We’re Bullish on ChatGPT Ads…but Don’t Rush in Blind

The (advertising) world is about to change again.  Drastically.

For the last 20+ years, marketers have lived in a world dominated by two primary ecosystems:

• Google (intent-driven search)

• Meta (social / interest-driven discovery)

Unless you just woke up from a years-long coma, you already know a third interface has emerged.  While it has components of both those other types of marketing, it really needs to be thought of as its own system:

Conversational AI.

And like it or not, ads are coming to ChatGPT.

Yesterday, I was quoted by AFP (Agence France-Presse) on what this shift could mean for advertisers and AI searchers alike as generative AI interfaces (beginning with OpenAI’s ChatGPT) begin monetizing attention:

“It’s going to be a game changer for the entire industry,” said Justin Seibert, head of Direct Online Marketing.

“We’re already seeing how high the conversion rates (interactions resulting in a purchase) are for people that are coming in from ChatGPT and the other LLMs (large language models),” he added.

AI assistants could account for up to two percent of the online advertising market by 2030, HSBC bank analysts suggested in a report.

Many brands are already prioritising visibility on the new channel, including US supermarket chain Target and software maker Adobe.

Beyond buying a spot on users’ screens, companies are also pushing for their products to appear in chatbots’ organic responses.

The practice is known as GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization — an evolution of the Search Engine Optimization strategy during the era of Google’s dominance over the web.

Birthing a New Type of Ad

Whenever something truly new appears in marketing, the industry does what it always does: it argues about what to call it.

(You may already be familiar with this concept with “traditional” marketing through the large language models, with phrases like generative engine optimization, AI SEO, and answer engine optimization being bandied about.  More on that later.)

Right now, there isn’t one universally accepted term for these new ads inside conversational AI platforms.

Two of the most common phrases I’ve seen are:

• Conversation advertising

• Answer engine advertising

Both are being used in real industry discussions, and both are accurate. Regardless of what you want to call it, it’s here – at least in beta.  Eventually, it will get a name, but for now, it might be a Kleenex vs. tissues debate until someone besides ChatGPT launches their ads.

Why We’re So Hot for Teacher ChatGPT Ads (with Some Caveats)

At DOM, we’re bullish on what ChatGPT ads could offer advertisers long-term. 

Why?  Because people trust their AI overlords partners.  The conversion rates are through the roof for those companies who can show up in results with positive sentiments and recommendations.

But we’re also realistic.  This won’t be a clean, perfect rollout.  OpenAI can’t be expected to launch perfectly against a much more mature ad offering from Google and (to a lesser extent) Meta. 

There will be bad placements. There will be awkward early experiments. And there will absolutely be brands who jump in too early, get burned, and decide it’s not worth it (for now).

That’s short-sighted.

The bigger takeaway is simple:

If ChatGPT and its competitors become a primary interface layer for consumer decision-making, advertising inside that interface becomes inevitable.  And that time is coming…rapidly.

Don’t ask whether or not ads will exist.  Ask whether advertisers will have the tools, controls, and measurement frameworks to make them worth buying.

We’re pushing our chips all-in that they will.

The Big Question: How Does OpenAI Make This Work for Advertisers?

To understand where ChatGPT ads are headed, start by looking at Google’s – and especially Google Ads’ – beginning.

Before Google became the 900-pound ad gorilla it is today, there was goto.com – the first to market pay-per-click search advertising model.

I remember GoTo.com vividly; this was the model that eventually gave way to Yahoo! Search Marketing.  The concept was straightforward – choose how much to bid on a particular keyword and the top bidder got pole position. 

Not to take away how revolutionary this model was, but Google saw the inherent flaw.  Think of this example – an advertiser who sells Rolexes bids on the keyword “yachts.” 

You can understand the logic that rich folks who can afford to go yachting around the world might want to get their wrists blinged up.  Maybe they make a couple sales.

Buuuuuut, over time that destroys the credibility of the whole system.  When the ads don’t match the user’s interest, searchers stop looking at ads altogether.

