ChatGPT ads manager beta: first look, setup, and how to land clients

For the first time, OpenAI has turned ChatGPT into a real advertising platform. A new ads manager beta is rolling out, giving businesses a way to show paid recommendations directly inside ChatGPT conversations—right where people are now asking what to buy, who to hire, and which tools to trust.

This is a big shift. For two decades, brands have fought for attention in Google search results and social feeds. Now, buying decisions are starting inside AI chat. If you move early, you can not only test this new channel for your own offers, but also sell ChatGPT ad management as a service to local businesses who have no idea this exists yet.

Why ChatGPT ads are a big deal

For years, the online ad game has revolved around two main battlegrounds: search engines like Google and social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. People would search, scroll, click, and only then land on a website or booking page.

That flow is changing. More and more, people are going straight to AI tools and asking questions like “What’s the best roofer near me?”, “Which CRM should I use?”, or “What’s a trustworthy local electrician?” Those questions used to belong to Google; now they’re happening inside ChatGPT and other models like the latest ChatGPT releases.

Once paid placements exist inside those answers, the “front door” of the internet shifts. Instead of competing only for search rankings or social impressions, you can pay to appear right where the AI is giving recommendations.

How to access the ChatGPT ads manager beta

The new ads manager is currently in beta and is being rolled out to users who registered early interest, but there is a public entry point:

1. Go to the ads portal
Visit ads.openai.com (or the ChatGPT ads landing page OpenAI is promoting). Sign in with the same email you use for your main OpenAI / ChatGPT account.

2. Check if you’re in the beta
If your account has been enabled, you’ll see an option to create an ads account and open the ads manager dashboard. If not, you may see a waitlist or limited access message—OpenAI is clearly gating access at first.

3. Set up your ads account basics
Inside the dashboard, you’ll be asked to:

• Name your ads account (usually your business name)
• Add a logo (this will appear on your ads)
• Set up billing so you can actually run campaigns

Once that’s done, you can start building your first campaign.

Inside the ChatGPT ads dashboard

The new ads manager will feel familiar if you’ve used Meta or Google Ads before. The structure is similar:

• Campaigns – where you set your main objective and budget
• Ad groups – where you define bidding and targeting context
• Ads – where you design the creative (headline, description, image, logo)

The interface is intentionally simple. There’s less clutter than Meta’s ads manager, which makes it easier for beginners to get a campaign live without being overwhelmed by options.

Campaign setup: objectives, locations, and budget

When you create a new campaign, you’ll first choose your objective. In the current beta, the main objectives visible are:

• Reach – show your ad to as many relevant users as possible
• Clicks – optimize for users who are likely to click through to your site or landing page

There is also clear support for conversions, but you need to set up conversion tracking before you can optimize for it (more on that below).

Location targeting is straightforward. You can:

• Target broad regions like the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
• Search for and add individual countries (some are still grayed out in the beta)

Then you set a daily budget, similar to Google or Facebook. For example, you might start with $5–$20 per day while you test. As with any ad platform, you’ll want to keep an eye on real spend versus your set budget as the beta matures.

Conversion tracking and the ChatGPT “pixel”

To move beyond simple clicks and impressions, you’ll want to track what people do after they click your ad. The ads manager includes a conversion tracking system that works much like a pixel on other platforms.

1. Create a data source
You start by setting up a “data source” for your website:

• Name it (e.g., “Company Website”)
• Choose the type: Web (with iOS and Android support listed as “coming soon”)

Once created, the system generates a client key or snippet of code you can add to your site. This is the tracking script that lets OpenAI see what users do after they click your ad.

2. Define standard events
Next, you can define the conversion events you care about. The beta already supports a wide range of standard events, including:

• Appointment scheduled
• Checkout started
• Lead created
• Order created
• Page view
• Registration complete
• Subscription created
• Trial started
• Item added to cart

These events let you optimize for real business outcomes instead of just traffic. For example, you might track “Checkout started” or “Lead created” and set a 30-day conversion window.

3. Enable remarketing
By installing the tracking code on your site, you also unlock remarketing-style behavior. In other words, people who visit your site can later see your ads inside ChatGPT. This is similar to seeing a product follow you around from Amazon to Instagram, but now it happens inside AI chat.

Ad groups and “context hints” targeting

Within each campaign, you create ad groups. Here you’ll set your bid and define where your ads should appear contextually.

Bidding
You choose a maximum cost-per-click (CPC) or similar bid. The interface will tell you if your bid is “likely competitive” for that ad group, giving you a rough sense of where you stand in the auction.

Context hints
Instead of traditional keyword lists or detailed interest targeting, the beta uses something called “context hints.” You provide phrases that describe the conversations, topics, or keywords where your product or service is relevant. These aren’t strict exact-match rules, but they guide the system toward the right types of queries.

For example, a local AI marketing agency might use context hints like:

• “local business marketing”
• “get more leads for my small business”
• “improve Google rankings”
• “set up CRM and automations”
• “AI marketing help for dentists”

You can even use ChatGPT itself to brainstorm these hints: describe your business, ask for high-intent topics your ideal clients might ask about, then paste the best ones into the context hints field.

Designing your first ChatGPT ad

Once your campaign and ad group are set, you can create your first ad. The creative format is simple and clean:

• Business logo – uploaded in your account settings
• Headline – a short, punchy line (e.g., “AI-powered marketing for local businesses”)
• Description – a brief explanation or call to action (e.g., “Book a free strategy call and see how AI can double your leads.”)
• Image – an optional banner or visual to accompany your text

The platform may automatically truncate or adjust text in different placements, so keep your message clear and front-loaded. Once everything looks good, you hit “Create campaign,” finish billing setup, and your ad is ready for review and launch.

