On this page
If you are looking for examples of ads that run inside ChatGPT and the specs to build them, this is that page. (If you actually want ad copy written by ChatGPT, that is a different job, see ChatGPT ad copy examples.) Here we cover what a ChatGPT ad looks like, the real creative requirements, who can run them and where, and how to get a compliant square creative ready without a design team.
One honesty note up front: ChatGPT's ad product is new and moving fast. Every figure below is dated and sourced, and you should confirm against OpenAI's own pages before you build or budget. LocalAds is not affiliated with OpenAI and does not place ads; what we do is produce the creative you would upload.
Last verified: 2026-08-17. Availability, pricing, and specs change frequently. Primary sources: OpenAI Ads Manager, Ads in ChatGPT: The Basics, Create ads for ChatGPT Ads, Testing ads in ChatGPT, New ways to buy ChatGPT ads.
Changelog
- 2026-08-17: Advertiser access expanded. The UK, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil are now open, joining the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Mexico announced but reported not yet open. India still closed to advertisers.
- 2026-07-23: First published specs and market list.
What a ChatGPT ad actually looks like
A ChatGPT ad is a single "Sponsored" card that can appear below a relevant answer. It is not a Google-style headline-plus-descriptions block, and it is not a Meta-style carousel of creatives. It is one small unit: a bit of text, a logo, and one image, matched to the intent of the conversation rather than to a keyword.
That "one image" is the part most brands get wrong, so start there. The image is a 1:1 square, and it needs to read at small sizes with very little text around it. A clean product square like this is exactly the shape and simplicity the format rewards:
A 1:1 square product image, the literal shape a ChatGPT ad card uses. Because the card carries the words, the image does not need baked-in copy; it needs to be clean, accurate, and legible at 512 pixels. A busy, text-heavy creative that works as a Meta static will not read here.
A lifestyle square works too, as long as it stays simple:
Same 1:1 ratio, a softer context. Either approach fits; what does not fit is a creative that relies on a paragraph of on-image text, because the ChatGPT card gives you separate, tightly limited text fields for that.
The specs, field by field
Based on OpenAI's advertiser documentation and corroborated across industry references (verify current values with OpenAI before building):
| Field | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Advertiser name | Your brand name |
| Favicon | Your small square logo |
| Title | 16 to 24 characters |
| Copy | 32 to 48 characters |
| Image | 1:1 square, minimum 256x256px, optimized around 512x512px, JPG / PNG / WEBP |
| Landing URL | Your product or offer page |
| Placement | One "Sponsored" card below a relevant answer |
| Shopping unit (added Mar 2026) | Product-spotlight carousel with image, price, and checkout, via Shopify integration |
The tight character limits are the headline constraint. You are writing a 16-24 character title and a 32-48 character line, not a Meta primary-text block. That rewards a single sharp claim, which is a different copy discipline (and where a copy tool prompted for brevity actually helps, see our ChatGPT ad copy examples).
Other sites publish wider limits, commonly 50 and 100 characters. They are not simply wrong: those figures appear to describe what the upload form accepts rather than what the card displays before truncating. We break the whole disagreement down, source by source, in ChatGPT ads specs 2026.
Who can run them, and where
The channel is live in eight markets today, and that list has moved twice this year, so check it before you plan anything.
- Who sees the ads: logged-in adults on the Free and ChatGPT Go tiers. Paid tiers (Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Education) are ad-free, so you are reaching the free-tier audience.
- How to buy: a self-serve Ads Manager (beta) at ads.openai.com, or through approved partners.
- Buying model: CPC and CPM. Reported starting points are around a $25 minimum daily budget and a $3 to $5 recommended maximum CPC (per third-party reporting; confirm in Ads Manager).
- Targeting: context-hint based (topics, needs, situations), not exact-match keywords, with no guarantee of delivery for any particular prompt. OpenAI does not give advertisers users' chats, history, or memories.
- Restricted verticals: health, finance, and legal are restricted. Consumer goods, retail, travel, education, and digital products are the allowed core.
- Markets: the channel started as a US test in February 2026 and has expanded in waves. As of 2026-08-17, advertisers can open an account in eight markets: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil. The UK, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil were added in the August 2026 wave. Mexico was announced in the same wave but is reported as not yet open. Verify the current list against OpenAI's own availability table before you plan a budget.
- Markets still closed to advertisers: India, the EU/EEA, Switzerland, and China, among others, even though ChatGPT itself is available to users in those places. We keep a country-by-country breakdown in where ChatGPT ads are available.
