By Lee Moran, Founder of Veritas Digital
On 6 June, OpenAI have finally switched on ChatGPT ads in the UK (I’ve already been in the queue for a few months now). No keynote, no countdown – just a LinkedIn post from their VP of Monetisation confirming that the UK is now live, the first European market to get it, with Japan, South Korea, Brazil and Mexico to follow. If your customers are asking ChatGPT questions like “who’s the best private dentist near me” or “how do I choose a home care provider for my mum”, sponsored PPC results can now appear alongside the answer.
This is the first genuinely new PPC channel we have seen in years. Not another campaign type, not another automation layer bolted onto Google or Bing Ads – an entirely new auction where nobody has years of data or account history over you. Naturally, the hype machine is in full swing, so this article covers what is live, what it is likely to cost, how to get your business in the queue, and what I would (and would not) do about it right now.
But what I would do is take it seriously as a major contending PPC channel.
What does ChatGPT ads consist of?
ChatGPT ads are sponsored results that appear beneath ChatGPT’s answer, clearly labelled and matched to the conversation. OpenAI has been firm on one point: the ads do not change the answer itself. The response you get is the model’s genuine output, with the sponsored result sitting alongside it rather than rewriting it (just like Google Ads PPC ads don’t affect SEO results).
The format is deliberately minimal – your business name, a short headline, a one line description, a link and an optional image. Think of it like the early Google Ads back when it was Google Adwords but with an image. Also, ads only show to users on the free tiers; anyone paying for ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business or Enterprise sees no ads at all.
What makes this channel genuinely interesting is the intent behind it. Someone asking ChatGPT for help choosing between providers is mid decision and describing their situation in full sentences, often over several back and forth messages. That is richer context than any keyword has ever captured, which is why I would think of this as a search channel, not a social one (like Meta or TikTok). Targeting works differently too: instead of bidding on keywords, you describe in plain language the conversations where your ad should appear (OpenAI calls these “context hints”). Writing those well is a strategy job, not a settings job. Potentially mirrors the Google’s new AI brief, but more on that another time.
Seeing ads vs buying ads: the distinction that matters
There is one thing a lot of the coverage blurs together, so let me be precise. UK users seeing ads is live as of a few days ago. UK businesses being able to buy them is not – at least, not openly just yet. There is no UK self-serve ads platform – access currently means registering interest with OpenAI and working with them directly, and the launch is starting with a small group of advertisers (Zalando and Dentsu was named as a launch partner so far).
If the US is the template, the wait will not be long. The American pilot began in February, and self serve access for any US business opened around three months later. A similar timeline here would put open UK access at some point in the September/October. So, if anyone tells you that you can simply launch on ChatGPT today, treat that claim with caution – but the queue is real, and it is worth being in it to be at the front of getting self serve access.
How ChatGPT ads compare to Google Ads
If you already run paid search, here is the practical comparison. (CPM means cost per thousand impressions; CPC means cost per click – the two main ways platforms charge.)
| ChatGPT Ads (UK, today) | Google Ads | |
| Targeting | Plain-language “context hints” describing the right conversations | Keywords, audiences and AI-driven matching (also AI Briefs) |
| Where ads appear | Below the ChatGPT answer, clearly labelled | Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display and more |
| How you buy | Register interest, then work directly with OpenAI | Self-serve, open to any advertiser |
| Pricing | CPM, with CPC bidding already live in the US | CPC, CPA and value-based bidding |
| Measurement | Early days; conversion tracking arrived in the US in May | Mature, full funnel, data driven |
| Track record | Four months old | Twenty-five years old |
The honest summary: ChatGPT ads offers an genuinely exciting new PPC channel, on a platform that is still building the basics Google perfected years ago. That is not a reason to ignore it – it is a reason to test it deliberately rather than dive in headfirst but be wary not to scale too quickly on such a new platform without confirming initial results first.
How to sign up, and what it is likely to cost
- Register your interest at openai.com/advertisers. It is free, takes minutes, and puts you in the queue for the UK pilot and for self-serve access when it opens.
- Get your measurement in order. Conversion tracking already exists on the platform in the US, and the businesses with clean data will calibrate in weeks while everyone else burns budget learning what their tracking should have told them.
- Check how ChatGPT talks about you today. Ask it the questions your customers ask and see whether you appear, how you are described, and who shows up instead of you. That baseline shapes whether PPC ads fills a gap or amplifies what is already working.
On cost, there is no UK rate card yet, so the US is the only benchmark. Early US CPMs reportedly sat around $60 – a scarcity premium – before compressing to roughly $25 by April, and when CPC bidding launched, OpenAI’s recommended starting bids were $3-$5 per click. However, early case studies on LinkedIn have flagged CPCs are a lot cheaper than Google so far (very common with new platforms).
Two takeaways from that. First, the “cheap early inventory” window closed quickly in the US, so UK first movers are buying learning and position, not bargain clicks. Second, treat this as a defined test budget alongside your proven channels, not a replacement for them – Google still captures the overwhelming majority of UK commercial search intent.
One more thing worth knowing: OpenAI’s European ads policy only serves personalised ads to users who explicitly opt in. That is a stricter privacy posture than we are used to from Google or Meta, and if you operate in a regulated or sensitive sector, it is a detail to watch as the formats and eligibility rules develop.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run ChatGPT ads in the UK today?
Not directly just yet. Ads are live for UK users, but advertiser access is by registration with OpenAI. Sign up at openai.com/advertisers to join the queue (would recommend doing so straight away).
Will ads change the answers ChatGPT gives?
No. OpenAI states that sponsored results sit below the organic answer and do not influence it. Same way PPC ads don’t affect SEO results in Google.
Who will see my ads?
Only users on the free tiers. Paid ChatGPT subscribers do not see ads at all.
Should I move budget away from Google Ads?
No. ChatGPT ads are an addition. Keep your proven channels running and test this alongside them when access opens. Removing budget from Google, could take away significant revenue from a proven platform and put budget into a new platform that will take time to mature before it provides significant ROI.
How do I prepare before access opens?
Register interest, make sure your conversion tracking is in good shape, and audit how ChatGPT describes your business today. All three pay off regardless of when you start spending.
The bottom line
If you read my previous articles on The Rise of Agentic AI in PPC and Updates from Google Marketing Live 2026, the throughline here will feel familiar: a new auction with no incumbents is rare, and the businesses that win on it will not be the ones who rush in to look innovative, nor the ones who ignore it. They will be the ones who do the upfront preparation now – register, fix the tracking, check their AI visibility – and then test with a controlled budget when the doors properly open. Nobody, including the agencies confidently selling playbooks, has meaningful UK performance data yet. Being ready costs almost nothing; being six months behind a competitor who got in early could cost rather more.
Get in touch with us
If you are weighing up whether ChatGPT ads make sense for your business, or you want your tracking and account foundations sorted before the channel opens properly to the UK public, that is exactly the kind of thing we do at Veritas. You can read more about how we approach paid search on our PPC services page, or get in touch and we can talk through whether this channel deserves a place in your media plan.
References
- ChatGPT ads go live in the UK as OpenAI expands pilot beyond US – PPC Land
- OpenAI to expand ChatGPT ads to new markets and test multi-advertiser placements – Search Engine Land
- OpenAI launches self-serve Ads Manager for ChatGPT – Search Engine Journal
- Inside ChatGPT ads: What the data tells us and what’s coming next – Search Engine Land
- ChatGPT ads land in UK as OpenAI outlines EU privacy rules – Digiday
- ChatGPT ads are coming to the UK: when can all advertisers actually buy them? – Clicky
