Say a rep calls a siding company in Raleigh, North Carolina, offering to get it into ChatGPT with ads. The owner has seen a sponsored box under an answer on his own phone, so the pitch sounds plausible.
The ads are real. A place in ChatGPT's written answer isn't for sale. Here's what OpenAI's own pages say as of October 2026.
What are ChatGPT ads, and who sees them?
They're paid placements that OpenAI may show below a ChatGPT response, clearly labeled and kept separate from the answer.[1] When the US test began on February 9, 2026, OpenAI said ads are labeled as sponsored.[2] Each shows the advertiser's name and logo, a headline, a short description, an image and a link.[3]
OpenAI says ads may appear on the Free and Go plans and in logged-out ChatGPT, not on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu.[1] It doesn't show them to accounts identified as under 18, or near sensitive topics such as health and politics.[1]
To see the format, ask ChatGPT about siding replacement in your town from a Free account, outside Temporary Chat. If an ad shows, its three-dot menu explains why, under About this ad.[1]
Does a ChatGPT ad get you into the answer?
No. OpenAI says ads don't influence ChatGPT's answers and run on separate systems from the chat model.[1] It says advertisers can't shape or rank what ChatGPT writes.[1]
When ChatGPT searches the web, OpenAI says it ranks results on several factors and doesn't guarantee any site a place.[4] Ads are shown apart from the answer,[1] so no fee buys a place in the written answer.
Earning a mention is separate work, covered in how to get recommended by ChatGPT. If a seller promises a spot in the answer, ask for the OpenAI page that says it's possible. Vetting an agency covers other pitches.
How do you buy ChatGPT ads, and what do they cost?
You can buy them yourself or through a partner.[5] On May 5, 2026, OpenAI began rolling out a beta self-serve Ads Manager and added cost-per-click bidding.[5] Its availability page lists the United States for self-service.[6]
You sign up at ads.openai.com with your ChatGPT login and a card.[7] The goal you pick sets the billing: Views bills per thousand impressions, and Clicks per valid click.[8] A Conversions goal aims for an action on your site, like a form, but still bills by clicks or views, never per conversion.[8]
As of October 2026, OpenAI recommends a starting maximum bid of $3 to $5 per click for Clicks campaigns.[3] The current minimum daily budget for an account billed in US dollars is $25.[8]
Neither is a forecast. OpenAI's FAQ says ChatGPT Ads doesn't yet have performance benchmarks across advertisers, industries or campaign types.[9]
Besides the country, a regular campaign can target states, cities, markets and postal codes where available.[8] Context hints, plain notes on when your service fits, can't enforce geographic limits.[10]
A daily budget is an average over seven days, so one day can run up to twice that amount.[8] A campaign-total budget caps the whole run.[8]
Your card is charged when unpaid spend reaches a threshold OpenAI assigns, and any balance left at the end of the month is charged then.[11]
What do OpenAI's ad rules mean for a home service company?
Local services are allowed. OpenAI's ad policies, updated September 10, 2026, list them among the consumer categories ads are mostly limited to during the initial test period.[12] The rules to read first:
- Licenses: if the work needs one, you must keep it and follow the law.[12]
- Service area: you may not misrepresent where you're based or the area you serve.[12]
- Claims: no unfounded claims about pricing or outcomes, and no false endorsements.[12]
- Landing page: it's reviewed with the ad and must accurately represent the service.[12] It must not block OAI-AdsBot or OAI-SearchBot, two OpenAI crawlers.[13] Check your crawler settings first.
- Hiring: ads for individual job listings are prohibited.[12]
Financing is a gray area. OpenAI's eligibility table lists personal loans and buy now, pay later as restricted to select approved advertisers in the US.[14] The pages I read don't say how a contractor's payment plan is treated, so I'd keep the ad about the job.
OpenAI may also ask you to verify the business, and that review can take up to seven business days.[14] Enter your registered business name as the Legal Name.[7]
How do ChatGPT ads compare with Local Services Ads and Google Ads?
