Buying Ads in ChatGPT: what the data says so far

You could be working out how to get mentioned by AI. Joss has been paying for it. He's run ChatGPT Ads in the US and UK since the beta opened, with a front row seat to Adthena's search intelligence data while doing it. This talk covers first hand practitioner observations alongside the cold hard data: which ads are showing up against which prompts, how often, and what happens on comparison prompts when a third advertiser turns up to answer a question about your brand. He'll also finish with practical takeaways and free resources to help you get the most out of this new paid surface.

Transcript

1. Buying Ads in ChatGPT: what the data says so far Joss Froggatt Adthena www.linkedin.com/in/joss-froggatt
2. HOW WE GOT HERE Eight months from closed pilot to ad platform. The UK has had it for three Feb 2026 May 2026 Jun 2026 Aug 2026 Sep 2026 First ads go live. Self-serve Ads Manager, CPC bidding, no minimum buy-in UK goes live, first market in Europe 31 European markets, self-serve from 31 Aug Well, this escalated quickly: US, Free and Go tiers. $250k min buy-in • CPC and conversion bidding • Pixel measurement • Audience targeting • Shopping Ads • Sponsored Agents
3. CHATGPT ADS BY THE NUMBERS What does the landscape look like? $1B 4,764 15k+ ChatGPT Ads annualized revenue run rate, August 2026 Unique advertisers in the UK Unique advertisers in the US Tracked in Sept 2026 Tracked in Sept 2026 Less than 200 days after OpenAI launched its advertising pilot
4. A bit of a Prince William tale… ChatGPT Ads Manager External Intelligence Layer
5. THE RECEIPTS The data we’ll cover today 1. Market data 2. Our own account Insights from Adthena’s ChatGPT ads monitoring Hands-on learnings from running ads in Adthena’s own ChatGPT ads account
6. INSIGHT 01 · THE BRAND GAP Brand A vs Brand B? Often, neither shows up RISK 1 · NOT ON THE PLATFORM 0% RISK 2 · SPENDING, BUT NOT DEFENDING Ads from a leading denim brand on prompts naming it Who took the ad space instead Marketplaces buy up the most prompt share Share of all observed UK ads Zalando 37.6% Zalando 9.7% Roman 15.1% Booking.com 7.7% Next 11.8% Next 3.9% 7 For All Mankind 6.5%
7. INSIGHT 02 · RELEVANCE ChatGPT gets ad relevance right 90% of the time The other 10% wastes budget and puts ads in rivals’ comparison conversations 50,000+ ad placements analysed 90% on or near topic *Sept 2026 Data UK
8. INSIGHT 03 · OUR OWN ADS ACCOUNT No negative keywords? BEFORE: A BROAD HINT “how marketers track brand and competitor presence across AI search and ChatGPT: monitoring paid search, AI ads and AI search in one platform: share of voice in generative search; AI search intelligence; AEO and GEO monitoring; how AI is reshaping search strategy” Six or seven ideas in one box. Every one of them a separate door. best connected tv advertising channel 4 vs itv advertising three-way life insurance broker comparison
9. INSIGHT 03 · OUR OWN ADS ACCOUNT No negative keywords? “A marketer, brand, or competitive intelligence team trying to see and measure AFTER: ONE IDEA, TIGHTLY DRAWN the advertising that appears inside ChatGPT and AI search results: which brands and competitors have sponsored placements in Same title, same copy, same landing AI assistant answers, how their own ad page. Only the hint changed. presence and share of voice compares within ChatGPT and generative search specifically, Every off-brand prompt gone and how to monitor and benchmark What remained sat on the target topic competitor ad activity in AI search. This is about advertising visibility inside AI chat New prompt: “best chatgpt ads monitoring assistants and AI search, not advertising in tool” any other channel, and not about comparing or buying products, services, or agencies in unrelated industries”
10. CASE STUDY 01 · FINANCE BRAND Prompt-led negatives ~20% Reduction in intent mismatch First round of negatives, over 2 weeks WHAT THEY DID Used prompt-level insights to see where their ads appeared, then added negatives for mismatched intent
11. CASE STUDY 02 · OUR OWN ACCOUNT You’d never leave Google brand terms unprotected. On ChatGPT ads, you already have. THE FIX, ON OUR OWN ACCOUNT Comparison-term visibility 0% → 22% THE GAP - Neither brand is in the answer Brand A and Brand B are named in the answer. Brand C is the only one paid to be there. 1 Audit Find every comparison prompt where your brand is missing Daily ad frequency on comparison prompts, within days of restructuring 2 Refine Build dedicated ad groups with ultra-tight context hints 3 Value-first landing page Send traffic to reviews and outcomes, not a hard-sell form
12. KEY TAKEAWAYS 3 things you can do today 01 02 03 Keep context hints tight Watch platform updates Don’t let a brand gap emerge, and reduce wasted spend on irrelevant conversations New features are shipping fast - revisit your setup as they land Monitor competitors and the market FREE Adthena’s ChatGPT Ads Share of Search Index and advertising report
13. A PREDICTION On ChatGPT, the price will soon follow the conversation Google today ChatGPT next Stitches intent from clues Is told intent, turn by turn Query, location, device, history. Each search starts cold. Destination, dates, budget, party size. All in one chat. Turn 7 “Hotel A or Hotel B? Which has the better kids’ club?” Turn 4 “All-inclusive Belek, October half term, family of four” Turn 1 “Turkey holidays?” £££ ££ £ Our bet: once conversion bidding matures, spend piles onto the final turns.
14. Want more data? Free ChatGPT ads data report Share of Search Index and more granular ChatGPT industry-level stats
15. Thank You! Connect on LinkedIn Joss Froggatt