Advertising placed inside AI assistant conversations. Different from search and social because the customer has asked a specific question, not typed a keyword or scrolled a feed.
The short version
ChatGPT ads are advertising placements that appear within conversations people have with an AI assistant. Rather than sitting beside a list of blue links or inside a scrolling feed, they appear in the flow of an exchange where someone has asked for help with something.
The commercial logic is familiar: an advertiser funds placement, and the platform decides when and where a paid placement is appropriate. The experience is not familiar, because the customer arrived with a question phrased in their own words rather than a keyword.
Why the format is different
Search advertising answers intent that has been compressed into a few words. Social advertising interrupts attention that was pointed somewhere else. Conversational advertising sits inside an exchange where the person has already explained their situation in detail.
That changes what good advertising looks like. Atmosphere and brand mood carry less weight; specificity carries more. If someone has described exactly what they want, the useful answer is the one that matches what they described.
- The customer has usually given context before any advertising appears
- Written product information does more work than imagery
- Comparison happens in the same place as discovery
- Volume is lower than mature channels, and quality of match matters more
What we do not know yet
This is a new channel and it would be dishonest to describe it as settled. Placement, available metrics, eligibility rules and geography all sit with the advertising platform, and they change.
We do not promise specific placement, specific results, or that any brand will be eligible. What we can promise is competent setup, honest reporting and a clear recommendation when something is not working.
Who it suits today
Brands that already sell online, already have decent product information and already run at least one other paid channel tend to find this easiest to add. The groundwork they have done elsewhere transfers.
Brands with thin product data, unclear landing pages or no conversion measurement usually need to fix those things first. We would rather tell you that at the enquiry stage.
Questions
- Is this the same as SEO for AI answers?
- No. This is paid advertising placement. Appearing organically in AI answers is a separate discipline and we do not sell it as the same thing.
- Do we need a big budget to start?
- You need enough spend for results to be readable rather than noise. We discuss a sensible starting figure during discovery rather than quoting a minimum here.