ChatGPT ads get pictures, and finally a way to measure them

On October 5, OpenAI said it will test a visual ad format inside ChatGPT, starting with the moment people ask it to make an image. The ads show up next to the generated picture, carry a clear label and stay separate from the image itself, according to Quartz. The test starts later this month in the US with a small group of advertisers, and only for people on the Free and Go plans.

The format is built for showing, not telling: product ideas, a demo of how something works, or the lifestyle moment a service fits into. OpenAI also told Quartz that advertising does not influence ChatGPT's answers. Paid plans stay ad free: per OpenAI's advertiser help page, Plus, Pro and Business users never see ads, and neither do accounts it identifies as under 18.

So if your product photographs well, ChatGPT just became a place where a picture might sell it. If your product is a spreadsheet, hang in there.

The format got the headlines. The measurement is what marketers have been asking for since ads started testing in February. In its own post, OpenAI listed its first outside partners. Hightouch, Tealium and LiveRamp pipe your conversion data into ChatGPT Ads. Ten attribution companies, including AppsFlyer, Triple Whale, Northbeam and Kochava, now handle reporting and click attribution. Haus, Measured and WorkMagic are working with OpenAI on geo-based tests to see whether the ads caused sales that would not have happened anyway.

OpenAI also says ChatGPT reaches 1.2 billion people each week. That number comes from OpenAI, so treat it as the company's own count. Brand safety checks from DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science are in early pilots, and OpenAI says neither will see real user conversations, Quartz noted.

OpenAI shared a handful of early results, each one measured by a partner. DV Rockerbox found WeightWatchers paid 15.3% less per customer on ChatGPT Ads than its blended paid search benchmark. WorkMagic estimated Dose got 2.3 times more extra orders than last-click reporting showed. Triple Whale said 93% of Portland Leather's ChatGPT Ads visitors were new to the brand, per Quartz.

Read these like a smart buyer. They are a few hand-picked brands, shared by the platform selling the ads, measured by partners it just announced. OpenAI itself calls its incrementality work early. Useful signal, not a promise for your account.

One detail is worth more than the headlines: in an early analysis, 52.7% of eligible one-day view-through conversions happened within an hour of someone seeing the ad, OpenAI said. People often see an answer, close the tab, and buy later. If you only count clicks, you will undercount ChatGPT.

Ads appear below ChatGPT answers with your name, logo, headline, copy, an image and a landing page, per OpenAI's help page. You can pay for views, for clicks, or optimize toward conversions while paying per click. OpenAI suggests starting at $3 to $5 per click and uses an auction weighted by relevance. Instead of bidding on exact keywords, you give "context hints" that describe the conversations, topics or keywords where you fit.

That last part matters. You are not bidding on a phrase. You are describing a moment, like someone planning a kitchen remodel or comparing running shoes, and the system decides when your ad belongs.

The channel is growing fast, too. ChatGPT Ads now run in 38 countries, and a new Amazon deal lets brands on Amazon's ad platform place ads in ChatGPT, starting with a limited US group, Quartz reported. OpenAI is also letting more regulated industries advertise and testing more than one ad in some answers, per Marketing Brew.

The auction is young, the rules are still forming, and early tests usually cost less than they will once every competitor shows up. Don't rush in. Get your tracking ready now, so a small test teaches you something real.

ChatGPT is turning into a full ad channel, with pictures, partner measurement and brand safety checks, the same kit marketers expect from Google and Meta. The difference is the moment: people are mid-decision, asking follow-up questions, often before they ever search.

Big budgets won't decide who wins early. Clean tracking, clear landing pages and creative that shows the product working will.

ChatGPT is a real ad channel now. Visual formats start testing this month, measurement now plugs into the tools many teams already use, and the early numbers look promising but are self-reported. Test small, measure honestly, and count the buyers who come back later as well as the ones who click.

If you want help deciding whether ChatGPT Ads fit your budget, our founders will walk you through it. Talk to them below. See you in the next edition.