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ChatGPT Ads Optimizationby ContextHintFree audit

How to advertise on ChatGPT, step by step.

From sign-up to your first live ad: the account, the campaign, ad groups built around buyers, and the ads themselves.

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Campaign: Site and school buildingsClicks · daily budget · United StatesExample

Ad group: Construction site offices

Context Hint: Insulated modular site offices for general contractors running projects longer than three months

  • AdSite offices, delivered ready to work
  • AdA wired site office in under a week

Ad group: Modular classrooms

Context Hint: Code-ready modular classrooms for schools that need extra space during a renovation

  • AdModular classrooms, installed over the summer
  • AdExtra classrooms without a building project

The short answer

Sign up at ads.openai.com, add billing, create a campaign with an objective, budget and countries, describe each ad group's buyer in Context Hints, write a few ads per group, and launch once they pass review.

Nine steps to your first ChatGPT ad

  1. 1

    Sign in to Ads Manager

    Go to ads.openai.com and sign in with the OpenAI account you use for ChatGPT, or create one. One person creates the advertiser account; everyone else gets invited.

  2. 2

    Start from your website, or skip it

    Ads Manager can draft your first ad and campaign from your website URL, or you can skip straight to an empty account. Either way, you review everything before it runs.

  3. 3

    Get the account details right first time

    Your country or region, currency and time zone can't be changed later. The advertiser name you enter becomes your account, brand and legal name; the brand name is what people see on your ads, and you can edit each one in settings.

  4. 4

    Add billing

    Add a credit card and billing details. Nothing delivers until billing is set up, and some new accounts also need identity verification before they can advertise outside their home country.

  5. 5

    Create a campaign

    Pick the objective (views, clicks or conversions), which sets how you pay and can't be changed later. Then a budget, dates and countries. To run only in the US, include the US rather than excluding everywhere else. What it costs.

  6. 6

    Build ad groups around one buyer each

    Each ad group gets Context Hints: plain sentences about what you offer, who it helps and when. They replace keywords. How to write one.

  7. 7

    Write several ads per ad group

    Each ad has a headline, a description, an image (square PNG or JPG, up to 1200 by 1200) and a landing page. Write a few with different angles, and link the page that matches. Best practices, with real ads.

  8. 8

    Set up measurement

    Add conversion measurement in Ads Manager if you'll judge results on sales or leads, and UTM tags on your landing page URLs so your own analytics can see ChatGPT traffic.

  9. 9

    Launch, then give it a day

    Ads run once they pass review and billing, budget and dates allow. Allow about 24 hours before treating zero delivery as a problem, then work through why ads don't show.

Before October 29, 2026: decide on creative enhancements

OpenAI can adapt your ads to each conversation: rewrite headlines and descriptions, translate them, resize images and send people to a more relevant page on your site. From October 29, 2026 this is on by default for new and existing campaigns, and enhanced versions can run without you approving each one.

If you have legal, pricing or brand wording that must stay exactly as written, opt out at account or campaign level in Ads Manager first. Either way, keep your landing pages current: they are the source material.

Retailers: start from your product feed

Product feed campaigns build ads from your catalog, with product images, titles, prices, sale prices and ratings. Upload a CSV, point to a hosted URL or connect over SFTP. Items expire after two weeks, so a hosted or automated feed beats manual uploads. Shopify merchants can also connect through the ChatGPT Ads app.

After launch: know where your ads show

Ads Manager reports impressions, clicks, spend and conversions, but not the conversations your ads appeared in. Choose the prompts each ad group must win and check them on a schedule. ContextHint's tracking does this twice a week and shows whose ad takes the slot when yours doesn't.

Advertising on ChatGPT: FAQ

Want to see what other advertisers run first? Browse real ChatGPT ads.

Can anyone advertise on ChatGPT?

Businesses can sign up for self-serve Ads Manager at ads.openai.com in supported countries. Ads must follow OpenAI's ad policies, and some categories are restricted or reviewed case by case. New accounts may be limited to their home country at first.

How long does it take to start advertising on ChatGPT?

Setup takes minutes if you start from your website URL. Ads then need to pass review, and billing must be complete before anything delivers. Give a new campaign about a day before judging delivery.

Can an agency run ChatGPT ads for a client?

Yes. Create a separate advertiser account for each client, or have the client create it and invite you. One OpenAI login can switch between the accounts it belongs to, with Admin, Member or Viewer roles.

Do I need a product feed?

Only if you're a retailer that wants ads built from your catalog. Product feed campaigns create product ads with images, prices and ratings from an uploaded or hosted feed. Everyone else creates ads by hand or in bulk.

Will OpenAI change my ads?

If creative enhancements are on, OpenAI may adapt your headlines and descriptions to the conversation, translate them, resize images or pick a more relevant page on your site. From October 29, 2026 they're on by default for new and existing campaigns; you can opt out in Ads Manager.

Launched? Find out where your ads really show.

Connect your account, get the audit, approve your prompts. First results the next day.

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