OpenAI launched ads in ChatGPT on February 9, 2026, initially for US users on the Free and Go tiers at $60 CPM with a $200,000 minimum commitment. On May 5, they opened the platform to any US business, dropped the minimum spend entirely, and added cost-per-click bidding at recommended starting bids of $3–5 per click. The CPM had already eroded from $60 to around $25 by then.

The price move is the part of this story worth sitting with.

$60 → $25

→ Source: The Next Web

Source spread

• OpenAI — Testing ads in ChatGPT — hype. OpenAI's framing is primarily about privacy: no chats shared with advertisers, user controls, personalization opt-in. Light on business logic, heavy on user reassurance.
• TNW — The CPM to CPC shift — skeptic. Pairs the CPM erosion figure with the $2.5B annual revenue target without pretending these two data points are reconciled. Most useful single piece on the business dynamics.
• Search Engine Land — CPC launch details — builder. Covers the Conversions API and pixel measurement tools, useful if you're thinking about this as an ad channel.
• Marketing Brew — Lower CPMs, lower minimums — skeptic. Published April 30, a week before the self-serve launch, correctly predicted the CPC addition based on the CPM erosion already in progress.

What actually changed, specifically

The audience segmentation:

ChatGPT ads show only to Free tier and Go tier ($8/month) users. Plus ($20), Pro ($200), Business, Enterprise, and Edu accounts are all excluded. This isn't a technical limitation. It's a product decision. Paying subscribers have opted out of the ad model by paying, and OpenAI is honoring that.

The ad format uses your current chat thread context to match ads. You're asking about running gear, you might see a running shoe ad. If you opt into personalization, past chats can also be used. Advertisers don't receive your chats, email address, name, or location. OpenAI's own help center documentation is specific about this.

Early pilot brands were Target, Ford, Mrs. Meyer's, and Adobe. Broad consumer names with wide audience reach, which makes sense for a pilot: you want advertisers where contextual relevance is high even with imperfect targeting.

The pricing history:

At launch, the platform was agency-only via Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis, and WPP, with ad tech integrations through Adobe, Criteo, Kargo, Pacvue, and StackAdapt. The $60 CPM was a premium rate, an "AI context" bet that conversational ad placement would command a meaningful premium over standard display.

Ten weeks later, CPMs had fallen to around $25. Then OpenAI added CPC.

This sequence is worth understanding as a signal. CPM models work when advertiser demand exceeds inventory supply: more brands want the placement than there are impressions to go around. CPC models appear when advertiser confidence in conversion rates isn't high enough to pay up-front for impressions. OpenAI shifted to CPC because some advertisers weren't seeing the ROI at $60 CPM and needed a performance-based model to stay in.

The access expansion:

Minimum spend trajectory: $200,000 at launch in February → $50,000 in April → removed entirely on May 5. Three months from "enterprise with agency intermediary only" to "any US business, self-serve." That pace is fast. The expansion to UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea was announced for the weeks following May 5.

What this means for the $2.5B target

OpenAI's stated goal is $2.5 billion in ad revenue this year and $100 billion by 2030. These numbers get cited in every piece on this topic. Worth looking at whether they hold together.

ChatGPT's ad-eligible users (Free and Go tier) are a subset of the total user base. The $2.5B target for a product that launched in February and is still US-only through mid-2026 requires aggressive ramp in advertiser adoption and CPM recovery. It's achievable, but the CPM erosion trend line has to reverse, or CPC volumes have to compensate.

The $100B by 2030 number is the more ambitious claim. That would put ChatGPT ad revenue in the same order of magnitude as YouTube or Instagram. The difference is that search and social platforms have trained users over decades to understand that the interface is ad-supported. ChatGPT users, including the free tier, signed up for a product that was ad-free until three months ago. Whether that cohort converts to the ad model the way YouTube's free users did is not obvious.

The CPM erosion is the honest market signal here. Advertisers who ran the February pilot found the inventory less valuable than $60 CPM at scale. That's not fatal. Ad markets always reprice as volume scales. But it means the $2.5B target requires either a lot more volume at $25 CPM or a recovery in pricing that hasn't happened yet.

ChatGPT ads: then vs now

	Feb 9 Launch	May 5 Self-Serve
CPM	$60	~$25
Minimum spend	$200,000	None
Buying model	CPM only	CPM + CPC ($3–5/click)
Access	Agency-only (Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis, WPP)	Any US business, self-serve
Markets	US only	US + UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, South Korea (soon)

For builders

• Ads do not run in the ChatGPT API. Per OpenAI's terms, API integrations are not ad-served. If you're embedding ChatGPT capabilities in your own product via the API, your users' experience is not affected.
• The Conversions API and pixel-based measurement OpenAI added are table stakes for serious ad spend. It signals they want performance marketing budgets, not just brand awareness. If you're thinking about this as an ad channel, standard attribution infrastructure is in place.
• Self-serve is live now at ads.openai.com for US businesses with no minimum spend. CPC bids at $3–5 per click for commercial categories, $60 CPM model still available. Expanding to UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea in coming weeks.
• Free and Go users now experience an ad-supported ChatGPT. If your product targets or competes for this user segment, their ChatGPT UX has changed. Worth knowing as you design against or alongside the platform.
• Plus ($20/month) and above remain ad-free. If your users pay for Plus or Pro, their experience is unchanged.

Further reading

• OpenAI — Testing ads in ChatGPT — the February 9 launch post with privacy framing and format details
• OpenAI — New ways to buy ChatGPT ads — the May 5 self-serve and CPC expansion announcement
• TNW — The CPM to CPC shift — best single piece on the pricing erosion and what it signals
• Search Engine Land — CPC launch — measurement tools and advertiser detail
• OpenAI Help Center — Ads in ChatGPT — user-facing controls, targeting explanation, privacy specifics