People now ask ChatGPT the same questions they used to type into Google: which builder to call, where to book a weekend away, what to buy for a new puppy. Since early 2026, OpenAI has been showing ads underneath some of those answers, and Australian businesses can now buy them directly through OpenAI Ads Manager.
This guide explains how ChatGPT ads work, who sees them, what you can and can’t advertise from Australia, how pricing and tracking work, and how to set up your first campaign without wasting money.
What ChatGPT ads are
ChatGPT ads are sponsored placements that appear below a ChatGPT response when the conversation is relevant to what you sell. They are clearly labelled as sponsored and visually separated from the answer itself.
OpenAI is firm on one point: ads do not change what ChatGPT says. The ad system runs separately from the chat model, and advertisers can’t pay to be mentioned in, ranked in or removed from an answer. You are buying a spot next to the conversation, not inside it.
Who sees ChatGPT ads
- Free and Go plan users in countries where ads are live, which includes Australia.
- Not people on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu plans.
- Not accounts identified as belonging to someone under 18.
- Not in Temporary Chats, and not next to sensitive conversations such as personal health, mental health or politics.
That still leaves a very large audience. Most ChatGPT users are on the free plan, and many of them are using it to research purchases.
What a ChatGPT ad looks like
Each ad is a simple unit with six parts:
- Your business name
- Your favicon (the small logo from your website)
- A title, which works like a headline
- A short description
- An image
- A landing page on your website
There are no video ads or carousels to produce at this stage. That keeps the creative work small, but it also means the few words and single image you do have need to be sharp.
How ChatGPT decides when to show your ad
This is the biggest difference from Google Ads. There are no exact-match keywords. Instead, ChatGPT’s ad system looks at:
- The context and intent of the current conversation
- Your ad’s title, description and landing page
- Context hints you write at the ad group level, describing the conversations, topics or phrases where your business is relevant
- For users who have ad personalisation turned on, some signals from their wider ChatGPT use
Context hints guide matching, but they don’t guarantee your ad appears in a particular conversation. In practice, a clear landing page that plainly describes what you do, where you do it and who it’s for helps just as much as the hints.
When several ads are eligible, OpenAI runs a relevance-weighted second-price auction. A more relevant ad can beat a higher bid, and you generally pay a little more than the next competitor needed, not your full maximum bid.
What you can and can’t advertise from Australia
OpenAI’s ad policies are stricter than Meta’s or Google’s, and the rules outside the US are tighter again. Before you plan a campaign, check that your category is allowed.
Generally supported: lifestyle and household goods, local services, travel and experiences, and digital products and education. Software, including health and financial software, is allowed.
Not allowed or heavily restricted for Australian advertisers right now:
- Most health services, including clinics, telehealth, medicines and supplements
- Legal services
- Most financial products, such as loans, credit cards and investments, which are limited to select approved advertisers or not allowed
- Alcohol, tobacco and vaping
- Gambling
- Dating and adult content
- Political ads
Every ad also has to be truthful. OpenAI prohibits exaggerated results, false endorsements and misleading pricing claims, and those rules sit on top of Australian Consumer Law. Our guide to what your small business can’t claim in ads covers the local side.
These rules are still changing, so check OpenAI’s ad policies before you build anything.
How ChatGPT ads are priced
You choose what the campaign is working towards:
- Views: you pay per thousand impressions (CPM).
- Clicks: you pay per click (CPC). This suits most small businesses.
- Conversions: the system aims for a conversion event you have set up, but you are still billed per valid click.
You set a maximum bid for each ad group and a budget for the campaign. OpenAI suggests starting click campaigns with a maximum bid of around US$3 to US$5 per click, and Ads Manager shows whether your bid is likely to be competitive. There’s no large minimum spend for self-serve accounts. For the full breakdown, see how much ChatGPT ads cost.
How to measure results
Ads Manager reports impressions, clicks, spend, click-through rate, average cost per click, average CPM and conversions. To track what happens after the click, you have three options, and you can use them together:
- The OpenAI pixel on your website, which records actions like enquiries or purchases
- The Conversions API, which sends conversion events from your server or CRM
- UTM parameters on your landing page links, so ChatGPT ad traffic shows up clearly in Google Analytics
Two practical notes. Impressions and clicks update roughly every 15 minutes, but spend can lag by 7 to 8 hours, so a zero spend figure on day one doesn’t mean nothing has been charged. And advertisers only ever see aggregated numbers. You won’t see anyone’s conversation.
Setting up your first campaign, step by step
- Create an account at ads.openai.com. The legal entity being billed must be based in a supported country, and Australia is one.
- Verify your business. OpenAI checks your business identity, ownership and website. This can take up to 7 business days, so start early. Make sure your ABN details, business name and website all match.
- Get your domain approved. Your advertiser identity has to match the website your ads point to.
- Add payment details and set up tracking: install the pixel and add UTM parameters to your landing page URL.
- Build the campaign. Campaigns contain ad groups, and ad groups contain ads. Choose your goal, budget and pacing at campaign level.
- Write your context hints at ad group level. Describe real situations, such as “someone planning a bathroom renovation in Melbourne’s south-east”, rather than a list of single keywords.
- Set your maximum bid and check the bid-strength guidance.
- Create the ad: title, description, image and landing page. Keep the promise in the ad and the content of the page the same.
- Submit for review. Every ad is reviewed before it runs. If one is rejected, the notice explains why, and you can appeal from Ads Manager.
Tips for ads that get clicked
- Answer the question the person was asking. Someone comparing options wants a reason to choose you, such as a fixed price, a fast turnaround or a local team.
- Be specific. “Same-week bathroom quotes in Pakenham and Berwick” beats “Quality bathrooms”.
- Use a real, clear image. Your own work or product usually beats stock. See real photos vs stock images.
- Send people to a matching page, not your homepage. A dedicated service page usually converts better. Our guide on how to structure a service page helps.
- Don’t imitate ChatGPT. Ads that look like part of the ChatGPT interface can be removed.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Starting in a category that isn’t allowed in Australia, then waiting on a rejection
- Launching without the pixel or UTMs, so you can’t tell whether the clicks turned into enquiries
- Writing context hints as bare keywords instead of describing the conversation
- Judging results after two days, when spend reporting is delayed and the system is still learning
- Pointing a specific ad at a generic homepage
Are ChatGPT ads right for your business?
They’re worth testing if your customers research before they buy, your category is allowed, and you can track enquiries properly. They’re less suitable if you have no budget for a proper test period, or if your business sits in health, legal or financial services in Australia.
For most small businesses, ChatGPT ads work best alongside Google and Meta, not instead of them. Our comparison of ChatGPT Ads vs Google Ads vs Meta Ads explains where each one fits, and the ChatGPT ads readiness checklist will tell you whether you’re ready to start.
Want help running ChatGPT ads?
Madexify sets up and manages ChatGPT ad campaigns through OpenAI Ads Manager, from verification and tracking to context hints, creative and weekly optimisation. Ad spend is billed by OpenAI directly to your own account. See our ChatGPT ads management service or the pricing page.
This article is part of our Online Advertising Guide. Browse all our guides on the guides page.
