ChatGPT ad volume is rising faster than evidence it drives conversions, Digiday reports
TLDR
ChatGPT's ad business is growing faster than evidence that its ads drive conversions, according to Digiday's analysis of roughly six thousand brands.
Optimixed Overview
Optimixed's original report on this story.
ChatGPT handles about a fifth of the search queries Google does, but its ad business is considerably smaller, Digiday reports, with OpenAI having only begun selling ads this year. Using data from Similarweb and Graphite, the outlet found the U.K. has the highest share of ad-eligible users seeing ads at 45.7%, followed by the U.S. at 43.4% and Australia at 43.3%.
How we got here: earlier coverage
On September 4, OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT Ads to more countries and introduced audience targeting and conversion measurement tools. On September 8, advertisers still lacked industry benchmarks and audience data for ChatGPT Ads six months after launch. On October 5, OpenAI began testing new image ad formats and better measurement tools, and on October 19 it added conversion tracking improvements, performance reporting, and measurement partners. Now, Digiday's analysis of roughly six thousand brands finds ChatGPT's ad business growing faster than evidence that its ads drive conversions.
Summary of earlier coverage
- Oct 21ChatGPT's ad platform reaches 60,000 advertisers while missing revenue targets
ChatGPT's ad platform grew to 60,000 advertisers by October but is tracking well below its projected $2.4 billion 2026 revenue target, signaling weak monetization despite wider accessibility.
- Sep 8Six months after launch, ChatGPT Ads still lacks auction insights and benchmarks—leaving advertisers uncertain how to evaluate performance
ChatGPT Ads lacks industry benchmarks and audience data six months after launch, leaving advertisers unable to assess performance against standards.
- Sep 4OpenAI expands ChatGPT Ads to Europe, India, and Middle East while adding audience, measurement, and optimization features
OpenAI is rolling out ChatGPT Ads to more countries and introducing audience targeting, conversion measurement, and optimization tools to make the platform more viable for performance advertisers.
- Sep 2OpenAI claims ChatGPT Ads reached $1 billion annualized revenue run rate in under 200 days
OpenAI claims its ChatGPT Ads product reached $1 billion annualized revenue in under 200 days and projects $100 billion by 2030, but independent analysts remain highly skeptical of the forecasts.