ChatGPT Ads timeline
OpenAI started testing ChatGPT ads in the US on Feb 9, 2026, opened self-serve buying on May 5, passed a $1 billion run rate on Aug 31 and launched Sponsored Agents on Sept 16.
Checked Sept 23, 2026 against 10 sources
- Jan 16, 2026OpenAI publishes its ad principles and says a US test is coming for logged-in adults on Free and Go. OpenAI
- Feb 9Ads test starts in the US. First advertisers include Target, Adobe, Williams-Sonoma and HelloFresh. OpenAI, press
- Mar 2026Ad policies version 1.0 published. OpenAI
- Mar 26600+ advertisers and about $100 million annual run rate reported. Canada, Australia and New Zealand announced next. Press, OpenAI
- Apr 10Axios reports investor projections of $2.5 billion in 2026 ad revenue and $100 billion by 2030. Axios
- May 5Self-serve Ads Manager beta, cost-per-click bidding, the pixel and the Conversions API launch. OpenAI
- May 5Similarweb publishes the first click-rate benchmark: 0.68% overall. Similarweb
- May 28Conversion-optimized bidding (oCPC, oCPM) starts rolling out. Press
- June 8Active advertisers jump from 2,585 to 3,770 in one week. Similarweb
- Aug 11Launch confirmed in the UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea. OpenAI
- Aug 2026Legal services ads allowed in the US (policy 1.5). OpenAI
- Aug 31$1 billion annual run rate. Self-serve opens in India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. OpenAI
- Sept 10Ad policies updated (1.6). OpenAI
- Sept 16Sponsored Agents, AI text customization, HubSpot and Shopify integrations launch. OpenAI
Sources
- OpenAI: Our approach to advertising
- OpenAI: Testing ads in ChatGPT
- OpenAI Ad Policies (updated Sept 10, 2026)
- Digital Applied: $100M run-rate (Mar 2026)
- Axios: OpenAI ad revenue projections (Apr 2026)
- OpenAI: New ways to buy ChatGPT ads (May 5, 2026)
- Search Engine Roundtable on Similarweb CTR data (May 2026)
- Similarweb: ChatGPT ad stats (June 2026)
- OpenAI: Expanding access with ChatGPT Ads (Aug 31, 2026)
- OpenAI: Reimagining advertising with AI (Sept 16, 2026)