OpenAI has reached a new milestone in monetizing ChatGPT by announcing new ways to purchase and manage advertising campaigns on its conversational assistant. The group now lets advertisers to go through partners such as Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis, WPP, Adobe, Criteo and StackAdapt, while progressively rolling out a beta version of Ads Manager in the US for direct ad purchases within ChatGPT.
This development expands a previously more controlled advertising pilot, in which OpenAI worked directly with a limited number of advertisers. Companies can now register an account, enter payment methods, set budgets, bids and delivery pacing, upload creatives, and track performance via a dedicated portal. However, OpenAI specifies that its own system retains control over delivery decisions to maintain a clear separation between advertisements and ChatGPT responses.
The group is also adding cost-per-click (CPC) bidding, following an initial phase based on cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM). This shift aligns ChatGPT with digital performance advertising standards, as advertisers only pay when a user clicks on an ad. OpenAI is also highlighting new measurement tools, including a conversions API and pixel tracking, using aggregated data that does not provide access to individual conversations.
This advertising offensive comes as OpenAI’s funding requirements remain substantial. According to Reuters, the company is targeting about $600bn in compute spending by 2030, having generated around $13bn in revenue in 2025. This gap illustrates the scale of capital required to support the ramp-up of its infrastructure, while a potential IPO towards the end of the year could help broaden its funding sources.