Admux

Channel · OpenAI

ChatGPT ads

ChatGPT ads are sponsored cards shown below a ChatGPT answer to people on the Free and Go plans. They are bought in an auction by impression, click or conversion goal, and targeted with context hints rather than keywords. Self-serve buying is open in 89 countries, with a USD 25 minimum daily budget.

Verified Primary sources onlySpec sheetchannels.json

What it is and where ads appear

Where ads appear
Below a ChatGPT response (one ad unit); multi-image ad format being tested during image generation[1]
Ad unit components
Advertiser name, favicon (logo), title, copy, landing page, image[2]
ChatGPT plans that show ads
Free and Go[1]
ChatGPT plans without ads
Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu[1]
Ad-free option on Free
Free users can switch to Ads-Free with lower message limits and fewer tools[1]

Formats and creative

Title length
3–50 characters[3]
Body (description) length
Up to 100 characters[3]
Image format and minimum size
JPEG, PNG or WebP; at least 640 × 640 px[3]Some blogs quote a 256 px minimum. That figure is OpenAI’s minimum for the advertiser icon, not for the ad image.
Multi-image ads
4–6 square (1:1) images sharing one title, body and destination URL; API accounts must be enabled[3]
Multi-image call to action
'Learn more' is the only CTA; every image links to the same URL[4]
Destination URL rules
HTTP or HTTPS, up to 2,048 characters, reachable by OpenAI's ad crawlers[3]
Advertiser name shown in ads
brand_name: the public advertiser name shown in ads[5]

Buying model and budgets

Campaign objectives and pricing
Views (CPM), Clicks (CPC), Conversions (oCPC or oCPM); never billed per conversion[6]
How price is set
Auction; the final winning auction bid sets the price paid[7]
Bid strategies (Advertiser API)
Fixed bid (impressions, clicks, conversions); Maximize clicks; Maximize conversions ('Maximize Results'), which require a daily budget[8]
Daily budget behaviour
Average per day over 7 days; up to 2× on one day; no more than 7× over the 7-day period (Sunday–Saturday week)[9]
Lifetime (campaign-total) budget
Maximum spend across the campaign; can switch to daily but not back[9]
Billing model
Postpay; self-serve card accounts are charged when a payment threshold is reached and at month end[9]
Account spend limits
Date-range spend-limit windows (some accounts); daily account limit only for postpaid-invoice accounts[5]

Minimums and prices

OpenAI publishes a minimum daily budget but no rate card. Prices are set in the auction. For the reported history of minimums and CPMs, see the pricing tracker.

Minimum daily budget (self-serve)
USD 25 per day (varies by currency, e.g. EUR 15, GBP 15, CAD 25, AUD 25, JPY 2,500, INR 725)[6]
Minimum budget (API docs)
Currency-dependent daily minimum; requests below it return an error stating the required amount[8]
Advertising Terms on minimums
Access doesn't guarantee inventory, delivery or 'any minimum spend or performance'[10]
Recommended starting CPC bid
$3–$5 USD max CPC to start (a recommendation, not a reported average price)[2]
ChatGPT ads pricing and minimums tracker

Targeting

Context hints
Ad-group descriptions of relevant products, use cases or needs; not exact-match keywords; up to 2,000 per ad group[11]
Geographic targeting
Countries (ISO alpha-2) plus location IDs (region, city, market, postal code where available); up to 2,500 IDs; product-feed campaigns country only[11]
Platform targeting
iOS app, Android app, web (desktop, iOS and Android web can be targeted separately)[11]
Custom audiences
Customer lists (email, phone, SHA-256 hashes, GAID); inclusion and bid multipliers need 25,000+ matched users[11]
Negative phrases
Available to qualifying advertisers for brand-specific placement exclusions[2]

Availability and where ads never show

Countries where ChatGPT Ads are available
89 countries (as of 2026-10-21)[12]
Self-serve Ads Manager launch
Beta self-serve Ads Manager began rolling out 2026-05-05[13]
Cross-border targeting for new self-serve accounts
Some new self-serve accounts can advertise only in their home country at first[6]
Ways to buy
Self-serve Ads Manager (beta), OpenAI Ads Solutions team, agency partners, technology partners[14]
Under-18 users
No ads to accounts identified as under 18 (account age info plus age prediction)[1]
Temporary Chats
No ads[1]
Sensitive-topic exclusions
No ads near personal health, mental health or politics; ad policies list further excluded contexts[1]
Logged-out users
Logged-out ads are limited to ads appropriate for all audiences; mature-content ads only for eligible logged-in users[1]
Personalised ads in the EEA and Switzerland
Not initially available[1]
All 89 ChatGPT ads countries

Review and policies

OpenAI doesn’t publish a turnaround time for ad review.

