ChatGPT Enters Advertising: What It Changes for Digital Marketing

In brief:

• OpenAI has been integrating ads into ChatGPT since early 2026 in the United States
• The advertising model relies on contextual ads embedded within generated responses
• This development directly impacts SEO and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) strategies
• Advertisers gain access to a new channel with over 200 million weekly users
• The main challenge: balancing monetization with user trust

Reading time: 8 minutes

Table of Contents

• The Context: Why OpenAI Is Turning to Advertising
• How Advertising Works in ChatGPT
• The Ad Formats Envisioned by OpenAI
• Impact on SEO and Organic Search
• GEO and AI Advertising: A New Deal for Brands
• The Challenges and Limitations of ChatGPT’s Ad Model

The Context: Why OpenAI Is Turning to Advertising

The announcement sent shockwaves through the digital marketing world: ChatGPT is launching advertising. After months of speculation, OpenAI officially confirmed the integration of ad formats within its conversational assistant, initially in the US market. This decision marks a strategic turning point for the company, which had long resisted this option.

The Economic Reasons Behind This Decision

OpenAI’s business model has so far relied primarily on subscriptions (ChatGPT Plus at $20/month, Team, Enterprise) and API revenue. However, the infrastructure costs associated with training and running language models are colossal. According to estimates published by The Information, OpenAI spends more than $5 billion per year on computing costs.

The introduction of advertising therefore responds to a financial imperative:

• Diversify revenue streams beyond subscriptions
• Monetize the free user base of over 200 million weekly users
• Fund R&D on next-generation models (GPT-5 and beyond)
• Prepare for a potential IPO with solid recurring revenues

The Precedent of Conversational Search

This development is part of a broader trend. Microsoft already integrated ads into Bing Chat as early as 2023. Google is experimenting with sponsored formats in its AI Overviews. Perplexity AI has also announced an advertising program. It is therefore logical that OpenAI would follow this trajectory, especially since AI search engines like Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Google SGE are all converging toward a hybrid model mixing organic responses and sponsored content.

How Advertising Works in ChatGPT

ChatGPT’s advertising model fundamentally differs from traditional search engine advertising. It is not about displaying sponsored links above results, but about integrating contextual recommendations at the very heart of conversational responses.

The Principle of Conversational Advertising

Unlike traditional Google search ads, ads in ChatGPT are generated contextually. The system analyzes the user’s query, the ongoing conversation, and suggests products or services directly within the response flow.

For example, if a user asks “what is the best accounting software for an SME?”, the response could include a sponsored recommendation flagged as such, integrated among organic suggestions.

The Advertising Infrastructure

OpenAI recruited Shivakumar Venkataraman, former Vice President of Google Ads, to lead this initiative. The advertising infrastructure relies on:

Component	Description
Contextual targeting	Real-time analysis of the query and conversational context
Native format	Ads integrated into the response text, identified by a “Sponsored” label
Performance measurement	Click, engagement, and conversion metrics specific to the conversational format
Advertiser API	Self-service platform for advertisers (in development)

“The goal is to create an advertising experience that is useful to the user rather than intrusive. Advertising in a conversational context must provide value.” — Shivakumar Venkataraman, VP Advertising at OpenAI

The Ad Formats Envisioned by OpenAI

OpenAI is testing several formats to find the balance between monetization and user experience. The approach is progressive, with a phased rollout.

Formats Currently Being Tested

Three types of ads are being experimented with in the United States:

• Product recommendations: sponsored suggestions in responses related to purchases or comparisons
• Sponsored links: links identified as sponsored within factual or technical responses
• Visual inserts: discreet banners displayed below certain responses, with an image and CTA

The Difference from Google Ads

OpenAI’s model differs from Google’s on several fundamental points:

Criterion	Google Ads	ChatGPT Ads
Format	Text links above results	Integrated within the conversational response
Targeting	Keywords + user data	Real-time conversational context
Experience	Clear separation between organic/paid	Blended into the response flow
Measurement	CTR, CPC, Quality Score	Conversational engagement, interaction rate
Volume	Billions of queries/day	200+ million users/week

Exclusion of Paid Subscribers

A crucial point: OpenAI has confirmed that ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Enterprise users will not see ads. This “freemium with ads” model is reminiscent of Spotify or YouTube, where a subscription removes advertising.

Impact on SEO and Organic Search

The arrival of advertising in ChatGPT redefines the rules of the game for search marketing professionals. If AI response engines become full-fledged advertising channels, traditional SEO strategies must evolve.

The Fragmentation of Organic Traffic

Organic traffic, already threatened by Google’s AI Overviews and direct responses from AI assistants, faces additional pressure. Ads in ChatGPT capture a share of the attention that would previously have generated a click to a website.

