ChatGPT opens self-serve ads to every business — and the UK is next
- 9 hours ago
- 3 min read
OpenAI has opened a self-serve ChatGPT Ads Manager to businesses of any size, scrapped its old six-figure minimum spend, added pay-per-action bidding, and named the UK among its first international expansion markets — putting AI-answer advertising within reach of ordinary UK marketers for the first time.
For most of the past year, advertising inside ChatGPT was a walled garden reserved for the biggest spenders. That has now changed. OpenAI has opened a self-serve Ads Manager to businesses of any size, removing the high minimum-spend barrier that kept the format out of reach for all but a handful of enterprise buyers.
The shift matters because ChatGPT is no longer a niche tool. With free and lower-tier users now seeing ads inside their conversations, the platform has quietly become one of the largest new inventory sources to appear in years — and OpenAI is targeting roughly $2.5bn in advertising revenue in 2026 as it expands beyond the US into markets including the UK.
What has actually changed
Three things stand out. First, the minimum-spend floor is gone: where early access carried a six-figure commitment, any business can now set its own budget. Second, OpenAI has switched on cost-per-action bidding, so advertisers can pay when a user clicks, signs up or buys rather than purely for impressions. Third, the geography is widening — the UK sits alongside markets such as Brazil, Japan and South Korea in OpenAI’s expansion plans.
Crucially, ads appear only for free and ‘Go’ tier users. Paid Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education subscribers remain ad-free — a segmentation that shapes exactly who UK brands can reach here.
Marketing Minute’s read: promising, but temper the hype
Our take is that this is a genuine channel, not a gimmick — but the numbers deserve scepticism. Independent analysts at eMarketer have argued OpenAI’s longer-term ad ambitions look stretched against realistic market demand, and reporting tools remain thin next to Google’s mature stack. Early ChatGPT ad pricing has also swung sharply, from around $60 CPMs at launch down towards $25, which tells you the market is still finding its level.
For UK marketers, the honest framing is ‘test-and-learn budget’, not ‘core channel’. The audience skews towards free-tier users, measurement is immature, and the rules of the game are changing month to month.
What UK businesses should do now
Treat ChatGPT ads the way smart advertisers treated early TikTok or Reddit: claim a seat, run small, and learn. Ring-fence a modest experimental budget, lean on cost-per-action bidding to protect the downside, and build creative for a user who is mid-task and information-seeking rather than idly scrolling. Above all, make sure your brand is already answerable inside AI — because the same forces putting ads in ChatGPT are reshaping how customers discover you in the first place.
Quick FAQ
Can UK businesses advertise on ChatGPT now?
OpenAI has opened a self-serve Ads Manager to businesses of any size and named the UK among its expansion markets. Availability is rolling out, so check the Ads Manager for your account, but the days of a six-figure minimum spend are over.
Who sees ads in ChatGPT?
Ads are shown to free and ‘Go’ tier users. Paid Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education subscribers do not see advertising.
How do you pay for ChatGPT ads?
Alongside impression-based pricing, OpenAI has introduced cost-per-action bidding, so you can pay when a user takes an action such as a click, sign-up or purchase.
We have seen this film before with TikTok and Reddit — the brands that win are the ones that show up early, spend small and learn fast. ChatGPT ads are worth a test budget today, but treat the reach figures with healthy caution and let performance, not hype, decide your commitment.
— Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
AI-answer advertising has moved from a big-spender experiment to something any UK business can trial — but the winners will test small and measure hard, not chase the headline reach numbers.
Would you put a test budget into ChatGPT ads this quarter — or wait for the measurement tools to catch up?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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