ChatGPT Ads Are Coming, What You Need To Know

OpenAI just announced that advertisements are coming to ChatGPT. If you're a business owner spending money on Google Ads or Facebook campaigns, this should be on your radar.

Here's why this matters: millions of people have stopped typing searches into Google and started asking ChatGPT instead. When someone asks "What's the best accountant in Bournemouth?" or "Should I hire a digital marketing agency?", ChatGPT gives them an answer. Soon, there will be ads in those answers.

This post will explain what's happening, what it means for your advertising spend, and—most importantly—whether you should jump in now or wait. Spoiler: the answer isn't what most marketing agencies will tell you.

What's Actually Happening

OpenAI has confirmed that advertisements will appear within ChatGPT conversations, but they're being careful about the details. These won't look like traditional banner ads or the sponsored links you see at the top of Google.

Instead, ChatGPT ads will likely be woven into the conversation itself. Imagine asking "What CRM should I use for my small business?" and ChatGPT responding with recommendations—one or two of them paid placements. They'll be labelled as sponsored, but the format will feel native to the conversation.

This is fundamentally different from Google Ads. With Google, you bid on keywords and your ad appears above the organic results. Everyone can see it's an advert. With ChatGPT, the ad could be part of the AI's natural response, feeling more like a trusted recommendation than a paid placement.

The rollout is happening gradually. OpenAI is starting with ChatGPT's free tier users in the United States, testing different ad formats. UK businesses won't have access immediately, and paid ChatGPT Plus subscribers won't see ads at all (for now). But make no mistake: this is coming faster than most people think.

Why This Changes Everything

Let's be honest about what's already happening: people are using ChatGPT instead of Google for many searches. Not all searches, but a growing number.

When someone types "best plumber near me" into Google, they're in buying mode. They want phone numbers and reviews now. That search behaviour hasn't changed much in 20 years.

But ChatGPT searches are different. People ask questions like: "I've got a leak under my kitchen sink, dripping about once every 10 seconds. Is this an emergency or can it wait until Monday?" They're having a conversation, getting advice, then asking for recommendations.

This creates a trust dynamic that Google never had. When ChatGPT recommends something, it feels personal—like asking a knowledgeable friend, not scrolling through paid ads and websites gaming the system.

Here's the problem: your Google Ads won't show up in ChatGPT responses. Your carefully optimised landing pages won't appear. If someone asks ChatGPT to recommend businesses in your industry, and your brand isn't in ChatGPT's training data or recent sources, you simply don't exist.

Real-world examples where businesses miss out:

• A bakery owner asks: "What local suppliers can provide organic flour in bulk for a small bakery in Devon?" If your business isn't mentioned in sources ChatGPT trusts, your competitor gets the recommendation.
• Someone asks: "Which local marketing agencies actually understand SEO for tradespeople?" Even if you're running Google Ads for that exact phrase, you won't appear in the AI's answer.
• A homeowner types: "I need an electrician who can install EV charging points in Dorset. Who's qualified?" Your Google Ads campaign is irrelevant here.

The shift is real. It's happening now.

What This Means for Your Current Ad Spend

First things first: don't panic and turn off your Google Ads tomorrow morning.

I know the temptation. You read articles like this and think "Right, I need to get ahead of this. I'll pivot everything to AI platforms." But that's not the smart move. Here's why.

Google Ads still work brilliantly for high-intent searches. When someone types "emergency plumber Southampton" at 11pm on a Sunday, they're not opening ChatGPT for a thoughtful conversation. They're clicking the first number they see. That's still Google's territory, and it will be for a while yet.

Meta ads (Facebook and Instagram) still work for brand awareness, reaching people who aren't actively searching, and building audiences you can retarget. That hasn't changed.

The transition to AI-powered search is happening gradually, not overnight. Think of it like the shift from Yellow Pages to Google 20 years ago. Some businesses jumped in immediately, some waited. Both approaches had merit depending on the circumstances.

But here's what is changing: you need a new strategy that accounts for AI platforms. Not instead of Google and Meta, but alongside them.

The honest truth from someone who's been testing this with real clients: it's worth experimenting now, but not worth betting the farm on it.

We're at the very beginning of ChatGPT ads. The platform is untested, the targeting options are unknown, and the costs are unclear. Being first can give you a learning advantage, but it can also mean wasting money while OpenAI figures out how their ad platform works.

