Should Your Brand Be an Early Mover on ChatGPT Ads?
By Adel Gilani, Paid Media Director at Tug APAC
Every new ad channel creates the same debate. Some marketers rush in, hoping to capture an advantage before the market catches up. Others wait for the platform to mature, preferring clearer benchmarks, better reporting and less risk.
ChatGPT ads sit right in the middle of that debate.
OpenAI has started rolling out ads into ChatGPT, giving brands a new way to appear during AI-led conversations. Ads are currently shown to Free and Go users in selected markets, while paid plans such as Plus, Pro and Business remain ad-free. The ads are designed to be clearly labelled, separate from ChatGPT’s organic answers, and shown in relevant conversational contexts.
That matters because ChatGPT ads are not search ads with a new coat of paint. Search advertising is built around keywords. Social advertising is built around audiences, content and behaviour. ChatGPT ads are based on richer conversational intent, where a user may be researching, comparing, planning or asking for advice in real time.
That creates an interesting opportunity for brands, but it also creates a different set of risks.
Why ChatGPT Ads Matter
The reason marketers should pay attention is not just because ChatGPT has scale. It’s because the way people use it is commercially valuable.
Users do not only ask ChatGPT for quick answers. They use it to compare products, plan trips, evaluate services, understand financial decisions, find local providers and narrow down options. These are high-intent moments, but they don’t always look like traditional search queries.
That‘s the key difference. Google is strongest at capturing intent once someone knows what they want. ChatGPT may be strongest at influencing intent while someone is still shaping their decision.
For brands in research-heavy categories, this could become a powerful discovery and consideration layer. If someone asks, “what should I buy for a first-time dog owner?” or “where should I stay in Tokyo if I want to be near good restaurants?”, the brand that appears in that moment is reaching the user while the decision is still being formed.
The opportunity is not just visibility. It’s relevance.
Why You Might Wait
Despite the potential, not every brand should jump in immediately.
The first reason is platform maturity. Just because the ad appears inside an AI product does not mean the media buying experience is fully AI-optimised. Advertisers may still face early-stage limitations around optimisation, targeting, reporting or buying mechanics, depending on their market, access route and account setup.
That’s the irony of the channel: the user experience may be powered by AI, while the advertising infrastructure is still catching up.
OpenAI does reference campaign management, reporting tools, conversion measurement, an Ads API and conversion tracking options. But advertisers should still clarify exactly what is available to them before treating ChatGPT ads like a mature performance channel.
The second reason to wait is measurement. ChatGPT may influence discovery and consideration before a user converts elsewhere. If your reporting model only rewards last-click ROAS, you may misread the channel. Early tests should be judged through a broader lens: assisted conversions, branded search movement, landing page engagement, lead quality and incrementality.
The third reason is audience fit. Ads are currently tied to Free and Go users, not premium or business accounts. If your ideal customer predominantly uses a paid business account, the reachable audience may not fully match your target market.
Finally, some categories are less suited right now. If you need immediate local leads next month, Google Search and Maps may still be the more efficient choice. If your product is low-consideration, impulse-led or highly visual, social, retail media or video may remain stronger.
Why You Might Go Early
The case for going early is learning.
Most major ad platforms had a period where the rules were still being written. Google Search in the early 2000s, Facebook ads in the late 2000s, TikTok ads more recently, and even Performance Max all rewarded brands that were willing to test before best practice became obvious.
That doesn’t mean every new channel becomes a major growth driver. Plenty don’t. But when a platform does become meaningful, the brands that spent time learning early are usually better placed than those that waited for perfect benchmarks.
ChatGPT ads may offer a similar learning window. Early movers can understand which conversational contexts matter, what messaging works, which landing pages convert and how users behave when they arrive from an AI-assisted journey.
That learning compounds. Twelve months of data on conversational advertising could become a real competitive advantage. There may also be efficiency benefits while competition is still forming, although that should be treated as a hypothesis rather than a guarantee. The stronger argument is not “this will definitely be cheaper…”, it’s “this is a chance to learn before the market becomes crowded.”
A practical starting point is your existing search data. Your highest-converting Google queries can help identify the conversations that may matter most in ChatGPT. Not because ChatGPT is keyword-led, but because those queries reveal the problems, comparisons and decision moments your customers already care about.
Creative is another reason to test early. This isn’t a channel where generic search copy should simply be repurposed. Ads need to feel useful, direct and native to a conversational environment. The brands that learn how to write for that context first will be better placed as the platform matures.
The Framework for Deciding
A simple way to assess readiness is to ask four questions.
- Would someone realistically ask ChatGPT a question before buying from your category?
- Does your target audience overlap with Free and Go users in the markets where ads are available?
- Can your team measure value beyond last-click ROAS?
- Can your creative and landing pages match a research-led, conversational journey?
If the answer is yes to most of these, ChatGPT ads are worth a controlled test. Treat the first phase as learning, not as a mature performance benchmark. If the answer is no, it may be smarter to prepare now and enter when the product is more mature.
The Verdict
ChatGPT ads are unlikely to replace search or social in the short term. But they could become an important layer in the discovery and consideration journey. The smartest brands will not chase the hype or dismiss it outright. They’ll test with discipline, measure with nuance and stay close to how the platform develops.
The question is not whether ChatGPT ads are the next big thing. The better question is whether your brand is ready to learn before everyone else does.
Is your business ready for ChatGPT ads?
Not every brand should move at the same pace, but every brand should understand where ChatGPT ads may fit within their paid media strategy. If you’re unsure whether this channel is right for your business, or you want a clear framework for testing it without wasting budget, get in touch with the team at Tug Agency. We can help you assess the opportunity, build a practical test plan and make sure you’re ready to move when the timing is right.
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