Ad review before delivery
Yes; ads must pass review before serving[15]
How ads are reviewed
Mostly automated (ML, LLMs, classifiers) with human oversight; covers advertiser, creative, landing page and placement[16]
What triggers re-review
Editing creative; changing brand name (pauses serving) or legal name; branding changes[3]
Business verification
Can take up to 7 business days; may be required after a spending threshold[17]
Allowed ad categories
Mainly consumer verticals; financial, health and legal services restricted (mostly US, case by case); political ads disallowed[16]

Reporting and measurement

Reporting metrics
Impressions, clicks, spend, CTR, CPC, CPM, conversions, CPA, post-click CVR, attributed sales, ROAS[18]
Reporting freshness
Impressions, clicks and CTR about every 15 minutes; spend delayed 7–8 hours; conversions update daily[9]
Data advertisers receive
Aggregated, non-identifying performance data only[1]
Measurement Pixel
JavaScript browser pixel (oaiq('measure', ...))[19]
Conversions API
Server-to-server events to bzr.openai.com with a separate Conversions API key; deduplicated with the Pixel by event ID[20]
Conversion optimisation
Conversions objective optimises toward one standard event (e.g. order_created, lead_created); custom events can't be goals[8]

Disclosure and user controls

Ad labelling
Clearly labelled as sponsored and visually separated from the answer[21]
Do ads influence answers?
No; ads run on separate systems and advertisers can't shape responses[1]
Conversation privacy
Conversations aren't shared with advertisers; data never sold to advertisers[1]
Endorsement
Ads are paid placements, not endorsements[1]
User ad controls
Turn off personalisation, hide or report ads, 'About this ad', clear ads data (deleted within 30 days)[1]

Accounts and API

Ads Manager
Self-serve Ads Manager (beta) at ads.openai.com[22]
Agencies and multiple advertisers
Create a separate ad account for each advertiser[22]
Ad account creation limit
Can't create a new account yourself once you belong to 10 or more[22]
Fixed account settings
Country/region, currency and time zone can't be changed after creation[22]
Advertiser API
Public REST API (https://api.ads.openai.com/v1) for campaigns, ad groups, ads, feeds, conversions and reporting; keys created in Ads Manager[23]
API rate limits
600 requests/min per endpoint, 1,200 requests/min overall (per ad account and IP); bulk job creation 10 per 10 s[23]
API partners
Partners use the client account's key; some features need enablement through an OpenAI partner representative[24]

Where sources disagree

When OpenAI’s own pages disagree, both are shown. We don’t pick one.

Advertiser icon (favicon) minimum size
sources disagree 256 × 256 px (Account Management) vs 128 × 128 px (API Partner Setup)[5]OpenAI’s Account Management guide asks for at least 256 × 256 px; its API Partner Setup page asks for at least 128 × 128 px. Use 256 px to satisfy both.
Billing for conversion campaigns
sources disagree Help Center: oCPC (click billing) or oCPM (impression billing) for eligible advertisers; API docs: conversions campaigns bill for clicks only[9]The Help Center offers eligible advertisers oCPC or oCPM billing on conversion campaigns. The API docs list click billing only, so oCPM may not be in the API yet.
Bid strategies (Ads Manager, from 2026-11-09)
sources disagree Intelligent bidding (formerly Maximize Results), Target CPA and Target CPC; Max Bid and Max CPC retire on 2027-01-01[7]From 9 Nov 2026 the Help Center describes Intelligent bidding, Target CPA and Target CPC, with Max Bid retiring on 1 Jan 2027. The developer docs still describe fixed bids and Maximize Results; the Help Center says the API gets the new fields around 18 Nov 2026.
Attribution windows
sources disagree Click 7/14/30 days (default 30); view-through 0 or 1 day (default 1); conversions = click + view (API, since 2026-09-30)[18]OpenAI’s Reporting page says API conversion counts include view-through conversions since 30 Sep 2026. Its Measurement Pixel page says Ads Manager’s Conversions column stays click-through only. They may describe different surfaces.

How Admux buys it

Admux sells this channel as ChatGPT ads. This is what Admux does on your behalf; it doesn’t change what OpenAI allows.

  1. Admux buys standard ChatGPT chat cards: you supply the title (3–50 characters), body (up to 100), a square image and the destination URL. Admux checks them against OpenAI’s limits and ad policies before submission and never writes ad copy for you.
  2. OpenAI asks agencies to keep a separate ad account per advertiser. Admux keeps your campaigns, spend and identity separate from every other workspace.
  3. Your budget is reserved from your prepaid balance before submission, and you don’t open your own OpenAI ad account or billing setup.
  4. Reporting shows OpenAI’s numbers with their delay: impressions and clicks about every 15 minutes, spend 7–8 hours behind. Admux settles your balance only on final reported spend.

Policy by category

Categories where OpenAI has its own rule, with the rule quoted on each page.

ChatGPT ads: category rules
CategoryTreatment
AlcoholNot allowed
GamblingNot allowed
Healthcare and medicinesAllowed with conditions
Supplements and weight lossAllowed with conditions
Financial servicesAllowed with conditions
DatingNot allowed
AI companionsNot allowed
Tobacco, nicotine and vapesNot allowed
WeaponsNot allowed
Political and issue adsNot allowed
Legal servicesAllowed with conditions
Adult and sexual contentNot allowed
Housing and jobsNot allowed

Questions advertisers ask

What is the minimum spend for ChatGPT ads?