What early performance might look like

Because this is a brand-new channel, early performance is likely to be very different from mature platforms like Google Ads or Meta. Historically, when a new ad placement launches, platforms often reward early adopters with lower costs and strong reach to attract spend.

OpenAI is now competing with Google and Meta for ad dollars. To win that battle, they have an incentive to make early campaigns perform well—more reach, more clicks, and more conversions per dollar—so advertisers shift budget into ChatGPT.

If you’ve ever heard stories about the “golden era” of Facebook ads, when clicks were cheap and targeting was wide open, this beta phase has a similar feel. It won’t last forever.

How to turn ChatGPT ads into a client service

Running your own campaigns is one opportunity. The bigger opportunity, especially for freelancers and agencies, is to sell ChatGPT ad management to small businesses.

Most local business owners:

• Have heard of AI, but don’t know how to use it
• Are too busy to learn a new ads dashboard
• Already struggle with Google and Facebook ads

That’s where you come in. If you understand the basics of setting up a campaign—like what you saw above—you’re already ahead of 90% of local businesses.

Step 1: Find businesses already spending on ads

The easiest clients to sell on ChatGPT ads are the ones already paying for Google or Facebook campaigns. They’ve proven three things:

• They have a marketing budget
• They believe in paid acquisition
• They understand that ads can drive growth

You can use AI tools like Gemini or ChatGPT with browsing to help identify local businesses that are currently running Google Ads. A typical prompt might look like:

“Act as a B2B lead generation specialist. Identify 25 small businesses in [my city] that are currently running Google Ads. Provide their business name, website, and contact info if available.”

Once you have that list, you have a high-intent group of prospects who are much more likely to be interested in a new, high-leverage ad channel like ChatGPT.

Step 2: Reach out with a simple, relevant offer

With your lead list in hand, you can send short, direct emails that speak to what they’re already doing. For example:

Subject: Quick idea to boost your Google Ads results

Body: “I noticed you’re running Google Ads for [industry/service]. Smart move—paid search is still one of the best ways to get leads. OpenAI just launched a new ad platform inside ChatGPT, where people are now asking for recommendations instead of just searching on Google. I’m helping a few local businesses place their brand directly in those ChatGPT results. Would you be open to a quick walkthrough of what a ChatGPT campaign could look like for [Business Name]?”

This works because you’re:

• Recognizing what they’re already doing (Google Ads)
• Introducing something new but related (ChatGPT ads)
• Offering a low-friction next step (a quick walkthrough)

Step 3: Show them a “preview” ad inside your account

One powerful angle is to actually create a mock ad for their business inside your own ChatGPT ads manager, then screenshot it.

You can send an email that says something like:

“ChatGPT just opened up its ads platform in beta. I’ve already created a sample ad for [Business Name] inside my account so you can see exactly how your brand could appear when people ask ChatGPT for [‘best roofer in Maui’, ‘electrician near me’, etc.]. Here’s a screenshot. If you’d like, I can turn this into a live campaign and start testing it for you this week.”

Seeing their own logo and name inside a real ad preview makes the opportunity feel concrete, not theoretical. It also subtly shows that you know how to use the platform and are already one step ahead.

Step 4: Use AI-powered audits to open bigger conversations

Beyond ads, you can position yourself as an “AI marketing partner” by offering a quick audit of how well a business is showing up across search, maps, and AI tools.

Many agencies use all-in-one platforms (like GoHighLevel and similar tools) to generate automated visibility reports. These audits typically score a business on:

• Google Business Profile optimization
• Website presence and basic SEO
• Reviews and reputation
• Overall online visibility

When a business sees a low score—say 8% overall visibility—it becomes obvious they’re leaving money on the table. You can then position ChatGPT ads as one of several fixes: “We can clean up your local SEO, improve your website, and put you directly into ChatGPT recommendations so you’re not invisible when people ask AI for help.”

This broader positioning also aligns with where the industry is heading: away from single-channel tactics and toward integrated, AI-aware marketing strategies. For more context on how AI models are reshaping user behavior, it’s worth looking at how ChatGPT’s evolving business model is pulling more activity into the ChatGPT ecosystem itself.

Pricing and packaging your ChatGPT ad service

Once you have a prospect interested, you can package your offer similarly to other ad management services:

• Monthly management fee – e.g., $500–$2,000+ per month depending on scope
• Ad spend budget – paid directly to OpenAI via their card on file
• Setup fee (optional) – for initial tracking, creative, and campaign build-out

For many agencies, ChatGPT ads will simply become another line item alongside Google Ads, Meta Ads, and SEO. For new freelancers, it can be a focused, niche offer: “I help local businesses get recommended inside ChatGPT.”

Now is the early-mover window

Right now, almost no local businesses are running ChatGPT ads. Most don’t even know the platform exists. That won’t be true a year from now. As more advertisers pile in, costs will rise, competition will increase, and the “golden era” will fade.

If you’re willing to learn the dashboard while it’s still simple, set up a few test campaigns, and reach out to businesses already spending on ads, you can position yourself as the go-to person for ChatGPT advertising in your niche or city.

The tools are here. The attention is shifting. The only real question is whether you move before everyone else does.