The number of businesses advertising on ChatGPT roughly tripled to about 60,000 between late August and the start of October, by New Street Research's count, as OpenAI cut prices and grew its ad sales team, according to The Information. One agency founder said his business software clients pay about $5 a click on ChatGPT, against $30 to $50 on Google. A third-party guide from 9to5ai says the UK is on the 63-country self-serve list, the minimum daily budget is £15, and product-feed ads are in beta. OpenAI's release notes confirm ads for Free and Go users in the UK.
Treat that $5 click with care: it's one founder talking about software clients, not ecommerce, and not OpenAI's number. The useful signal is the direction. Cutting prices to pull advertisers in is the classic early move for a new ad platform. My read: OpenAI is filling its auction fast, and cheap clicks rarely last once an auction fills.
For a Shopify brand, that means a cheap window to learn, if you go in with a plan. Ads only reach Free and Go users, not Plus or Pro, so you're reaching one slice of ChatGPT's audience.
Our AI rule: we don't shy away from AI. We make the decisions, and AI makes sure we don't miss a trick. That means test it, set the rules yourself, and judge it on sales. Novelty doesn't pay the bills.