ChatGPT ads are sponsored placements that appear below an AI-generated response inside a ChatGPT conversation. OpenAI began testing them on February 9, 2026 and opened a self-serve Ads Manager to U.S. advertisers on May 5, 2026.
Each ad is a single “chat_card”, visually separated from the organic answer by divider rules, that contains:
- Square creative: a product or brand image on the left
- Brand row: the advertiser’s favicon and name, a small “Ad” label, and a menu
- Title: 3–50 characters
- Description: up to 100 characters of body copy
- Destination link: the whole card links off-platform
A disclaimer below the ad reminds users that “Ads do not influence the answers you get from ChatGPT” and that their chats stay private. Ads never influence what ChatGPT says, conversations stay private from advertisers, and user data is never sold.