OpenAI Opens ChatGPT Ad Buying to Any Business

OpenAI has opened its ChatGPT advertising platform to any business willing to set up an account. The self-serve ChatGPT Ads Manager went into beta on May 5, removing the $50,000 minimum spend that had restricted the pilot program to large advertisers. Cost-per-click bidding joins the original cost-per-impression option, and OpenAI says small businesses can launch a campaign without a sales call.

The expansion is part of a revenue plan the company has been sketching publicly for months. CFO Sarah Friar told investors earlier this year that OpenAI is targeting $2.5 billion in advertising revenue in 2026 and $100 billion by 2030, numbers that put it on a trajectory broadly comparable with early YouTube. Ads appear inside ChatGPT conversations, surfaced when the model judges them relevant to the user's query.

An agency-friendly rollout

Agency partners launching alongside the platform include Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis, and WPP. Adobe, Criteo, Kargo, Pacvue, and StackAdapt are integrating the Ads Manager into their existing ad-tech stacks. The arrangement gives larger agencies a familiar interface for moving budget from Google or Meta into ChatGPT placements without rebuilding their workflows.

The earlier pilot used custom audiences and lookalike modelling drawn from advertiser-provided data. Reports from Search Engine Land suggest those features remain available in the new self-serve tier, though with smaller budget thresholds.

A different revenue model

The shift matters for the AI business model. Until last year, OpenAI's revenue came almost entirely from ChatGPT subscriptions and API usage. Advertising is a different beast: it ties revenue to engagement rather than utility, a shift critics have noted may pull the product toward optimising for attention. OpenAI has said ads will be clearly labelled and that user data will not be used for cross-platform targeting without consent.

For now, the platform is open only to US-based businesses. Expansion to other markets has not been announced.