They charge for different things and leave different things behind. Our Local Services Ads guide covers the Google side.
| Option | You pay for | Where it shows | What the buyer sees | What stays when you stop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT ads | Views or clicks[8] | Below a ChatGPT answer, for Free, Go and logged-out users[1] | A labeled ad[1] with your name and link[3] | Your landing page |
| Local Services Ads | Leads[15] | Prominently in Google Search[15] | Your listing, with a Google Verified badge after Google's checks[15] | Reviews, managed in your Business Profile[16] |
| Google Ads | Clicks[17] | Above or below Google results[18] | A text ad with an Ad label[18] | Your landing page |
| Named in the answer | Your time, or a fee for the work | Inside the written answer | Your name, sometimes with a cited source[4] | Your pages, profile and reviews |
People who use ChatGPT still use Google:
95% of ChatGPT users also use Google—unchanged from Sept 2025 to May 2026.
Source: Similarweb AI search research · (opens in a new tab)
So I wouldn't move money from a channel that already books jobs. Ads stop with the budget. A clear page, a full profile and real reviews keep working, and they're the kind of sources AI assistants draw on before naming a local company.
How would you test ChatGPT ads without wasting money?
Keep it small, dated and judged by booked jobs. This plan is mine, not OpenAI's.
- One service, one area. Siding replacement, say, in the ZIP codes your crews cover.
- A fixed cap and a stop date. OpenAI suggests newcomers start with a daily budget but calls a campaign-total budget the stricter control on spend,[8] so I'd use that for a test. A first campaign may not offer dates until it's published, and OpenAI warns ads could start before you've set them.[8] Add the end date as soon as you can. After a pause, ads can keep showing for up to 24 hours in some cases, and you pay for them.[11]
- A page that answers the question. OpenAI suggests the most relevant page rather than a generic home page.[13] Use your siding page, with price ranges and job photos.
- A way to count leads. OpenAI measures website actions such as a lead form through code on your site (its pixel) or a server link (its Conversions API).[19] The pages I read don't cover phone calls, so ask every caller how they found you and keep a lead log.
- Cost per booked job. Spend divided by jobs booked: the same sum our piece on whether SEO is worth it runs for paid leads.
A four-week siding test in Raleigh
- Area: five ZIP codes the crews already work. Budget: $800 campaign total over four weeks, end date added after publishing.
- Leads traced to the ads: 6 (four calls, two forms). Estimates: 4. Jobs booked: 1, a $14,000 replacement.
- Cost per booked job: $800. Compare it with referrals and Google in the lead log.
- One job is too few to judge. The date ends the test, not a good or bad week.
Illustrative examplemade-up numbers · use your own
Who should wait, and what should you skip?
Wait if your service page, Google profile or reviews aren't ready, because an ad only pays for the visit. Start with our website audit checklist and the local SEO checklist for home service companies. Wait, too, if your crews are booked out for weeks.
One step to skip: the ad built from your website at signup, which OpenAI says can go live once it passes review if billing and settings allow.[7] You can pass on that step and build your first campaign in Ads Manager.[7]
We don't sell or run ads. Our work is the unpaid side: the pages, profile and reviews behind being named. AI search optimization plans start at $750/mo, month to month, and every month we run the same buyer questions across the AI assistants we test (currently ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity).
The Free AI visibility check is a review by hand of your website and Google profile, with your first fixes, usually within two business days. Pricing lists every plan and the Free 30-minute strategy call.
What can't ChatGPT ads do for you?
They can't buy you a place in the written answer.[1] And they're new: OpenAI calls the platform a beta that's still changing delivery, ad formats and how advertisers buy and measure.[9]
Don't count on a refund either. OpenAI's billing page says delivered spend generally isn't refundable, and fewer leads than expected doesn't change that by itself.[11]
These pages were checked on October 18, 2026, and most OpenAI help pages show only a relative "Updated" date. Re-read the billing, campaign and policy pages before you spend.