Ads in ChatGPT: OpenAI monetizes the most used chatbot

What has changed: OpenAI opens ChatGPT to advertising

On August 11, 2026, OpenAI published an announcement on its official website that many in the industry had been waiting for for months. The company launched its testing of advertising inserts within ChatGPT. The main reason is financial: to support the free version of the product, which would otherwise require a business model based solely on subscriptions.

However, OpenAI has set precise conditions. The ads will be clearly identified as such. Furthermore, the company has guaranteed that the responses generated by the model will remain independent of the presence or absence of ads. Finally, provisions have been made for user privacy controls and individual management tools for the advertising experience.

This change is not isolated. Instead, it represents the natural evolution of a platform that has reached a critical mass of users that is hard for global advertising budgets to ignore.

The context that makes this moment strategic

Today, ChatGPT is one of the digital environments with the highest rate of qualitative engagement. Users do not passively scroll through a feed: they interact, ask specific questions, and seek concrete solutions. Therefore, the cognitive attention involved is significantly higher than that of a social network or a traditional SERP.

According to recent data, ChatGPT exceeds one billion weekly interactions globally. Consequently, the user base potentially exposed to ads is already comparable to that of major digital advertising players. In particular, the demographic profile of ChatGPT users tends to include professionals, managers, and decision-makers — a valuable target for Italian B2B.

Similarly to what happened with the introduction of LinkedIn ads in the early 2010s, those who enter a new advertising ecosystem first benefit from lower cost-per-click and less competition. Harvard Business Review has already analyzed how generative AI is redesigning digital business models, and conversational advertising is one of the most anticipated developments.

How the format will work: what we know today

At the time of the tests' launch, OpenAI did not detail the available formats precisely. However, some indications emerge from the official announcement and industry sources.

First of all, ads will be integrated into the conversational interface without interrupting the flow of the response. Later, targeting is likely to be based on the context of the conversation—that is, the topic being discussed—rather than traditional personal data. This approach is consistent with OpenAI's stated privacy policies and European data protection regulations.

Therefore, the model would conceptually approach Google's contextual advertising, but in a much more semantically rich environment. A user asking ChatGPT how to optimize their company's supply chain might see an ad relevant to management software or consulting services. This is the differential value that marketers must understand.

We of SHM Studio We are closely monitoring the evolution of the formats, ready to integrate this channel into our clients' strategies as soon as access is available to European advertisers.

Immediate impact for Italian marketers: three scenarios

Not all sectors will react in the same way to the introduction of advertising on ChatGPT. It is helpful to distinguish at least three operational scenarios for Italian companies.

• B2B with long sales cycles: ChatGPT is already used by buyers and procurement managers to gather information on suppliers and solutions. Therefore, an advertising presence in this context can anticipate the sales contact during an active research phase.
• Retail and e-commerce Users use ChatGPT to compare products, ask for purchasing advice, and evaluate alternatives. A contextual ad at this stage could have conversion rates higher than the average for display advertising.
• Professional services and consulting: Lawyers, accountants, agencies, and design studios can intercept potential clients at the exact moment they are looking for guidance on a specific problem. This is perhaps the most promising use case in the short term.

In all three cases, the key will be contextual relevance. Unlike what happens with interruptive formats, an ad in ChatGPT will need to be genuinely useful in order not to feel invasive.

Privacy and transparency: OpenAI's guarantees

One of the most delicate aspects of introducing advertising into a conversational assistant concerns user trust. OpenAI seems aware of this risk. In fact, the official announcement emphasizes three pillars: clear ad labeling, response independence, and user control over the advertising experience.

Despite this, the debate among privacy experts is already open. Wired has raised legitimate questions on how targeting will be managed without compromising the confidentiality of conversations. For advertising companies, this means that the creative strategy must be built on contextual relevance, not on invasive profiling.

From a European regulatory perspective, the GDPR imposes strict constraints on the use of conversational data for advertising purposes. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that the European roll-out of ads in ChatGPT will happen differently compared to the North American market.

What nobody is saying yet: the risk of platform addiction

There is a strategic aspect that deserves attention but is rarely discussed in industry analyses. OpenAI’s entry into the advertising market is not just an opportunity for marketers—it is also a sign of the consolidation of platform power.

Anyone who builds their visibility exclusively on ChatGPT Ads—just like those who relied solely on Google AdWords in the early 2000s—exposes themselves to the risk of algorithmic changes, cost increases, or policy shifts. Therefore, the strategic recommendation is to integrate this channel into a diversified mix, not to replace existing channels.

Le Google Ads campaigns and the LinkedIn campaign They remain mature tools with established measurement ecosystems. Similarly, the SEO and the Strategic copywriting They continue to build long-term assets that do not rely on advertising budgets. Therefore, ChatGPT Ads should be considered an additional channel, not a replacement.

According to Gartner, by 2027, a significant portion of digital advertising budgets will shift toward AI-native platforms. However, the companies that perform best will be those with a solid omnichannel strategy, not those that chase every single new trend.

What to do now: priorities for the coming months

In this testing phase, direct access to ChatGPT ads is not yet available to all advertisers. However, there are concrete actions marketing managers can take today to prepare for the channel's opening.

• Map the conversational touchpoints: Identify at which moments in the customer journey your target uses ChatGPT to gather information. This requires qualitative research, not just quantitative data.
• Update the tone of voice: Conversational context ads require a different register than banners or search ads. The copywriting strategy it must adapt to a dialogic environment.
• Strengthen our organic presence on ChatGPT: Even before ads, companies should check how they are mentioned and described by the model in organic search results. This is already an issue of SEO e-brand reputation.
• Monitor the beta programs: OpenAI will likely open access to advertisers in phases. Signing up for waiting lists and monitoring official updates is the first operational move.
• Consult your partner digital marketing: The planning of a new channel requires integration with existing campaigns, definition of specific KPIs, and a controlled testing structure.

For any further information on how to integrate this evolution into your digital strategy, the team at SHM Studio it is available for a dedicated consultation through the page contacts.

Outlook: where the market will go in 2027-2028

OpenAI's entry into advertising marks a point of no return for the industry. Following this announcement, it is reasonable to expect that other AI models—Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, Meta AI—will accelerate the development of their own advertising formats. Consequently, the landscape of digital advertising over the next two years will be profoundly different from the current one.

For Italian marketing managers, this means that the skills to develop today involve understanding language models, contextual relevance, and impact measurement in conversational environments. Furthermore, the ability to produce quality content—both for organic presence and for ads—will become even more critical.

The resources dedicated to AI services, web strategy e continuous update are no longer optional for those who want to remain competitive. Therefore, the time to build these skills—internally or with an external partner—is now.