For years, marketers have focused on winning visibility in search engines and social feeds.
Now there’s a new environment shaping consumer decisions: AI.
The arrival of ChatGPT Ads gives brands a new opportunity to appear within these conversations. But while the advertising proposition is interesting, the real story is what it reveals about the future of brand discovery.
Since gaining early access to ChatGPT Ads on 4 June, we’ve been testing the platform to understand how it performs as a marketing channel and what it could mean for brands looking to stay visible in a new, AI-first search world.
While it’s still early days, some clear patterns are already emerging. From lower-than-expected media costs to stronger engagement rates, here are five things brands should know about advertising in ChatGPT.
1. Consumers are arriving with intent
Unlike social media, where users are often browsing passively, ChatGPT users are actively seeking answers, recommendations and guidance.
That intent is reflected in performance. Early industry estimates suggested click-through rates would land between 0.8% and 0.9%, but our campaigns have generated an average CTR of 1.74%.
While benchmarks will evolve, the results suggest brands have an opportunity to engage consumers when they’re actively looking for information rather than competing for attention in crowded feeds.
2. Discovery is becoming conversational
Instead of searching for a specific brand or product, consumers are asking broader questions: Which option is best? What should I consider? What do people recommend?
This creates a different route to discovery.
Our campaigns are currently generating average CPCs between £1.65 and £2.01, but the more interesting insight is the context in which those clicks occur. Consumers aren’t necessarily looking for a brand. They’re exploring a category, a need or a problem.
For brands, this means consideration may increasingly be won through recommendations and relevance rather than simple visibility.
3. The economics are creating an early-mover advantage
When ChatGPT Ads launched, early guidance suggested CPMs would sit around £45.
In practice, we’re currently seeing average CPMs closer to £30.46.
As with any emerging platform, pricing will likely shift as adoption grows. But right now, the lower-than-expected cost of entry creates an attractive testing opportunity.
Brands have a rare opportunity to learn how consumers behave in AI-powered spaces before competition intensifies and costs inevitably rise.
4. National brands have the advantage for now
At present, ChatGPT Ads can only be targeted at a national level within the UK.
While more sophisticated geographic targeting is likely to emerge as the platform develops, the current setup is best suited to brands looking to reach audiences at national scale.
For businesses with nationwide reach, this isn’t a significant limitation. However, more localised campaigns may need to wait for additional functionality to unlock the platform’s full potential.
5. Brands have a chance to get ahead of changing behaviour
With daily budgets starting from just $50, ChatGPT Ads offer a relatively accessible entry point for brands looking to explore a new channel.
Testing now gives marketers the chance to understand how consumers behave, search and make decisions in AI-powered environments while the platform is still evolving. The brands that start learning today will be better positioned as AI becomes a more established part of the marketing landscape.
The Takeaway
The most important takeaway from ChatGPT Ads isn’t the CTR, CPC or CPM.
It’s what those numbers tell us about consumer behaviour.
People are becoming increasingly comfortable asking AI for advice, recommendations and guidance. As that behaviour grows, brand discovery will become less about being found and more about being recommended.
The arrival of advertising in ChatGPT gives marketers a new channel to test. However, it also offers a glimpse into something much bigger: a future where AI plays an increasingly influential role in how consumers discover, evaluate and choose brands.
The question for marketers isn’t whether AI will become part of the customer journey, instead, it’s whether your brand will be part of the answer when consumers start asking the questions.
