ChatGPT Adds CPC Ads

OpenAI has started selling some ChatGPT ads on a cost-per-click basis, moving its young ad business closer to the way search ads are bought. (openai.com) (finance.yahoo.com) The company began testing ads in ChatGPT in the United States on February 9, 2026, for logged-in adults on the Free and Go plans. On March 26, OpenAI said it would expand the pilot to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. (openai.com) (help.openai.com) OpenAI says ads appear below the end of a response, are labeled as sponsored, and are visually separated from the chatbot’s answer. During the current test, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education accounts do not get ads. (help.openai.com) (openai.com) Cost per click means an advertiser pays when a user clicks an ad, not just when the ad is shown. Reported pilot bids are about $3 to $5 per click, after the first phase of the pilot used cost per thousand impressions pricing for reach campaigns. (finance.yahoo.com) (ppc.land) That pricing change puts ChatGPT ads closer to Google Search and other performance ad systems, where buyers watch clicks and conversions instead of raw impressions. OpenAI’s advertiser page pitches the product around people using ChatGPT to compare options, plan purchases, and “take action.” (openai.com) (thenextweb.com) OpenAI is also testing an early ads manager with a subset of advertisers. PPC Land, citing Digiday and advertiser accounts, reported the tool offers campaign, ad group, and ad setup, country targeting, and reporting for impressions and clicks. (ppc.land) (seroundtable.com) The ads manager is not fully rolled out, according to an OpenAI spokesperson quoted by Digiday and reported by PPC Land. PPC Land also reported OpenAI lowered the pilot’s minimum spend to $50,000 from as high as $250,000 for some earlier buys. (ppc.land) OpenAI says ads do not influence ChatGPT’s answers and run on separate systems from the chat model. The company also says advertisers cannot shape, rank, or alter responses, and that users can choose personalized ads or opt out in some cases. (help.openai.com) (openai.com) The revenue target behind the push is large. Multiple April 2026 reports said OpenAI told investors it expects about $2.5 billion in ad revenue this year, with much larger projections in later years. (investing.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) For users, the immediate change is simple: free ChatGPT is becoming an ad-supported product with clearer slots for paid recommendations, while OpenAI builds the tools to sell those clicks at scale. (help.openai.com) (openai.com)