ChatGPT ads are getting a visual format. On 5 October 2026, OpenAI said it will test image-led ads that appear while ChatGPT generates an image, starting later this month in the US with an initial group of advertisers. The ads show to Free and Go users, are labeled, and stay separate from the generated image. Here is what’s confirmed, and what marketers in Lebanon and the Gulf can do now.
Key takeaways
- New format: a visual ad shown during image generation in ChatGPT. OpenAI says it is clearly labeled and separate from the image being created.
- Timing and place: a test starting later in October 2026, in the US, with an initial group of advertisers. No dates for other countries.
- Audience: Free and Go users. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts stay ad-free, according to OpenAI’s help center.
- Measurement: OpenAI named new attribution, incrementality and brand-measurement partners on the same day.
- Our region: OpenAI’s availability page lists Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other regional markets for self-service Ads Manager, so the existing ChatGPT ads can be tested today.
What did OpenAI announce about ChatGPT ads on 5 October 2026?
In a post titled “Building advertising for the way people use AI”, OpenAI announced three things: a new visual ad format, more measurement tools and partners, and new work on brand suitability.
The visual format is the headline. Until now, ChatGPT ads have appeared below the end of a response, labeled as sponsored, as OpenAI’s help center describes. The new format uses imagery to show a product, how it is used, or the experience it enables, and OpenAI says it will first be tested during image generation.
OpenAI also repeated the scale it is selling to advertisers: it says ChatGPT reaches 1.2 billion people weekly. That is OpenAI’s own figure. TechCrunch reported that the ads are limited to the US for now, and that advertisers will be able to reach that wider audience only when ads roll out globally.
If you are new to the channel, start with our earlier guide, ChatGPT Ads: What Marketers Need to Know in 2026. This article covers only what changed this week.
How does the new visual ad format work?
OpenAI has shared the basics but not the full specification. The table separates what the company has confirmed from what it has not said yet.
| Question | What OpenAI has said | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Where does the ad appear? | During image generation in ChatGPT, for the initial test | Confirmed |
| Is it labeled? | Yes. Clearly labeled and separate from the image being created | Confirmed |
| Does it affect ChatGPT’s answers? | OpenAI says advertising does not influence ChatGPT’s answers | Confirmed (OpenAI’s statement) |
| When does it start? | A test later in October 2026 | Confirmed |
| Which country? | United States | Confirmed |
| Which advertisers? | An initial group of advertisers, not named | Confirmed |
| Price, sizes and creative specs | Not published | Not stated |
| Dates for other countries | Not published | Not stated |
OpenAI’s post includes a mock-up of the format on mobile screens. 9to5Google describes the format as an ad shown while a prompt is processing.
Here is how the two formats compare, based on OpenAI’s own pages.
| Existing ChatGPT ad | New visual format | |
|---|---|---|
| Placement | Below the end of a response | During image generation |
| Look | Labeled as sponsored, visually separated from the response | Image-led, clearly labeled, separate from the generated image |
| Availability | Rolling out to eligible users in select regions since the US test began on 9 February 2026 | US test starting later in October 2026 |
| Who sees it | Free and Go users | Free and Go users |
Who will see ChatGPT image ads, and who won’t?
OpenAI says the visual format is for users on the Free and Go plans. Its help center states that Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts will not have ads.
The help center also lists limits that matter for brand planning:
- Ads are not shown to accounts identified as under 18.
- Ads are not eligible to appear near sensitive or regulated topics, including personal health, mental health and politics.
- Political advertising is not currently allowed.
- Temporary Chats show no ads.
- Users can hide or report an ad, see why they were shown it, and turn off ad personalization in Settings. Turning personalization off does not remove ads.
On privacy, OpenAI says advertisers do not get access to chats, chat history, memories or personal details, and receive aggregated performance data such as total views or clicks.
Can businesses in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the UAE run ChatGPT ads?
For the existing ad format, OpenAI’s pages say yes. Its Ads Manager availability page lists Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt and Jordan among the countries marked available for self-service, as we read it on 10 October 2026.
One rule on that page is easy to miss: the legal entity that will advertise and be billed must be based in a listed country. Businesses elsewhere can still sign up at ads.openai.com and wait to be notified.
The regional opening is recent. PPC Land reports that self-service opened for India, Europe and the Middle East and North Africa on 31 August 2026, and that OpenAI now cites more than 60 countries. Martechvibe covered the MENA expansion in an article dated 17 September 2026, naming Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Turkey, Jordan and Bahrain.
What is not confirmed: whether advertisers outside the US test group can use the new visual format, and when the format reaches users in our region. OpenAI has only announced a US test.
On campaign setup, OpenAI’s Europe expansion post says Ads Manager supports CPM and CPC bidding plus conversion optimization, with geo-targeting, custom audiences, a pixel and a Conversions API. If the difference between a view and an impression is still fuzzy, read Views vs Impressions before you set a CPM bid.
How do you measure ChatGPT ads?
