ChatGPT Ads: what advertising in ChatGPT changes for an SME

Since its launch, ChatGPT had shown no advertising. That is no longer the case. In January 2026, OpenAI announced a test of ads in ChatGPT, first in the United States, then extended it to other countries, including some thirty European markets at the end of the summer. For an SME in French-speaking Switzerland, the question is not whether to buy these ads tomorrow. It is to understand what they change, and what needs to be in place before spending a single franc on them.

ChatGPT Ads: what OpenAI has announced

The facts, as published by OpenAI, at the end of September 2026:

• January 2026: OpenAI announces it is testing ads in ChatGPT, in the United States, for logged-in adults on the free version and the Go subscription.
• Spring 2026: buying gradually opens to advertisers, with a self-service ads manager, first in the United States.
• End of August 2026: OpenAI extends ads to Europe. The specialist press reports 31 European markets, with self-service access a few days after ads started running.
• Paid subscriptions (Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu) remain ad-free, according to OpenAI. No ads are shown to people under 18.

How these ads are displayed

According to OpenAI, an ad appears below ChatGPT's answer when a sponsored product or service matches the conversation. It is labelled as sponsored and visually separated from the answer. OpenAI states that ads do not influence what ChatGPT answers: they run on separate systems, and advertisers can neither change, rank nor steer the answer.

Which ad is shown depends on the topic of the conversation. In the United States, OpenAI says it may also take past exchanges into account. In Europe, the help centre states that ads are not personalised at launch: they rely on the current conversation, the language and an approximate location. The exact rules change over time; those that apply to your account are what count.

Being cited or paying: two different places

This is the most misunderstood point. When someone asks ChatGPT “which accountant in Neuchâtel works with self-employed people?”, two things can appear. The answer itself, which sometimes cites businesses. And, below it, possibly, a paid ad.

Paying for an ad does not put your name in the answer. And a business cited in the answer does not need an ad to be seen. The two complement each other, but do not replace each other.

Why organic comes first for an SME in French-speaking Switzerland

• The market is small. In French-speaking Switzerland, questions about a local trade are few. Low volume makes an advertising test slow to read, whereas a citation in the answer works on every question.
• The same pages serve both. An ad sends people to a page on your website. If that page does not answer clearly, the ad pays for a wasted click. Organic work therefore also improves future advertising.
• Trust. A business cited by the assistant benefits from a recommendation. An ad is read as an ad.
• Cost over time. A clear page keeps being cited without additional spend.

What to publish to be cited is covered in our article Getting recommended by ChatGPT. It is at the heart of our work in SEO and GEO.

Preparing before buying ChatGPT Ads

Four workstreams make a future test readable, and are useful from today:

1. Clear conversion pages. One page per service, answering the question asked in two sentences: what, for whom, where, how the price is built, how to contact you. A short form, a visible phone number.
2. Measure enquiries coming from assistants. Record the source of every visit and every enquiry. Some visits from ChatGPT already carry an identifiable trace; the rest can be captured with a simple question in the form (“How did you hear about us?”). The method is described in our article on enquiry tracking.
3. A test budget set in advance. A capped amount, a fixed duration, a decision criterion written before you start: number of qualified enquiries, not number of clicks.
4. A message written for a question. An ad shown below an answer comes after a question asked in natural language. It should follow on from that question (“Looking for an accountant for self-employed people in Neuchâtel?”) rather than repeat a slogan.

What we do not know yet

• Real volume in French-speaking Switzerland. How many local questions in French trigger an ad is not public.
• Cost. No reliable reference price exists for such a small market. The figures in circulation come from other countries.
• Measurement. OpenAI's tracking tools are recent. Their reliability, and their compliance with the nFADP (the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection) depending on your set-up, remain to be checked.
• Formats. OpenAI keeps changing its formats and targeting rules; what applies today may change next quarter.

What to do this quarter

1. Ask ChatGPT the ten questions your customers ask, and note who gets cited.
2. Fix or create the pages that should answer those questions.
3. Set up tracking of the source of every enquiry, ChatGPT included.
4. Check in OpenAI's ads manager whether your business can buy ads, and on what terms.
5. Prepare a limited test, to be launched only once the first three points are done.

Advertising in ChatGPT is a new way in. It rewards businesses whose website already answers clearly. Start there. If an advertising test is justified afterwards, it is built like any paid campaign: a capped budget, a written criterion, reliable measurement.