One distinction that trips people up: being able to buy is not the same as ads being served in your country. Brazil is the clearest example, a Brazilian company can open an advertiser account while ads are not yet delivered to users inside Brazil. Check both sides before you assume a market is reachable.
The same split explains most of the confusion in India right now. Indian users are reported to be starting to see sponsored cards on the Free and Go tiers, which reads like a launch, but Indian advertisers still cannot open an account. If that is you, the move is readiness: get creative and feeds ready now so you can launch the day access opens, and run today in the eligible markets you already sell to. We cover that in full in ChatGPT ads in India and the India readiness checklist.
What this means for your creative
The format quietly rewards two things: square, low-text images and product accuracy. The card is small, it sits inside a trusted answer, and it carries its own copy, so a drifted or cluttered image stands out for the wrong reasons. This is the opposite of the maximalist static that wins on some social feeds.
Two practical implications:
- You need 1:1 squares, not 9:16 or 4:5 recuts. If your creative library is all vertical video and feed statics, none of it is the right shape.
- For the shopping carousel, your product feed quality is the ad. Clean titles, accurate real-time price, correct availability, and high-resolution square images are what populate the product-spotlight unit.
Where LocalAds fits
LocalAds turns a product URL into on-brand creatives, and it already outputs 1:1 square images (the exact ratio a ChatGPT ad card uses), generated from your real product page so packaging and claims stay accurate. The two squares in this post are unedited LocalAds outputs. For the shopping unit, the same product-URL grounding is what keeps feed images clean and on-brand.
To be plain about the boundary: LocalAds is not an OpenAI partner, does not place your ads, and cannot guarantee any placement. It produces the square creative and product-accurate imagery you then upload to OpenAI's Ads Manager (or your Shopify feed). If your blocker is "I do not have square, on-brand, accurate creative ready for this channel," that is the part we solve, and you can generate ads from your product URL to get a set in the right shape. If you are outside the eligible markets, the same set is what makes you ready for the day the channel opens.
FAQ
What does a ChatGPT ad look like? A single "Sponsored" card below a relevant ChatGPT answer, containing your brand name, a favicon, a short title (16 to 24 characters), a short copy line (32 to 48 characters), one 1:1 square image, and a landing URL. It is matched to the conversation's intent, not to a keyword, and there is no carousel of creatives like a social feed. A Shopify-powered product-spotlight carousel with price and checkout was added in March 2026.
What are the ChatGPT ad image specs? A square 1:1 image, minimum 256x256 pixels, optimized around 512x512, in JPG, PNG, or WEBP. Because the card carries its own text fields, the image should be clean and legible at small size rather than loaded with baked-in copy. Verify current specs with OpenAI before building.
Can I run ChatGPT ads from India? Not yet. As of 2026-08-17, advertiser access is open in eight markets (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil), but not in India, the EU/EEA, Switzerland, or China. Note that two separate things are often confused here: Indian users are reported to be starting to see ads on the Free and Go tiers, while Indian advertisers still cannot buy them. Indian brands that sell into eligible markets can run there today; otherwise the practical step is getting square creative and clean feeds ready so you can launch the day access opens.
How much do ChatGPT ads cost? Buying is CPC and CPM. Third-party reporting cites roughly a $25 minimum daily budget and a $3 to $5 recommended maximum CPC, but you should confirm current figures inside OpenAI's Ads Manager, as pricing for a new channel changes.
How do I get creative ready for ChatGPT ads? Produce clean 1:1 square product images and short, sharp copy. A product-URL tool like LocalAds generates square, on-brand creatives from your real page, which is the exact ratio the ad card uses, and keeps your product accurate for both the single-image ad and the shopping carousel feed. You upload the result to OpenAI's Ads Manager; the tool creates the creative, it does not place the ad.
The takeaway
ChatGPT ads are small, square, and intent-matched, which makes them a creative problem before they are a media-buying problem: one clean 1:1 image and a very short line, accurate to your product, in the markets where the channel is live. Get that creative ready now. If you can run today, run; if your market has not opened, readiness is the whole game. And re-check OpenAI's own pages before you build, because this channel is still changing month to month.
Related reading:
- ChatGPT Ads Specs 2026: Every Character Limit, Reconciled
- How to Create Ads for ChatGPT: A Step-by-Step Guide
- ChatGPT ads creative from your product URL
- 30 ChatGPT Ad Copy Examples That Actually Convert
- Nine Angles From One Product URL: The 9-Shot Set That Sells
- What's the Best AI Ad Platform for Non-Experts?
- Generate Ads From a Product URL, No Prompting