Measurement was the second half of the announcement. OpenAI says it supports both in-house and partner-led measurement. The table combines the partners listed on its ads blog with the brand-suitability tools described in the main announcement.
| Measurement job | Tools or partners OpenAI named | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion signals | OpenAI Pixel and Conversions API; data integrations with Hightouch, Tealium and LiveRamp | Sends conversion data back to ChatGPT Ads |
| Attribution (web and app) | AppsFlyer, Triple Whale, Adjust, DV Rockerbox, Northbeam, Branch, Singular, Kochava, Airbridge, Tenjin | Conversions API, reporting and click attribution |
| Full-funnel and advanced measurement | Fospha, Measured, INCRMNTAL | Partnerships announced |
| Incrementality | Haus, Measured, WorkMagic | Geo-based experiments; OpenAI calls this early stage |
| Brand measurement | Kantar, Cint | Early-stage testing |
| Brand suitability | Negative Phrases; pilots with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science | Negative Phrases is available to qualifying advertisers; the pilots are in development |
Two reporting details from the ads blog are worth knowing. Advertisers can choose a click-through attribution window and a one-day view-through window, and OpenAI notes that these settings change what reports show, not how campaigns optimize. It also introduced an Event Quality Score that rates the quality of your pixel and Conversions API signals.
What results has OpenAI reported so far?
OpenAI published early partner results with the announcement. Treat them as vendor-reported figures from selected advertisers, not as benchmarks for your account.
- WeightWatchers: attributed cost per acquisition on ChatGPT Ads was 15.3% lower than its blended paid search benchmark, as measured by DV Rockerbox.
- Dose: a WorkMagic geo-lift study found a statistically significant lift, with 67% of incremental purchases coming from net-new customers.
- Portland Leather: 93% of its visitors from ChatGPT Ads were new, according to Triple Whale.
These numbers come from OpenAI’s announcement and its measurement partners. None of them is from the Middle East, and none is about the new visual format, which has not started testing yet.
How is this different from Meta, Google and TikTok ads?
In our view, the visual format moves ChatGPT ads closer to the kind of creative work marketers already do for social platforms. A text card under an answer rewards a clear message. An image-led placement rewards strong product photography and a recognizable brand look.
The context is still different. On social platforms an ad interrupts a feed. Here, OpenAI is placing the ad in the seconds a person waits for an image they asked for. We don’t yet have public data on how people respond to that moment, so we would treat any early claims with caution.
It also arrives in a busy month for AI in advertising. Meta is testing agent features in its ad tools, which we covered in Meta AI Business Assistant, and TikTok announced its own AI updates, summarized in TikTok Ads Updates (October 2026). And because people also get unpaid recommendations from AI assistants, the organic side still matters: see SEO vs AEO.
What should marketers do now?
- Check eligibility. Confirm that your billing entity is based in a country listed on OpenAI’s Ads Manager availability page.
- Create the account early. Sign up at ads.openai.com so the account, payment method and pixel are ready before you need them.
- Fix tracking first. Install the pixel or Conversions API and confirm that purchases or leads are recorded correctly before you spend.
- Run a small test of the existing format. Use one clear message, one landing page and a budget you can afford to learn from.
- Prepare visual assets. Collect clean product images and lifestyle shots now, so you are ready if the visual format opens beyond the US test.
- Compare fairly. Judge results against your Meta and Google campaigns using the same conversion event and attribution window.
- Watch the official pages. OpenAI’s help center and ads blog are where availability and format changes will appear first.
Frequently asked questions
What are ChatGPT image ads?
They are a visual ad format OpenAI announced on 5 October 2026. The ads appear while ChatGPT is generating an image for a user. OpenAI says they are clearly labeled and kept separate from the image being created.
When do the new visual ChatGPT ads start?
OpenAI says testing begins later in October 2026 in the United States with an initial group of advertisers. It has not announced dates for other countries or for a wider rollout.
Who sees ads in ChatGPT?
According to OpenAI’s help center, ads may appear for users on the Free and Go plans. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts do not have ads, and ads are not shown to accounts identified as under 18.
Can a business in Lebanon or Saudi Arabia advertise on ChatGPT?
OpenAI’s Ads Manager availability page lists Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries in the region as available for self-service. The legal entity that advertises and is billed must be based in a listed country. The new visual format itself is only being tested in the US for now.
Do ads change ChatGPT’s answers?
OpenAI says they do not. The company states that advertising does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides, and that ads are labeled and separate from the response or the generated image.
Can advertisers see what people type into ChatGPT?
No, according to OpenAI’s help center. Advertisers do not get access to chats, chat history, memories or personal details. They receive aggregated performance data such as total views or clicks.
How can I measure ChatGPT ads?
OpenAI provides a pixel and a Conversions API, and on 5 October 2026 it listed attribution partners including AppsFlyer, Triple Whale, Adjust and Northbeam. It also named partners for incrementality tests and early-stage brand measurement.
Sources
- OpenAI: Building advertising for the way people use AI (5 October 2026)
- OpenAI Ads Blog: More ways to measure (5 October 2026)
- OpenAI Help Center: Ads in ChatGPT (read 10 October 2026)
- OpenAI Help Center: Ads Manager Availability (read 10 October 2026)
- OpenAI: ChatGPT Ads expands across Europe (18 August 2026, updated 31 August 2026)
- TechCrunch: OpenAI launches visual ads that appear alongside image generation results (5 October 2026)
- 9to5Google: ChatGPT is adding new ads (5 October 2026)
- Martechvibe: OpenAI Expands ChatGPT Ads across MENA (17 September 2026)
- PPC Land: OpenAI gains 7 Asian markets for ChatGPT ads, passing 60 countries (24 September 2026)
Information as published by the sources above on 10 October 2026. OpenAI is testing this format and availability changes often, so check the official pages before you plan a budget.
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