To advertise on ChatGPT, you sign up at ads.openai.com, check that your business is in a self-service country, then build a campaign, ad groups with context hints, and ads. This guide on how to advertise on ChatGPT walks through each step using OpenAI’s own help pages, including minimum budgets in USD and SAR and what changed with the 21 October 2026 expansion to 89 countries.
Key takeaways
- 89 countries: on 21 October 2026 OpenAI added 26 countries to ChatGPT Ads and said more than 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns since launch (OpenAI’s own figures).
- Lebanon and the Gulf: OpenAI’s availability page lists Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman as available for self-service (checked 24 October 2026).
- Three objectives: Views (CPM), Clicks (CPC) or Conversions (billed per click or per 1,000 impressions, not per conversion).
- Low minimums: the minimum daily budget is 25 USD or 50 SAR, depending on your billing currency.
- No keywords: ad groups use context hints, and OpenAI recommends many distinct, benefit-focused ad variations.
What changed for ChatGPT Ads in October 2026?
On 21 October 2026, OpenAI announced that ChatGPT Ads is expanding to 26 more countries, bringing availability to 89 countries. The new markets include 14 more Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru, plus markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, including Nigeria, South Africa, Serbia, Ukraine, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
OpenAI also said more than 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns on ChatGPT since ads launched “just over eight months ago”, and that more than 1.2 billion people use ChatGPT each week. Both are OpenAI’s own figures, and the advertiser count is cumulative rather than a count of active advertisers. Advertisers in the new countries can buy through technology partners or self-service Ads Manager.
If you are new to the format, start with our explainer on what ChatGPT Ads are and how they work, then come back here for the setup.
Can businesses in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the UAE advertise on ChatGPT?
Yes. OpenAI’s Ads Manager availability page lists Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq as “Available” for self-service when we checked it on 24 October 2026. The page sets one important rule: the legal entity that will advertise and be billed must be based in a country listed as available.
There is a second limit to plan for. OpenAI’s campaign guide says some new self-serve accounts can initially advertise only in their home country, and choosing other countries does not override that. The account becomes eligible for other supported countries once identity verification is approved and it reaches the required spend from campaigns in its home country. In our view, this matters for agencies in Beirut that serve Gulf clients: the cleanest setup is usually an ad account owned by the client’s own local entity.
How to advertise on ChatGPT: step-by-step setup
Here is the sequence OpenAI’s help pages describe, in the order you will meet it in Ads Manager.
- Sign up at ads.openai.com. OpenAI says account creation and self-service access are separate, so check the availability page for your country first.
- Complete verification and billing. OpenAI lists incomplete verification or billing among the first things to check when a campaign is not serving.
- Create a campaign. Each campaign has a title, an objective, a budget, start and end dates, target countries, and optional platform and custom-audience settings.
- Create ad groups. Group ads around one product, service or customer need, and add context hints.
- Create several ads per ad group. Each ad has a title, copy, an image and a landing page.
- Wait for review, then monitor. OpenAI says ads can go live once they pass review and account, billing and campaign requirements are met.
One practical warning from OpenAI: on your first campaign, the start and end date options may only appear after the campaign is created. If you need a specific start date, don’t publish the campaign just to reach those settings, because the ads could start running before you set the schedule.
Which campaign objective should you choose?
The objective decides how you are billed and how delivery is optimized, and OpenAI says you cannot switch an existing campaign to a different objective. You create a new campaign instead.
| Objective | How you pay | Best for (per OpenAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Views | Per 1,000 impressions served (CPM) | Maximizing visibility and exposure |
| Clicks | Per valid click (CPC) | Driving people to your website or product |
| Conversions | Per valid click (oCPC) or per 1,000 impressions (oCPM); not per conversion | Optimizing toward a supported conversion event |
In our view, most small businesses and course providers in the region should start with Clicks: it is simple to read, and you can compare cost per click with what you already pay on Google. Our Google Ads vs ChatGPT Ads comparison covers when each platform makes sense.
How much does it cost to advertise on ChatGPT?
There is no fixed price. You set a budget and the system ranks eligible ads using a combination of factors, including relevance and advertiser bids, according to OpenAI’s ads FAQ. What OpenAI does publish is a minimum daily budget per billing currency:
| Billing currency | Minimum daily budget |
|---|---|
| USD (US dollar) | 25 USD |
| SAR (Saudi riyal) | 50 SAR |
| AED (UAE dirham) | 65 AED |
| QAR (Qatari riyal) | 60 QAR |
| EUR (euro) | 15 EUR |
| GBP (pound sterling) | 15 GBP |
Two budget rules are worth knowing before you launch. A daily budget is an average over a 7-day period, so spend on a single day can reach up to twice the daily amount, while spend over the week will not exceed seven times it. The budget week runs Sunday to Saturday in your ad account’s timezone. If you prefer a hard ceiling, use a campaign-total budget, which OpenAI describes as the stricter control. OpenAI recommends that new advertisers start with a daily budget so they can watch delivery first.
How do context hints work instead of keywords?
ChatGPT Ads does not use keyword bidding. In each ad group you add context hints, which OpenAI’s ad group guide describes as clear, specific phrases about what you offer, who it helps or when it is useful. OpenAI’s example: “cushioned everyday running shoes for beginners training for their first 5K” gives the system more to work with than “running shoes”.
OpenAI is explicit that context hints inform relevance only. They are not exact-match keywords or targeting rules and do not guarantee delivery for particular conversations. OpenAI’s systems also consider your ad’s title, copy and landing page, so hints should add information rather than repeat the ad.
