ChatGPT Is Testing Ads. What That Means for the Future of Digital Advertising (and you)

OpenAI recently announced that it will begin testing ads inside ChatGPT, starting with the Free and Go user tiers. This move marks the first time the platform will introduce paid placements, and while the ads won’t appear in paid subscriptions like Pro or Enterprise, the direction is clear: ChatGPT is becoming a media channel, and the advertising world is taking notice.

At Scorpion, we’re watching this closely. Not just because it’s new, but because it reflects a broader shift in how platforms powered by AI will evolve. In fact, we’ve seen this before, and so have you.

Advertising follows attention

Search engines became ad businesses. Social platforms became ad businesses. Now, AI-powered assistants like ChatGPT are taking the same path. With millions of users spending real time in these interfaces, the monetization question was never if, but when.

Ashlie Kim, Scorpion’s SVP of Advertising, put it simply:

“This was inevitable. OpenAI will be under intense pressure to increase the monetization of ChatGPT in 2026.”

The initial rollout is measured. Ads will be clearly labeled and won’t influence the actual responses users receive. OpenAI has committed to keeping conversations private from advertisers. It’s a cautious first step, but it matters because it sets a precedent. Once platforms like ChatGPT begin testing ad models, momentum tends to build quickly.

Here’s what the ad experience looks like today:

• Ads appear below ChatGPT’s answers, clearly labeled and visually separated. They don’t interrupt the response but are part of the overall experience.

• OpenAI says ad selection is based on the conversation topic, your past chats, and any previous ad interactions.

• Relevance depends on what people are talking about, and not just what they type into a search bar.

Source: OpenAI, “Testing ads in ChatGPT”

What comes next is harder to predict. Traditional PPC formats may show up first, but long-term, the ad experience in a large language model (LLM) is likely to evolve into something completely new.

As Kim noted:

“I don’t think we should assume PPC text ad formats will be the way to go. I suspect that’s where it will start.”

What marketers should be watching

Even if you’re not planning to advertise on ChatGPT anytime soon, this is a moment to take seriously. As AI platforms grow in usage, they’re shaping new pathways for how people discover and decide which businesses to trust.

That means:

• Visibility strategies need to include how your business appears in AI tools, not just Google.

• Reputation, authority, and content quality are becoming key ingredients for how AI platforms “decide” who to recommend.

• The definition of organic visibility is changing.

For advertisers, the emergence of new platforms also means new inventory, new audience behavior, and new measurement challenges. And for business owners, it’s a reminder that where and how you show up online is evolving, so your marketing strategy should too.

Bottom line? Those who pay attention early tend to benefit most.

Coming up in our next post, we’ll walk through how Scorpion evaluates emerging ad platforms like this, what signals we look for, and how we decide if it’s worth our clients’ investment.