So Google introduced the concept of Quality Score. Top ad spots didn’t simply get awarded to auction winners; they were ranked based on expected usefulness to the user.

(By the way, I love the concept of “winning” an auction.  I get excited every time my wife tells me what she won at a charity fundraiser – we have gotten some pretty amazing meals.)

The idea of Quality Score is why Google Ads became the default performance channel for so many businesses.

That’s also why it has survived for decades. Google didn’t just launch an ad platform and walk away.

They’ve made constant adjustments for 26 years – changes to their algorithm, ad formats, bidding models, inventory, and campaign types, as well as countless policy refinements.

OpenAI will have to do the same.

If ChatGPT ads are simply “highest bidder wins,” the platform risks damaging the user experience and the entire model collapses.

But if OpenAI can build something that rewards relevance and usefulness (a ChatGPT version of quality score), the opportunity for advertisers could be enormous.

Much like an Ilia Malinin ice skating program, their difficulty level is through the roof.  They are rightfully concerned about user privacy, which makes serving and proving value to advertisers even harder than what Google had to do.

What ChatGPT Ads Could Offer That Traditional Google & Meta Can’t

First: a big caveat.  In this section, I’m talking about the Google we’ve all used for a quarter century and not where it’s venturing with Gemini and its AI Overviews.  We’ll come back to that a little bit shortly, but since Google isn’t jumping in the chatbot ad game quiiite yet, the comparison to Ol’ School Google is apt. 

This is where things get interesting.

ChatGPT isn’t a feed or list of search results – it’s a conversation.

That means ads could theoretically align with:

• Context

• Intent

• Conversation History

• Decision Stage

• User Sentiment

• And even the why behind a search

In other words, this could become the most context-rich advertising environment ever created.

That’s why we’re bullish.

If OpenAI gets this right (a big “if,” granted), advertisers could gain access to something closer to decision-based advertising than anything we’ve had before.

Real Talk: The Early Rollout Will Be Messy

Even if ChatGPT ads become a major channel long-term as we expect, the early stages will likely include:

• At best, inconsistent placement logic

• Unclear ad vs. organic distinctions (I expect this will be clear early on, but: A. most people don’t read, and B. they will face a lot of pressure as Google has over the years to make ads blend in more with organic results.)

• Limited targeting options

• Opaque reporting and measurement

• Unclear attribution

• And brand safety concerns

In short: early advertisers will be paying to help OpenAI test and refine the model.

That may be fine if you’re an enterprise brand with budget to burn.

But you may want to pump the brakes if you’re a mid-market company expecting immediate predictable ROI.  (Start with GEO instead!)

Speaking of brand safety concerns, expect some ugly screenshots to hit Reddit, and then the press. 

This is not speculation; it’s inevitable.  Some Redditors are already complaining.  Heck, it’s what Anthropic scored so highly with its Super Bowl ad declaring Claude will not have ads.

Get ready for less-than-ideal ad placements and ads that feel out of context, intrusive, and tone-deaf. 

And when that happens, you can bet someone will screenshot it, post it on Reddit, and within hours it will get picked up by tech press.

That doesn’t mean the channel is doomed, but brands need to be realistic: if you’re squeamish about brand perception risk, you may not want to be a first-wave advertiser.

Another Reality: ChatGPT Ads are for Enterprise (for Now)

The early pricing being reported is:

• $60 CPM

• Minimum commitments of $200k

And that $200k number came after ChatGPT initially asked brands to pony up $1MM.

Whether the buy-in right now is $200K, $250K, or something else, the point is the same: this isn’t a small test budget” platform early on – and may never be, though we do expect minimums to drop like TV set prices.

It will be for brands that are willing to invest heavily while OpenAI is still figuring out what the model becomes.

And while that $60 CPM seems sky high, it may be the steal of the century…if or once ChatGPT figures out how to pair the right ads with relevant conversations.

So What Happens to Google and Meta?

Google Ads aren’t dead.  Neither are the ones Meta and other social platforms serve up. ChatGPT ads won’t replace either one.