For a Lebanese clinic, a Riyadh furniture store or a training provider, a useful habit is to write one ad group per real customer need, for example “same-week dental cleaning in Beirut for busy professionals” rather than “dentist”.
How should you write ChatGPT ads that get delivered?
OpenAI’s ad creation guide asks for a different style from search ads. The main points:
- Write many distinct variations. OpenAI says a high volume and diverse set of ads gives the system more chances to find relevant moments. Each variation should take a different angle.
- Be benefit-focused and specific. Explain the practical value, who the offering is for and when it helps, rather than relying on a catchy line.
- Link to the most relevant page. Use product, collection or content pages instead of the homepage. OpenAI lets you add UTM tags to individual creative URLs, and we recommend doing so.
- Don’t block OpenAI’s crawlers. Landing pages must be reachable and must not block the OAI-AdsBot and OAI-SearchBot user agents.
- Keep images simple. Clear visuals that match the title and copy.
- Follow the ad policies. Ads can be rejected if they are misleading, inconsistent or include disallowed content.
Ads appear below a ChatGPT response, and OpenAI is also testing a multi-image visual format during image generation, which we covered in our post on ChatGPT’s visual ad format. If you add UTM tags, they travel with each click, so you can measure results in GA4 using our guide to tracking ChatGPT traffic in GA4.
Which targeting options does ChatGPT Ads offer?
| Setting | What OpenAI’s help pages say |
|---|---|
| Countries | Required. To target only one country, include it explicitly; excluding others is not enough. |
| Regions, cities, postal codes | Available for most campaigns where supported; product-feed campaigns are country-level only. |
| Platforms | Optional: Android app, Android web, Desktop web, iOS app, iOS web. |
| Custom audiences | Optional. Inclusion needs at least 25,000 matched users; exclusions can be smaller. Avoid for EEA/Switzerland campaigns for now. |
| Who is excluded | No ads on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu accounts, for under-18 accounts, in Temporary Chats, or near sensitive topics such as health, mental health or politics. |
In our view, the 25,000 matched-user minimum means custom audiences will be out of reach for many small businesses in Lebanon and the Gulf at first. Context hints, location and platform settings will do most of the work.
What should you do now?
- Open OpenAI’s availability page and confirm your business’s legal entity is in a listed country.
- Create the account in the client’s own name if you are an agency.
- Pick one objective (we suggest Clicks) and one product or service for the first test.
- Write 5–10 genuinely different ad variations and 3–5 specific context hints per ad group.
- Check that your landing page doesn’t block OAI-AdsBot or OAI-SearchBot, and add UTM tags.
- Start with a daily budget at or slightly above the minimum, and judge results the way you would any new channel, with a clean A/B test.
Frequently asked questions
Can I advertise on ChatGPT from Lebanon or Saudi Arabia?
Yes, through self-service Ads Manager, according to OpenAI’s Ads Manager availability page, which lists Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq as available (checked 24 October 2026). The legal entity that advertises and is billed must be based in a listed country.
What is the minimum budget for ChatGPT Ads?
The minimum daily budget depends on your ad account’s billing currency. OpenAI’s campaign guide lists 25 USD, 50 SAR, 65 AED, 60 QAR, 15 EUR and 15 GBP, among other currencies.
Does ChatGPT Ads use keywords?
No. Ad groups use context hints: short, specific phrases that describe what you offer, who it helps and when it is useful. OpenAI says context hints inform relevance but are not exact-match keywords or targeting rules, and they do not guarantee delivery.
How do you pay for ChatGPT Ads?
It depends on the objective. Views campaigns are billed per 1,000 impressions (CPM), Clicks campaigns per valid click (CPC), and Conversions campaigns optimize toward a conversion event but bill per click (oCPC) or per 1,000 impressions (oCPM). OpenAI says you do not pay per conversion.
Who sees ads in ChatGPT?
Ads may appear for users on the Free and Go plans in regions where ads are available, and Free users can switch to an ad-free option with lower usage limits. OpenAI says Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts do not have ads, ads are not shown to accounts identified as belonging to people under 18, and Temporary Chats show no ads.
Can I target other countries from a new account?
Not always at first. OpenAI says some new self-serve accounts can initially advertise only in their home country. The account becomes eligible for other supported countries after identity verification is approved and it reaches the required spend in the home country.
Do advertisers see users’ ChatGPT conversations?
No. OpenAI says advertisers do not get access to chats, chat history, memories or personal details, and receive aggregated performance information such as views and clicks. OpenAI also says ads do not influence ChatGPT’s answers.
Sources
- OpenAI: ChatGPT Ads expands to 26 new countries as over 100,000 advertisers have used the platform (21 October 2026)
- OpenAI Help Center: Ads Manager Availability (accessed 24 October 2026)
- OpenAI Help Center: Creating campaigns for ChatGPT Ads (accessed 24 October 2026)
- OpenAI Help Center: Create Ad Groups for ChatGPT Ads (accessed 24 October 2026)
- OpenAI Help Center: Creating ads for ChatGPT Ads (accessed 24 October 2026)
- OpenAI Help Center: Ads in ChatGPT (accessed 24 October 2026)
- PPC Land: Advertisers in 26 more countries gain ChatGPT ads, bringing the total to 89 (21 October 2026)
- Communicate: OpenAI expands ChatGPT ads to 26 more countries, including Middle East (22 October 2026)
Information as of 24 October 2026. OpenAI updates its help pages often, so check availability, minimums and policies in Ads Manager before you launch.
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