Chatgpt Ads?

Has anyone tried this yet? It's relatively new. I use ChatGPT daily for text messages, emails, etc. Have never tried using it for lead gen. I guess they do pay per click much like Google ads. Here is how the not itself explained it...

Think of ChatGPT ads as Google Ads based on the meaning of a conversation rather than just the words someone searched.

For example, suppose someone asks ChatGPT:

\> “I own a house in Liverpool, NY and I'm thinking about moving. Should I sell first or buy my next house first?”

ChatGPT gives them its normal answer first. Your advertisement does not change that answer. After the response, the advertising system can independently decide that a local real-estate service is relevant and show a clearly labeled Sponsored ad underneath it.

How ChatGPT decides which ad to show

This is the biggest difference from traditional search advertising.

Instead of you simply buying a keyword like “Syracuse Realtor,” you give the system context hints describing situations where your business is relevant. Those aren't exact-match keywords; they're signals that help the advertising system understand the kinds of conversations where your ad makes sense.

For a real-estate campaign, those might revolve around conversations such as:

buying a first home

selling a house

determining what a house is worth

moving to Central New York

buying before selling

investment properties

preparing a house for sale

The advertising system considers the intent and context of the conversation, your ad copy, landing page and context hints. If the user has personalized ads enabled, additional signals from their broader ChatGPT experience can also contribute.

So someone doesn't necessarily have to type “find me a Realtor.” They could be discussing a problem that indicates they're potentially in the market for one.

What the person actually sees

The advertisement appears below the ChatGPT response, not inside it. A current ad can contain the advertiser's name/logo, headline, description, image and a link to the advertiser's landing page.

So conceptually, the experience could be:

User: “How do I figure out what my house is worth before I sell?”

ChatGPT:

Explains CMAs, comparable sales, automated valuations, condition, improvements, etc.

Sponsored

Get a Local CNY Home Value Analysis

Thinking about selling? Get a local market analysis based on comparable Central New York sales.

Request Home Value →

The sponsored portion is separate from my answer.

And then you pay based on the campaign you chose

OpenAI currently supports CPC and CPM campaigns.

With CPC, you're charged for a valid click. OpenAI currently recommends advertisers initially consider maximum bids around $3–$5 per click, although the actual system uses an auction rather than a fixed $3–$5 price.

With CPM, you're buying exposure and paying per 1,000 impressions.

The auction is relevance-weighted, so it's not simply “whoever pays the most wins.” Relevance to that user/conversation also matters.

The privacy part is important

The advertiser doesn't receive the person's ChatGPT conversation.

So if someone spends 20 minutes telling ChatGPT about their house, finances and moving plans and then clicks an ad, the advertiser doesn't receive a transcript saying, “Here's everything this person told ChatGPT.”

OpenAI says advertisers receive aggregated performance information such as views and clicks; conversations, memories, names, emails, precise locations and other personal details aren't handed over to advertisers.

Why this could be interesting for a small business

The attractive part isn't merely putting another banner on the internet. It's the intent signal.

Someone scrolling Facebook might see a Realtor ad because they fit a demographic profile.

Someone searching Google for “Syracuse realtor” has stronger intent.

But someone spending ten minutes asking ChatGPT:

\> “I owe $110,000 on my house, I think it's worth $230,000, and I want to move this spring. How does selling and buying another house work?”

is giving the system considerable context suggesting that a real-estate service could be useful right then.

That's the fundamental bet behind ChatGPT advertising: putting relevant businesses in front of people while they're researching, comparing options and making decisions, rather than simply matching a search keyword.

And importantly, the advertiser cannot pay to make ChatGPT recommend them in the answer itself. Ads remain separate from answers.

For your purposes, that distinction is what makes me think a small seller-lead campaign would be a more interesting first test than a generic “local Realtor” campaign.