OpenAI has begun rolling out self-serve advertising on ChatGPT, expanding beyond the United States to additional markets. The early data deserves a clear-eyed read.
CTRs on ChatGPT Ads are sitting around 0.91%. Google's search advertising CTR benchmark is around 6.4%. That gap is real and worth understanding rather than dismissing.
Why the CTR gap isn't the whole story
CTR is a function of context and intent. Search advertising on Google captures users who have expressed explicit intent - they've typed a query revealing what they want. ChatGPT is a conversational interface. Users are exploring, asking, reasoning - not searching for a specific thing to buy.
That context difference explains most of the CTR gap. The right comparison isn't Google Search, but display or content-adjacent advertising - where CTRs of 0.5-1.5% are considered normal.
What I'm recommending right now
Monitor. Don't rush. ChatGPT Ads are a new channel with real potential reach, and a user base that skews toward educated, higher-income, professionally employed adults - a demographic relevant to many B2B and premium B2C advertisers.
The inventory is early, measurement standards aren't fully established, and the optimisation tooling is immature compared to Google Ads. That combination makes the risk-to-reward ratio of serious spend unfavourable for most businesses right now.
That calculus will change. The businesses that benefit most from early adoption will be those who test now with small, controlled budgets - not those who shift serious spend before the evidence base is there.