According to a Gartner study, organic search traffic could decline by 25% by 2026 due to the growing adoption of AI assistants. The addition of advertising in these interfaces accelerates this phenomenon.

The Need for a GEO Strategy

Faced with this development, it is imperative to adopt a GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) approach. Optimization is no longer limited to ranking in traditional SERPs: you must now ensure that your content is cited and recommended by generative AIs.

To explore the fundamentals, it is recommended to consult the comprehensive guide on what GEO is and the methods to optimize your content for generative AI.

Strengthened E-E-A-T Signals

In an environment where advertising coexists with organic responses, authority and credibility signals become even more decisive. Generative AIs rely on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) criteria to distinguish reliable sources from promotional content. Strengthening these signals is therefore an absolute priority.

GEO and AI Advertising: A New Deal for Brands

The convergence of GEO and advertising in AI engines creates a new marketing ecosystem. Brands now have two complementary levers to appear in conversational assistant responses.

The Dual Lever: Organic + Paid

As with SEO/SEA on Google, it becomes possible to combine:

• Organic GEO visibility: optimizing your content to be naturally cited by ChatGPT
• Paid visibility: purchasing sponsored placements within responses

This complementarity mirrors the proven search marketing model, where organic results and paid ads coexist. Brands that master the techniques to appear on ChatGPT organically will have a competitive advantage, as the credibility of an organic mention remains superior to that of an ad.

The Most Impacted Sectors

Some sectors will be more affected than others by the arrival of ads on ChatGPT:

• E-commerce: sponsored product recommendations in comparison-type responses
• SaaS / Tech: tool suggestions in technical responses
• Finance / Insurance: targeted ads on financial advice queries
• Travel: integration of sponsored results in planning responses
• Healthcare: sponsored inserts (with strict regulation) on medical queries

The Importance of Structured Data

To maximize visibility, whether organic or paid, it is important to leverage Schema.org structured data. These tags enable AIs to better understand and extract information. A detailed guide on implementing Schema.org structured data is available on this blog.

The Challenges and Limitations of ChatGPT’s Ad Model

Despite the considerable opportunity, the introduction of advertising in ChatGPT raises fundamental questions about trust, transparency, and response quality.

The Risk of Trust Erosion

ChatGPT’s main asset is the perception of neutrality in its responses. The introduction of sponsored content risks undermining this trust. If users feel that recommendations are biased by commercial interests, adoption could slow down.

A 2025 Reuters/Ipsos survey shows that 67% of ChatGPT users consider response neutrality an essential criterion for trust. The challenge for OpenAI is therefore to maintain this perception while integrating ad formats.

Transparency and Regulation

Several regulatory challenges arise:

• Clear identification of sponsored content (FTC requirement in the United States)
• Data protection: contextual targeting must not violate GDPR-type regulations for a potential European rollout
• Liability: who is responsible if a sponsored recommendation misleads the user?
• Fairness: how to ensure that small businesses can also access this advertising channel?

Response Quality at Stake

The technical challenge is considerable: integrating relevant ads without degrading response quality. A poor balance could push users toward alternatives like Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google), or Perplexity, which could capitalize on an “ad-free” positioning.

Risk	Potential Impact	Mitigation
Trust erosion	Decreased usage, churn to competitors	Transparency, clear labeling
Bias in responses	Media criticism, regulatory investigations	Strict separation of organic/paid
Ad saturation	Degraded user experience	Limiting the number of ads per conversation
Strict regulation	Targeting restrictions, transparency obligations	Proactive compliance, lobbying

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ChatGPT already displaying ads in France?

No, at this stage ChatGPT’s advertising program is deployed only in the United States. OpenAI has not yet communicated a timeline for a European rollout, which will require compliance with the GDPR and the Digital Services Act.

Will ChatGPT Plus subscribers see ads?

No. OpenAI has confirmed that ChatGPT Plus ($20/month), Team, and Enterprise subscribers will not be exposed to advertising. The ad model targets only free-tier users.

What is the impact on existing SEO strategies?

The impact is indirect but significant. Advertising in ChatGPT accelerates the need to adopt a GEO strategy complementary to SEO. It is not about replacing traditional organic search optimization, but about enriching it with specific optimization for AI response engines. To understand the basics of artificial intelligence and its implications for marketing, a dedicated article is available on this blog.

How to appear in ChatGPT’s sponsored responses?

OpenAI is developing a self-service platform for advertisers, similar in principle to Google Ads. Details on bidding, targeting, and formats will be communicated during the gradual rollout of the program.

Further reading

To optimize your advertising budgets amid this new competition, explore the best tools to save money on Google Ads. Programmatic advertising is also evolving with AI: discover the best programmatic advertising agencies integrating these new platforms.