What we do believe is that ChatGPT ads will introduce a new category of demand capture, and that will pull dollars from somewhere.

Google will feel pressure in its core monetization layer and unique value proposition: commercial intent.

Meta will feel pressure in its ability to shape brand discovery and influence.

But there’s another big point: Google will build its own version (even if they’re saying they have “no current plans.”)

First: it’s hard to envision there isn’t a world where that wont’ happen sooner rather than later. They were talking about it heavily in multiple Google Marketing Lives years ago.

Even now Google is already experimenting with AI-driven search experiences, and they have no incentive to let OpenAI own the future of monetized AI interfaces.

The closest thing Google currently offers is AI-powered campaign enhancements, such as AI Max for Search campaigns.

AI Max doesn’t offer ads inside Gemini, but it does get you into Google AI Overviews, which may not be apples to apples, but it ain’t apples to chainsaws either.

Expect Google to roll out an “answer engine” ad unit of its own under some name it wants to try to brand.  Anyone who expects Google to sit still hasn’t followed them the last 26 years.

So What Should Brands Focus on Now?  GEO.

While you may be salivating at the thought of advertising in ChatGPT – and hey, that milkshake looks delish! – don’t miss the opportunity in front of you now.

Even if you can’t afford ChatGPT ads…

Even if you don’t want to be part of the beta…

Even if you don’t trust the early rollout…

You can still win visibility inside AI platforms right now.  And in all large language models – not just ChatGPT.

Because organic AI visibility is already happening.  And its conversion rates are bonkers for the brands that show up with a good reputation.

This is where Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) comes in.

At DOM, our GEO services increase the likelihood that your brand is:

• Referenced

• Recommended

• Cited

• Surfaced

inside AI-generated answers.  Whether that’s to send those visitors to your site with a strong intent to buy or to buy products directly through the platform.

In a world where AI becomes the interface, GEO becomes the equivalent of SEO – except the “ranking” isn’t ten blue links.

It’s whether you are included in the answer at all.  And if you are, are you being recommended?

The GEO Opportunity Is Bigger Than Most Brands Realize

In traditional SEO, you could rank #5 and still win meaningful traffic.

In AI search, the interface often gives one answer, a few cited sources, and maybe a handful of recommended brands.

This creates a “winner-take-most” visibility environment, which means brands that start building GEO momentum early will have a compounding advantage.

What Brands Should Do Now (Quick Version)

If you want a starting point, here’s the short list:

• Audit how AI platforms currently describe your brand

• Build clear, authoritative category-defining content

• Strengthen third-party credibility signals (PR, citations, reviews, authority sites)

• Align your messaging across the web so AI can interpret you consistently

That’s it: a simple (starting) list.  But not simple execution.

How DOM Helps Brands Win GEO (And Prepare for ChatGPT Ads)

At DOM, we’re building GEO as a core capability because we believe this is where marketing is heading. 

In fact, we tested strategies and tactics for over a year before launching GEO as a service.  Because we wanted to make sure we got it right – and could prove our impact through reporting. 

To be clear, that doesn’t mean we’ll stop testing.  I had trouble believing how quickly search changed when I started out in it in 2001.  Now?  Strap in like a racecar driver or you’ll get whiplash.

When it comes to AI search visibility, we help brands:

• Increase organic visibility in AI-generated answers

• Improve how they’re described and recommended

• Build authority signals AI systems trust

• Create content ecosystems designed for generative discovery

And if / when you’re ready to test paid placements in ChatGPT or similar platforms, we can help you evaluate that opportunity as well.

We’re bullish on ChatGPT ads.  It’s okay to let others experiment first – especially if you’re already dominating organic AI search.

Ready? Or Trying to Figure Out How to Get Ready? Let’s Talk

DOM can help you if you’re interested in:

• Applying for early ChatGPT ad access

• Joining our ChatGPT ad waitlist

• Building an organic AI visibility strategy now

Schedule an AI search visibility strategy call now with one of our experts.

The brands that treat AI search as “just another tool” will be eating or becoming dust.  The companies that build AI search into their marketing plans now will own the future.