OpenAI is moving forward with ads in ChatGPT, but early adopters say it isn’t ready for serious performance marketing.
The big picture. ChatGPT’s ad product shares almost no data, lacks automated buying tools, and offers minimal targeting—leaving advertisers with little ability to measure whether their spend is doing anything, The Information reported.
What advertisers are dealing with. SEO consultant Glenn Gabe outlined the issues:
- No automated way to buy ad space — deals happen over calls, emails, and spreadsheets.
- No meaningful performance data to evaluate outcomes.
- Two agency executives told The Information they couldn’t prove the ads drove measurable business results for clients.
Why we care. If you’re considering ChatGPT as an ad channel, the lack of performance data means you’re spending blind — with no reliable way to prove ROI to clients or stakeholders. As OpenAI prepares to scale ads to all U.S. free users, the audience will grow, but measurement tools haven’t caught up. If you jump in now, keep expectations tight and treat it as experimental budget, not a performance channel.
What’s coming. OpenAI told advertisers it plans to show ads to all U.S. users on free and low-cost ChatGPT tiers in the coming weeks — a major expansion. It also advised that performance may improve if you supply more variations of text and visual creative.
The irony. OpenAI builds some of the world’s most sophisticated AI, but its ad reporting tools are stuck in the spreadsheet era.
Bottom line. ChatGPT ads are about to reach a much larger audience, but there’s no way to prove they have value yet. If you enter now, you’re largely flying blind — and paying for it.
Credit. Gabe shared highlights from The Information‘s article (subscription required) on X.
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