.

We Are Ready to Help Our Clients Test ChatGPT Ads

This is an exciting and evolving space, and we are ready to support our clients to test this emerging opportunity as access expands. ChatGPT ads are not the only new frontier worth watching — ads in Google's AI Overviews are also changing how and where businesses show up in search results. Get in touch if you'd like to discuss whether ChatGPT makes sense for your business and how to move forward with ChatGPT ads.