My recommendation: keep 80–90% of your ad budget where it's working now. Take 10–20% and treat it as an experiment budget. Not just for ChatGPT ads when they launch, but for building the kind of presence that makes AI systems recommend you organically.

Preparing Your Business for AI Ads

Whether you jump into ChatGPT ads on day one or wait six months, there are things you should be doing right now. These actions will help you regardless of when you start spending money on AI platforms.

Step 1: Understand How People Ask AI About Your Services

Start by using ChatGPT yourself. Ask it questions your potential customers would ask. Don't think in keywords—think in conversations.

Actionable task: Open ChatGPT and ask 10 different questions someone might ask before hiring a business like yours. For example, if you're an accountant, try: "What should I look for when choosing an accountant for my small limited company?" or "Do I really need an accountant or can I just use software?"

Write down what ChatGPT recommends. Is your business type mentioned? Are your competitors mentioned? What qualities does it say people should look for? This is your research.

Step 2: Build Citeable Authority (Not Just Rankings)

Google cares about rankings. AI systems care about citations and trustworthiness.

This means you need content that other websites reference: press coverage, industry publications, case studies that others link to, expert contributions to established websites.

Actionable task: Pitch three articles to local business publications or industry blogs. Not promotional content, but genuinely useful expert insights. When these get published and other sources cite them, AI systems start seeing you as an authority.

One example: we helped a recruitment client get featured in a regional business magazine discussing hiring challenges. That single article has been cited by ChatGPT multiple times when people ask about recruitment in that area.

Step 3: Optimise for Brand Mentions in AI Responses

AI systems don't just cite websites with high Domain Authority. They cite businesses that are talked about consistently across multiple trusted sources.

This means reviews matter more than ever: Google reviews, Trustpilot, industry-specific review sites. Not just for the star rating, but because these reviews create multiple mentions of your brand across the web.

Actionable task: Set up a simple system to request reviews from every satisfied customer. Make it frictionless. Send a follow-up email with direct links to your Google Business Profile and one other relevant review platform.

Step 4: Create Content AI Systems Trust

AI systems favour content that demonstrates genuine expertise and first-hand experience. Thin, generic content doesn't get cited.

This means your blog posts need specific examples, real data from your work, and details that only someone actually doing the work would know.

Actionable task: Audit your existing content. Replace generic statements like "SEO is important for businesses" with specific examples: "When we optimised the website for a Dorset holiday let, their organic enquiries increased by 60% in three months because we targeted long-tail searches like 'dog-friendly cottages near Lulworth Cove'."

Step 5: Monitor Where Your Brand Appears in AI Results

You need to know what AI systems are saying about you and your industry right now.

Actionable task: Every week, ask ChatGPT, Google's AI Overview, and Perplexity questions about your industry and location. Screenshot when your business is mentioned (or when competitors are mentioned instead). Track this over time.

We've built free tools at Okapi & Co to help with this monitoring, but even doing it manually once a week gives you valuable insight.

MYTH VS REALITY

Myth: "AI search will replace Google within a year, so I should move all my ad spend now."

Reality: The transition will take 3–5 years minimum. Some searches (high-intent, local, emergency) will stay on Google much longer. Diversify your presence, but don't abandon what's working.

What to Do This Month

Let's make this practical. Here's what you should do in the next 30 days:

3 Things to Start Doing Now:

1. Set up Google Alerts for your brand and competitors. You need to know where you're being mentioned online, because those mentions feed into AI systems. Free, takes 5 minutes.
2. Ask ChatGPT questions your customers would ask, and document what it says. Create a simple spreadsheet tracking which businesses get recommended and why. Do this weekly.
3. Create one piece of genuinely expert content this month. Not promotional, not thin. Something that demonstrates you know your field inside out. Publish it on your website and share it everywhere.

2 Things to Stop Doing:

1. Stop creating thin, keyword-stuffed content. If your blog strategy is "write 500 words about [keyword] to rank on Google," that won't help you with AI systems. Quality over quantity, always.
2. Stop ignoring reviews and testimonials. These aren't just nice to have anymore—they're fundamental to how AI systems assess whether you're trustworthy. Make review collection a systematic part of your business.

One Thing to Watch Closely:

Monitor the ChatGPT ads beta rollout. When it launches in the UK (likely late 2025 or early 2026), watch what other businesses in your space are doing. Look at the case studies. Don't rush in on day one, but don't ignore it either. We're all learning together, and everything is moving fast enough that waiting six months to "see how it goes" could mean missing the learning curve advantage.