OpenAI’s Help Center gives a minimum daily budget of USD 25, with local equivalents such as EUR 15, GBP 15, JPY 2,500 and INR 725. OpenAI publishes no minimum commitment. The $200,000, $250,000 and $50,000 figures in older articles were reported during the managed beta.

How much do ChatGPT ads cost per click or per thousand impressions?

OpenAI publishes no rate card: prices are set in an auction, and the winning bid sets the price paid. Its Help Center suggests starting with a maximum CPC bid of $3–$5. Press reports of $60 CPM at launch and $15–$45 later come from third parties.

Who sees ads in ChatGPT?

People on the Free and Go plans; logged-out visitors can see only ads suitable for all audiences. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu have no ads. OpenAI shows no ads to accounts identified as under 18, none in Temporary Chats, and none near personal health, mental health or political conversations.

Does ChatGPT ads targeting use keywords?

No. You describe relevant products, use cases or needs as context hints on each ad group (up to 2,000). OpenAI says these are not exact-match keywords. You can also target countries and locations, platforms and customer lists.

Do advertisers influence ChatGPT’s answers?

OpenAI says no: ads run on separate systems, advertisers can’t shape responses, and conversations aren’t shared with advertisers.

Is there an API or MCP server for ChatGPT ads?

OpenAI has a public REST Advertiser API (api.ads.openai.com/v1) for campaigns, ad groups, ads, conversions and reporting, and a ChatGPT Ads Manager plugin for ChatGPT and Codex. It doesn’t document an MCP server. Admux exposes its own API and MCP server, which buy ChatGPT ads alongside the other channels.

What are Sponsored agents?

An ad format that lets people chat with an AI representative of a business inside ChatGPT. OpenAI describes it as a limited alpha for selected advertisers and isn’t taking early-access requests.

Changelog

  1. OpenAI’s Help Center moves Ads Manager to Intelligent bidding, Target CPA and Target CPC; Max Bid and Max CPC retire on 2027-01-01. The developer docs haven’t been updated yet.[7]

  2. Self-serve ChatGPT ads expand to 26 more countries, 89 in total; OpenAI reports over 100,000 advertisers.[12]

  3. ChatGPT ads expand to Southeast Asia and Taiwan.[14]

  4. Beta self-serve Ads Manager begins rolling out.[13]

  5. OpenAI starts testing ads in ChatGPT in the United States.[21]

Sources

OpenAI’s own documentation, help centre and announcements, each read on the date shown.

  1. Ads in ChatGPT | OpenAI Help CenterOpenAI Help Center · checked 10 Nov 2026
  2. Ads in ChatGPT: The Basics | OpenAI Help CenterOpenAI Help Center · checked 10 Nov 2026
  3. Campaign ManagementOpenAI developer docs · checked 10 Nov 2026
  4. Creating ads for ChatGPT Ads | OpenAI Help CenterOpenAI Help Center · checked 10 Nov 2026
  5. Account ManagementOpenAI developer docs · checked 10 Nov 2026
  6. Creating campaigns for ChatGPT Ads | OpenAI Help CenterOpenAI Help Center · checked 10 Nov 2026
  7. Bidding strategies and how pricing works in ChatGPT Ads | OpenAI Help CenterOpenAI Help Center · checked 10 Nov 2026
  8. Bidding & BudgetsOpenAI developer docs · checked 10 Nov 2026
  9. Billing & Payment | OpenAI Help CenterOpenAI Help Center · checked 10 Nov 2026
  10. Advertising Terms | OpenAIOpenAI · checked 10 Nov 2026
  11. TargetingOpenAI developer docs · checked 10 Nov 2026
  12. ChatGPT Ads expands to 26 new countries as over 100,000 advertisers have used the platformOpenAI · checked 10 Nov 2026
  13. New ways to buy ChatGPT adsOpenAI · checked 10 Nov 2026
  14. ChatGPT Ads expands to Southeast Asia and TaiwanOpenAI · checked 10 Nov 2026
  15. Frequently asked questions | OpenAI Help CenterOpenAI Help Center · checked 10 Nov 2026
  16. Ad policies | OpenAIOpenAI · checked 10 Nov 2026
  17. Troubleshooting Common Onboarding and Policy Issues | OpenAI Help CenterOpenAI Help Center · checked 10 Nov 2026
  18. ReportingOpenAI developer docs · checked 10 Nov 2026
  19. Measurement PixelOpenAI developer docs · checked 10 Nov 2026
  20. Conversions APIOpenAI developer docs · checked 10 Nov 2026
  21. Testing ads in ChatGPTOpenAI · checked 10 Nov 2026
  22. Ads Manager Account Setup | OpenAI Help CenterOpenAI Help Center · checked 10 Nov 2026
  23. Overview (Advertiser API)OpenAI developer docs · checked 10 Nov 2026
  24. API Partner SetupOpenAI developer docs · checked 10 Nov 2026
  25. Sponsored Agents in ChatGPT Ads | OpenAI Help CenterOpenAI Help Center · checked 10 Nov 2026
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Admux shows OpenAI’s rules as published; it can’t guarantee approval, delivery or placement in any AI answer.