According to a recent report from Search Engine Roundtable, OpenAI will charge advertisers on a pay-per-view (impression-based) model, bypassing the Cost-Per-Click (CPC) model that forms the foundation of modern search engine advertising.

Key Details of the February Rollout

The initial testing phase is targeting a small pool of high-tier advertisers. Key takeaways from the leaked strategy include:

• Manual Onboarding: OpenAI does not yet possess self-service ad technology. The initial buys are being handled manually, reminiscent of the earliest days of Google Ads.

• High Barrier to Entry: According to The Information, OpenAI is asking early adopters for spending commitments of just under $1 million for a trial period lasting several weeks.

• Impression Focused: Advertisers are paying for visibility within the chat interface, not for user action or site traffic.

Strategic Implications for Paid Media

The choice of a CPM (Cost Per Mille) model over CPC suggests OpenAI expects low click-through rates. This aligns with the fundamental user behaviour associated with conversational AI: users query ChatGPT to get immediate, comprehensive answers in-situ, which drastically reduces the incentive to click external links.

By default, this positions ChatGPT ads as a brand awareness vehicle rather than a direct-response performance channel.

This pivot raises critical questions for performance marketers. SEO expert Glenn Gabe highlighted the core issue on X, questioning the value of a view in a landscape heavily impacted by web scraping and bot traffic.

For agencies and in-house teams preparing for this new channel, success metrics will need to shift away from traditional CTR and ROAS, focusing instead on Share of Voice (SOV) and brand lift. We will continue to monitor the platform as OpenAI develops its self-service capabilities and viewability standards.