How to create an ad on ChatGPT: a step-by-step guide for 2026

To create an ad on ChatGPT, you use OpenAI's dedicated Ads Manager: create a campaign with a budget and goal, add your ad details either directly in the tool or through a bulk upload, choose your targeting, and launch. Each ad is built from a headline, body copy, logo, and a landing page, which for an online store is usually a product or collection page. Before you start, confirm your business is eligible to advertise at ads.openai.com.

If you run an online store, a direct-to-consumer brand, or sell through your own e-commerce site, learning how to create an ad on ChatGPT now gives you an early position on a new channel for putting products in front of shoppers. This guide walks through the full process with e-commerce in mind: how ChatGPT ads work, what you need before you start, how to set up your account, how to build your first ad, and how to improve results once your campaigns are live.

Understanding ChatGPT Ads#

ChatGPT ads are ads that appear inside ChatGPT, created and managed through OpenAI's Ads Manager, a dedicated tool that sits separately from normal ChatGPT usage. You don't create these ads by chatting with ChatGPT; you build and run them from a business dashboard designed for advertisers.

The biggest adjustment for e-commerce teams is that ChatGPT ads don't work like the keyword-based platforms most online stores rely on. OpenAI's Help Center article on creating ads for ChatGPT Ads states plainly that creating ads for ChatGPT requires a different approach than keyword-based platforms. If your paid strategy has been built around bidding on product searches, expect to think less about exact search terms and more about the needs and situations your products fit.

It also helps to separate two ideas that often get mixed up. Advertising in ChatGPT means running paid campaigns through Ads Manager. Creating ads using ChatGPT means using ChatGPT as a creative assistant to produce things like marketing graphics, website banners, and ad creative. For an online store, the two work well together: you can use ChatGPT to speed up creative production, then run your campaigns through Ads Manager.

For e-commerce brands, the appeal is simple. ChatGPT is a new place to reach people with your products, and because the channel is still young, stores that learn how it works early will have more experience to build on as it matures.

Eligibility Requirements for ChatGPT Advertising#

To advertise on ChatGPT, your business needs to be eligible for access and have an OpenAI advertiser account. Confirming eligibility is the first step in the process, so check OpenAI Ads before you spend time on campaign planning or creative.

If access isn't yet open to your business, you may need to request it through OpenAI's business portal and wait. Either way, you can use the time before launch to get your store ready. Here's what an e-commerce business should have in place:

• Live, working product pages: Every ad needs a landing page, so make sure the product or collection pages you plan to promote load properly, show accurate stock, and make checkout easy.
• Brand assets: Have your logo ready in a clean, high-quality format, since it appears alongside your ad.
• Billing details: You'll set up billing as part of creating your advertiser account.
• A shortlist of products to promote: Decide which products or categories you want to lead with, so your first campaigns stay focused.
• Draft ad copy: Prepare headline and body copy options for your priority products so you can move quickly once you're in.

If your store is based in Egypt, give eligibility extra attention. Confirm what's available to your business directly with OpenAI rather than assuming every step described in international guides applies exactly the same way to your market.

Setting Up Your ChatGPT Ads Account#

You set up your ChatGPT ads account by creating an OpenAI advertiser account, which gives you access to Ads Manager, and then adding your billing details. Once that's done, the most important decision you'll make before creating ads is how to structure your campaigns.

Campaign structure matters more for online stores than for most advertisers, because a store usually has many products competing for the same budget. Since each campaign is set up with its own budget and goal, the way you group products determines how clearly you can see what's working and where your money is going.

There's no single right structure, but a few approaches suit e-commerce well. You can organize campaigns by product category, so each part of your catalog has its own budget and results. You can separate bestsellers from new arrivals, so proven products aren't competing with ones you're still testing. Or you can build campaigns around specific promotions or seasonal pushes, so each offer can be measured on its own.

Whichever structure you choose, keep it simple at the start. A handful of clearly defined campaigns is much easier to learn from than dozens of overlapping ones, and you can always expand once you understand how your products perform on ChatGPT.

Creating Your First Ad: Step-by-Step#

Creating your first ad on ChatGPT comes down to setting up a campaign, adding your ad details, choosing targeting, and launching. Here's how to create an ad on ChatGPT from start to finish:

1. Create your campaign. In Ads Manager, set up your campaign, budget, and goal.
2. Choose your ad type. Select the ad type that fits what you want the campaign to achieve.
3. Add a new ad. From your campaign view, you may see the option to select "Add new ad."
4. Add your ad details. Create your ad directly in the tool, or bulk upload your ad details if you're launching several ads at once.
5. Choose your targeting. Because ChatGPT ads aren't keyword-based, focus on describing the context your product is relevant to rather than a list of search terms.
6. Review and launch. Check that every ad links to the right product page, then launch your campaign.

The bulk upload option is especially useful for e-commerce. If you want to promote a range of products, preparing your ad details in one file and uploading them together saves a lot of time compared with building each ad one by one. It also makes it easier to keep formatting and messaging consistent across your catalog.

Every ad is built from the same core assets. Your headline is the first thing people see, so lead with the product and the reason it's worth a look. Your body copy expands on that with the details a shopper cares about. Your logo tells people which store is behind the ad. And your landing page, usually a product or collection page, is where the ad has to deliver on its promise.

