Guide: How to Set Up Your ChatGPT Ads Account

Guide: How to Set Up Your ChatGPT Ads Account and Launch Your First Campaign

Understanding ChatGPT Ads Manager

Today's guide isn't complicated — but it's an easy way to get started and test what is arguably the most interesting new ad platform of 2026.

OpenAI launched its self-serve Ads Manager in beta on May 5, 2026, opening up ChatGPT advertising to U.S. businesses of all sizes. Before this, running ads on ChatGPT required enterprise partnerships and managed relationships. Now, any approved advertiser can sign up, build campaigns, set budgets, and track performance directly through the platform.

ChatGPT ads appear below the chatbot's responses, clearly labeled as sponsored content. They use contextual targeting based on conversation topics rather than keyword matching — OpenAI calls these "context hints," which are broad thematic descriptions of the situations users bring to ChatGPT, not exact-match keywords. The platform supports both CPC (cost-per-click) and CPM (cost-per-thousand-impressions) bidding, with recommended starting bids of $3–$5 for CPC and a default of $60 for CPM.

There's no minimum spend requirement in the self-serve beta. Ads currently show to Free and Go tier users in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

This guide walks you through the entire setup process — from creating your advertiser account through launching your first campaign.

What You'll Need

• A business email address (not personal)

• Your business name, website, and logo

• Industry and business category information

• Billing details (credit card, legal business name, billing address, tax information)

• A clear campaign goal and landing page URL

• Creative assets and product/service descriptions ready to go

Step 1: Navigate to the OpenAI Ads Platform

Go to ads.openai.com and click the sign-up or get started button on the page.

This is the only official entry point. One person should create the advertiser account initially — you can invite additional team members once the account is set up.

Step 2: Log In or Create an OpenAI Account

Use your existing OpenAI account or create a new one during the sign-up flow.

Use a business email address rather than a personal one, especially if the account represents a company, agency, or client. This keeps things clean for billing, permissions, and team management down the line.

Step 3: Complete the Advertiser Account Setup

Follow the onboarding flow and enter the required business information. You'll typically be asked for your business name, website URL, logo, industry category, country, currency preference, time zone, billing region, and other account-level details.

Use accurate, consistent information that matches what's on your website and billing records. Mismatches between your account details and your actual business information can delay the review process.

Step 4: Submit Account Verification

Provide any additional verification information the platform requests. This may include questions about your business, your product or service, your website content, your advertising category, and your eligibility to advertise on the platform.

After submission, the account typically enters a review period before full access is granted. This is standard for new ad platforms in beta — don't expect to launch ads the same day.

Step 5: Prepare While Waiting for Approval

Use the review window productively. This is the time to get everything ready so you can move fast once access is granted.

Prepare your campaign goals and success metrics. Build or finalize landing pages. Gather creative assets — headlines, descriptions, images. Write your product or service descriptions. Decide on your budget structure and daily spend limits. Clarify your internal approval process so campaigns don't stall once they're ready to launch.

Step 6: Complete Your Account Information

Once approved, log back into the Ads Manager and go to Settings → Account info. Review and complete your account name, business details, logo, website, and any fields that are still empty.

Pay attention to your account name and logo — these may appear in the ad experience itself, so make sure they're correct and represent your brand the way you want.

Step 7: Set Up Billing

Navigate to the billing or payment section and enter your billing information: legal business name, billing address, country or region, postal code, invoice email, and any required tax details.

Campaigns generally cannot deliver until billing is fully completed and verified. Don't skip this step and expect to sort it out later.

Step 8: Add a Payment Method

Add a valid payment method such as a credit card. Verify that the card is active, the billing address matches, the payment currency is correct, the invoice email is monitored by someone on your team, and your finance team has access to invoices if needed.

Step 9: Invite Your Team

Go to Settings → Users → Invite and add relevant team members using their work email addresses.

Think about roles before you start inviting people. Your founder or marketing lead should have admin access. The person building and optimizing campaigns needs campaign management access. Clients, leadership, or reporting stakeholders only need viewer access. Finance or admin contacts need billing access.

Each person should use their own login. Don't share account credentials — it creates security and accountability problems that are easy to avoid.

Step 10: Set Permissions Correctly

Give each person only the level of access they actually need. Admin access for people managing account settings, billing, or users. Campaign access for people creating and running ads. Viewer access for anyone who just needs reporting visibility. Billing access for finance contacts.

Review permissions regularly, especially if you're working with agencies, freelancers, or external partners. Remove access promptly when someone leaves the project.

Step 11: Create Your First Campaign

Once the account is approved and billing is active, you're ready to build your first campaign. The general flow follows a three-level hierarchy: campaign → ad group → ad.

The process works like this: create a new campaign, choose your campaign objective, name the campaign, set your budget (daily or lifetime), define targeting using context hints, add your ad details and creative, enter your destination URL, review the preview, and submit.

Use a clear, consistent naming structure from the start. This saves enormous amounts of time once you're running multiple tests. A structure like BrandName | Campaign Goal | Market | Month | Test Number keeps everything organized and searchable.

For example: AmazingWave | Lead Gen | DE | May 2026 | Test 01

A note on context hints: these work differently from keywords on Google or interest targeting on Meta. OpenAI recommends writing them as descriptions of the questions, needs, or situations that users bring to ChatGPT. Think "someone researching skincare routines for sensitive skin" rather than "skincare" as a keyword.

For the full SOP including conversion tracking setup, the measurement pixel, reporting configuration, and optimization workflows, click here. A free gift from me :)]

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