Google's Got Company: ChatGPT Is Rolling Out Ads

ChatGPT is getting ads.

OpenAI announced it last week. Free users and the new $8 Go tier will see sponsored content at the bottom of responses. Plus, Pro, and Enterprise stay ad-free.

And honestly? We all saw knew this was coming.

The paid search world just got more complicated. Google's had competition before—remember when everyone thought Bing was going to be a thing? (It wasn't.) But this is different. ChatGPT has 800 million monthly users asking actual questions and having real conversations. That's not a niche platform. That's a channel with potential you need to understand.

Here's What's Actually Happening

Starting in the next few weeks, ads will show up at the bottom of ChatGPT answers for free and Go users in the U.S. OpenAI says the ads won't influence responses. They'll be clearly labeled. Your data won't be sold to advertisers.

They're promising a lot of things…

The format is simple: someone asks ChatGPT a question, gets an answer, and sees a sponsored product or service at the bottom if it's relevant to the conversation. Think about that targeting capability. If someone's asking ChatGPT how to automate their sales workflow, you could be right there with exactly what they need at exactly the right moment.

Why This Could Be Awesome

Here's what makes this different from every other ad platform you're managing:

People are having conversations. Not typing three keywords and clicking through ten blue links. They're explaining their actual problems in detail. "I need to automate follow-up emails for leads who download our pricing guide but don't book a demo within 48 hours."

That level of intent is wild. Google knows someone searched "email automation software." ChatGPT knows they need a specific workflow, they're in B2B, they have a pricing guide, and they're focused on demo conversion.

You can't buy that kind of context anywhere else.

And unlike Google where you're competing for the same keywords as everyone else in your space, conversational AI opens up completely different targeting opportunities. The questions people ask ChatGPT aren't the same as what they type into Google. They're longer. More specific. More honest about what they actually need help with.

Why This Matters for You

You're already stretched thin managing Google Ads, HubSpot, sales ops, and everything else that lands on your desk. Another platform sounds like another headache.

But it might also be an opportunity to get in front of your ideal customers when they're actively problem-solving. Not just searching. Actually working through their challenges with AI.

The early adopters will get better data, lower costs, and first-mover advantage. They'll help train the algorithm. They'll figure out what messaging works in a conversational context. They'll own the space before everyone else piles in and drives up costs.

That could be you. If you have the bandwidth to test smart.

What We Don't Know Yet

Pretty much everything important:

• Pricing model (CPC? CPM?)

• Exact targeting options (conversation topics? user behavior? something completely new?)

• How to measure performance (click-through? conversions? assisted conversions?)

• Integration with your existing ad stack (will it play nice with Google Analytics? HubSpot? Your attribution models?)

• When exactly it's launching (just "coming weeks")

The lack of details is frustrating. But it's also normal for new ad platforms. And it means there's still time to think strategically instead of reactively.

The Real Question: Should You Test This?

Maybe. Depends on your audience and your capacity. But know that WE are already making testing plans!

If your customers use ChatGPT for research, planning, or decision-making, this could be huge. If your product solves problems people actually ask AI about - workflow automation, software selection, strategic planning—you should absolutely be paying attention.

If you can carve out even a small test budget and someone's bandwidth to monitor it, the upside could be significant. Lower costs. Higher intent. Better targeting than you've ever had access to.

But if you're barely keeping up with your current channels and everything's on fire, adding another platform just to say you did it is a waste of your time. You don't get points for being an early adopter. You get points for ROI.

What to Do Now

Set yourself up to move fast when details drop.

Here's what makes sense:

• Watch for OpenAI's official announcement with actual details (formats, pricing, targeting)

• Think through whether your offer fits conversational search behavior (would someone ask ChatGPT about your type of solution?)

• Identify a small test budget you could move quickly (5-10% of your total paid spend)

• Monitor your competitors to see who jumps in early and what they're testing

• Keep doing what's working on Google because that's not going anywhere

If you're already managing multiple ad platforms, you know how to evaluate a new channel. Same rules apply. Test small. Measure everything. Scale what works. Kill what doesn't.

The Bigger Picture

This isn't really about ChatGPT. It's about AI fundamentally changing how people search and make decisions. Google's bringing ads to Gemini. Perplexity is probably next. Meta's already using AI chat data for ad targeting. The whole landscape is shifting.

And yeah, it's more complicated. But it's also more interesting. More sophisticated. More opportunity for people who know how to use these tools strategically.

You don't need to be on every platform. You need to be on the platforms where your customers are actually looking for solutions. And right now, 800 million people a month are asking ChatGPT for help.

That's worth paying attention to.

We'll keep watching this. When OpenAI releases real details (formats, pricing, targeting options) we'll break it down in terms that actually matter for your business. Not hype. Not speculation. Just what you need to know to make a smart decision about whether to test.

The era of "just Google it" is shifting. People are asking AI for help instead. And now those conversations are becoming ad inventory.

Welcome to the next phase of paid search. It's going to be a party! It's going to be interesting. And if you play it right, it might just be your competitive advantage.