This is also where ChatGPT itself can help. You can use ChatGPT to create marketing graphics, website banners, and other ad creative, which is useful for stores that need to produce assets for many products quickly. Treat anything it creates as a first draft, and review it carefully against your brand and your actual product before it goes live.

Best Practices for Effective ChatGPT Ads#

The most effective ChatGPT ads for online stores connect a clear shopper need to a specific product and a landing page that delivers exactly what the ad promised. These best practices for ChatGPT ads will help you get there.

Match every ad to its product page. If your ad highlights a particular product, the landing page should show that product front and center, not your homepage or a broad category. Every extra click between the ad and the product is a chance for a shopper to leave.

Think in contexts, not keywords. Since ChatGPT ads require a different approach than keyword-based platforms, start from the situation your product fits. Ask what someone is trying to do, solve, or buy when your product is the right answer, and let that shape both your targeting and your copy.

Start with your strongest products. Your first campaigns are for learning, so lead with products that already sell well on your store. That way, if an ad underperforms, you can be more confident the issue is the ad or the targeting rather than the product itself.

Run structured experiments. Change one thing at a time, whether that's the headline, the body copy, or the product being promoted, so you can understand why a winning ad wins. Each result then becomes a lesson you can apply to the next round of ads instead of a one-off outcome.

Keep your tone natural. Your ads appear inside a conversational product, so copy that sounds clear and human tends to fit better than aggressive sales language. Be specific about what the product is and why it's useful.

Localize for your market. For e-commerce stores in Egypt, make sure your ad copy and product pages reflect the language, offers, and shopping expectations of your local customers rather than adapting a message written for a different market.

As your catalog and campaigns grow, keeping every ad sharp gets harder to do by hand. That's where AI support becomes valuable, and you can see how AskHopkins.ai agents fit into an AI-driven marketing workflow.

Analyzing and Improving Your Ad Performance#

You analyze and improve ChatGPT ad performance by reviewing campaign results in Ads Manager, identifying which ads and products are working, and making focused changes based on what you learn.

Start by reviewing results at the campaign level. If you structured campaigns by category, promotion, or bestsellers versus new arrivals, you'll be able to see quickly which parts of your catalog respond best on ChatGPT. That tells you where to shift budget and where to test new approaches.

Then look at individual ads. Compare ads promoting the same product with different headlines or body copy, and compare how different products perform under similar messaging. Keep changes small and deliberate so each improvement can be traced back to a specific decision.

Connect what you see in Ads Manager with what happens on your store. An ad that attracts clicks but doesn't lead to purchases may point to a mismatch between the ad and the product page, a pricing issue, or a checkout problem. Looking at both sides together gives you a much clearer picture than ad results alone.

Finally, remember that paid ads are only one way your store shows up in ChatGPT. Your brand and products can also appear in ChatGPT's answers when people ask about your category. AskHopkins.ai analytics help you track that visibility alongside your advertising, so you understand your full presence in AI-driven discovery. To see it in action, you can book a demo with our team.

Get Started with ChatGPT Ads Today!#

Now that you know how to create an ad on ChatGPT, the fastest way to get started is to confirm your eligibility at ads.openai.com, set up your advertiser account and billing, and launch a focused first campaign around your best-selling products. From there, test deliberately, learn from every result, and expand into more of your catalog as you see what works.

AskHopkins.ai can support your store at every stage. Explore our pricing to find the plan that fits your business, and keep learning with more guides on the AskHopkins.ai blog.

Frequently Asked Questions#

How to create ads using ChatGPT?#

To create ads that run in ChatGPT, use OpenAI's Ads Manager: create a campaign with a budget and goal, add your ad details directly in the tool or through a bulk upload, choose your targeting, and launch. You can also use ChatGPT itself to create ad creative such as marketing graphics and website banners. Many online stores use both, producing creative with ChatGPT and running campaigns through Ads Manager.

Can I advertise on ChatGPT?#

Yes, businesses can advertise on ChatGPT through OpenAI's Ads Manager, as long as they're eligible for access. Confirming eligibility is the first step, so check ads.openai.com before planning your campaigns. If access isn't open to your business yet, you may need to submit a request through OpenAI's business portal.

How much does it cost to advertise on ChatGPT?#

The cost of advertising on ChatGPT depends on the budget you set for each campaign, since every campaign is created with its own budget and goal. For current pricing details, check OpenAI's Ads Manager at ads.openai.com directly. For online stores, starting with a modest budget on a focused set of products is a practical way to learn before scaling.

What do ChatGPT ads look like?#

ChatGPT ads are built from a headline, body copy, your logo, and a link to a landing page. The exact format depends on the ad type you choose in Ads Manager. For e-commerce brands, that typically means a short, product-focused message that sends shoppers to a product or collection page.

What assets do I need to create an ad?#

To create an ad on ChatGPT, you need a headline, body copy, your logo, and a landing page for the ad to link to. Online stores should also have their product pages live and working before launch. If you're creating several ads at once, you can prepare your ad details together and bulk upload them.

How do I get started?#

Start by confirming your eligibility at ads.openai.com, then create your OpenAI advertiser account and set up billing. Next, create your first campaign with a budget and goal, add your ad details, and launch. For e-commerce brands, beginning with your best-selling products makes the first campaign easier to learn from.