For years, paid search has trained marketers to think in keywords.
Someone types “best running shoes for flat feet,” “study abroad consultant USA,” or “affordable CRM for small business.” The advertiser bids on the keyword, writes an ad, sends the user to a landing page, and measures the click.
ChatGPT Ads introduce a different kind of moment.
People do not always use ChatGPT like a search engine. They ask longer questions. They describe problems. They compare options. They ask for recommendations. They explain their situation and expect a response that feels relevant to them.
That is why ChatGPT Ads should not be treated as “Google Ads inside ChatGPT.” They are part of a new discovery journey where the user may be researching, comparing, validating, or preparing to make a decision.
OpenAI describes ChatGPT Ads as a way for advertisers to reach users while they “explore, compare, and decide” within a conversational experience. Ads are shown when they match the user’s conversation and intent. OpenAI also looks at signals such as context hints, landing pages, ad titles, and ad descriptions to understand when an ad is relevant.
That changes how brands need to think.
In traditional paid search, the campaign often starts with a keyword list.
In ChatGPT Ads, the smarter starting point is a question list.
What are people asking before they buy? What doubts do they have? What comparisons are they making? What situation are they trying to solve?
A travel brand may need to think beyond “Japan tour packages” and consider prompts like:
“Where should I go in Japan for my first trip?”
“What is a good itinerary for Japan with kids?”
“Is Tokyo or Osaka better for shopping and food?”
“What is the best way to plan a honeymoon in Japan?”
A beauty brand may need to think beyond “vitamin C serum” and consider:
“What skincare routine works for dull skin?”
“Which ingredients should I avoid if I have sensitive skin?”
“Do I need vitamin C, niacinamide, or retinol?”
“What product should I use before an event?”
These are not just keywords. They are decision moments.
And that is the real opportunity with ChatGPT Ads: brands can show up closer to the point where people are trying to understand what is right for them.
The mistake many advertisers will make is bringing the same ad copy they use everywhere else.
“Shop now.”
“Limited time offer.”
“Best quality.”
“Trusted by thousands.”
These lines may still have a place, but they are not enough inside an AI-driven discovery journey.
When someone is asking ChatGPT for help, the ad needs to feel connected to that moment. It should answer a need, reduce uncertainty, or give the user a clear next step.
For example, instead of saying:
“Book your dream holiday today.”
A better message might be:
“Planning your first Japan trip? Compare flexible itineraries, guided tours, and custom travel options in one place.”
Instead of:
“Buy premium skincare online.”
A better message might be:
“Find a skincare routine based on your skin type, concerns, and product preferences.”
The difference is small, but important. One message pushes. The other helps.
ChatGPT Ads may bring users who are still comparing, learning, or narrowing down their choices. That means the landing page cannot simply be a generic sales page.
It needs to answer the next questions the user is likely to have.
A strong landing page for ChatGPT Ads should quickly explain:
What problem does this solve?
Who is this best for?
How does it compare with other options?
What proof or reviews support the claim?
What should the user do next?
This is especially important because AI-assisted users may arrive with more context. They may already have compared brands, asked follow-up questions, or clarified what they need. A vague landing page can lose them quickly.
For ChatGPT Ads, the ad is only the first part of the journey. The post-click experience matters just as much.
Clicks are useful, but they do not tell the full story.
OpenAI’s Ads Manager Beta currently supports reporting for impressions, clicks, spend, CTR, average CPC, average CPM, and conversions when conversion measurement is set up. These metrics can be reviewed in campaign tables, charts, and CSV exports.
That is a good starting point, but brands should look beyond surface-level engagement.
The real questions are:
Are users taking meaningful action after the click?
Are they signing up, purchasing, enquiring, booking, or downloading?
Are certain conversation themes producing better traffic?
Are some landing pages converting better than others?
Are users from ChatGPT Ads behaving differently from Google or social traffic?
This is where early testing becomes valuable. Brands do not need to launch everything at once. A focused test around one product, one service, one audience, or one buying journey can reveal where ChatGPT Ads may fit into the wider media mix.
Another important point: ChatGPT Ads should not sit in isolation.
A user might see an ad, then ask ChatGPT about the brand. They might compare that brand with competitors. They might look for reviews, third-party mentions, pricing, trust signals, or category advice.
This means brands need to think about both paid visibility and organic AI visibility.
The ad can create the first touchpoint. But the brand’s broader presence, content, reputation, and authority can influence whether the user trusts what they see next.
For marketers, this creates a new kind of alignment between paid media, SEO, content, landing pages, and brand positioning.
Before testing ChatGPT Ads, brands should ask:
Do we know the questions customers ask before buying?
Do we understand which products or services are most suitable for AI-assisted discovery?
Do our landing pages answer comparison and decision-making questions?
Do we have clear conversion tracking in place?
Do we know what success looks like beyond clicks?
Are our paid media and AI search visibility strategies connected?
Brands that can answer these questions will be in a stronger position to test ChatGPT Ads properly.
Brands that cannot may still be able to advertise, but they risk treating a new channel like an old one.
ChatGPT Ads are still an emerging advertising format. OpenAI’s campaign setup currently runs through Ads Manager Beta, where advertisers can create campaigns, set objectives, use ad groups with context hints, build ads with titles, descriptions, images and landing pages, and monitor early performance signals after launch.
But the bigger shift is not just the platform. It is the behaviour behind it.
People are becoming more comfortable asking AI tools for help with decisions. They are using conversational prompts to explore categories, compare brands, and understand what suits their needs.
That means brands need to prepare for a world where discovery is not only search-based. It is conversational.
The brands that do well with ChatGPT Ads will not simply be the ones that bid first. They will be the ones that understand the user’s question, offer a relevant answer, and create a landing page experience that helps the user move forward.
Digital Crew helps brands prepare for this new advertising environment with ChatGPT Ads strategy, campaign planning, audience and prompt research, ad copy, landing page alignment, conversion tracking, and ongoing optimisation.
For brands exploring AI-driven paid media, the goal is not to chase a new channel for the sake of it. The goal is to test ChatGPT Ads with the right strategy, the right measurement, and a clear understanding of how AI conversations influence customer decisions.
ChatGPT Ads are paid placements that can appear inside ChatGPT when they are relevant to the user’s conversation and intent. They give brands a way to reach people while they are researching, comparing, and making decisions through AI assisted conversations.
Google Ads are usually built around search keywords. ChatGPT Ads are more closely connected to conversation intent. This means brands need to think about the questions users ask, the problems they describe, and the decision making context behind each conversation.
Not every brand should rush into ChatGPT Ads immediately. They are more suitable for brands that understand their customer journey, have clear landing pages, and can track meaningful actions such as enquiries, sign ups, bookings, purchases, or demo requests.
Brands should prepare customer question research, relevant ad copy, strong landing pages, conversion tracking, and a clear testing plan. The best campaigns will connect ad messaging with the user’s likely intent inside ChatGPT.
Landing pages matter because users may arrive after asking detailed questions in ChatGPT. If the page does not answer their next concern quickly, they may leave. A strong landing page should explain the offer clearly, build trust, answer comparison questions, and guide the user toward action.
