ChatGPT ads move into image generation as OpenAI courts brands

OpenAI is trying to win ad budgets from search and social by giving brands a richer canvas and better proof of return. On 5 October 2026 it announced a test of "a new visual ad format in ChatGPT", starting "later this month in the US with an initial group of advertisers", according to OpenAI's announcement.

The first placement sits inside image generation. While an image is being made, a labelled sponsored card appears with product photos, a carousel and a "Learn more" button. It is separate from the image itself. Advertisers can use images to show product inspiration, how a product is used, or experiences associated with a service. OpenAI said: "Our new visual ad format helps people imagine how products and services could fit into their lives."

The company also stressed the guardrails. Ads will be clearly labelled, and OpenAI said that, as with its other formats, advertising does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides. Guardrails keep ads away from sensitive or emotionally vulnerable conversations. Pro, Business and Enterprise plans stay ad-free.

The measurement package is where the commercial pitch is sharpest. OpenAI added conversion-data integrations with Hightouch, Tealium and LiveRamp, and attribution partners including AppsFlyer, Triple Whale, Adjust, DV Rockerbox, Northbeam, Branch, Singular and Kochava. Incrementality tests will run through Haus, Measured and WorkMagic. For brand safety, OpenAI is piloting with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science.

OpenAI backed this with advertiser results. WeightWatchers' cost per acquisition on ChatGPT Ads was 15.3% lower than its blended paid-search benchmark. Dose saw 67% of incremental purchases come from net-new customers, and Portland Leather said 93% of visitors from ChatGPT Ads were new. These are OpenAI's cited figures, not independent audits.

On scale, OpenAI puts ChatGPT at 1.2 billion weekly users. Ads already run in 31 European countries. Search Engine Roundtable also covered the test.

The partner list matters as much as the new format. Performance marketers will not shift budget on promises; they want attribution, incrementality and brand-suitability checks in the tools they already use. By signing the major names in each category, OpenAI is removing the usual objections to a young ad channel.

The cited results lean on one message: new customers at a lower acquisition cost than search. If advertisers see the same pattern in their own data, paid search carries the pressure. Watch the incrementality results from Haus, Measured and WorkMagic, and the brand-suitability pilots with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science. Those will show whether the claims hold outside OpenAI's own case studies.