If you thought the Performance Max rollout kept you on your toes, buckle up. We're about to witness something we haven't seen since Google Ads launched in 2000: a completely new search advertising paradigm.
ChatGPT is testing ads internally right now, and the launch is imminent, likely Q1 or Q2 of this year. As someone who's been managing paid search campaigns through most major platforms evolution over the past 13 years, I can tell you this one feels different. And here's why we should all be paying attention.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Let me start with the numbers that made me sit up straight: 800 million weekly active users. That's not total downloads or registered accounts, that's active weekly users engaging with ChatGPT right now. For context, that's roughly the population of Europe using this platform every single week.
Unlike when Google or Meta added new ad formats to existing platforms, OpenAI is building an advertising business on top of a product that users deeply trust with personal questions, financial decisions, and sensitive information. The second those ads feel intrusive or manipulative, users bolt. That constraint actually creates opportunity for advertisers willing to play by different rules.
What Makes Conversational Ads Different (And Why We Should Care)
I remember when smart bidding was introduced, when mobile-first indexing hit, when Performance Max forced us all to surrender control. Each time, we adapted. This is going to require something else entirely—a shift in mindset, not just methodology.
Traditional Search Ads: User types "project management software" → We bid on that keyword → Our ad shows → User clicks
ChatGPT Ads: User asks "I'm managing a team of 8 across 3 time zones and drowning in email threads, what do I need?" → AI understands context, intent, pain points → Sponsored recommendation appears in the answer
See the difference? We're not bidding on keywords anymore. We're bidding on actual human intent expressed in natural language. That's simultaneously exciting and terrifying.
The implications for how we structure campaigns, write ad copy, and think about targeting are huge. We've spent years optimizing for search queries. Now we need to optimize for conversations.
The Uncomfortable Truth About "Sponsored Recommendations"
Here's the part that's keeping me up at night, and I think we need to talk about it honestly: OpenAI is reportedly testing the ability to "prioritize sponsored content" within ChatGPT's actual responses. Not just sidebar ads, sponsored content in the answer itself.
Imagine a user asks ChatGPT: "What's the best way to treat a headache?" and the response prioritizes Advil because it's a paid placement, potentially burying information about when to see a doctor or alternative remedies.
That's a trust issue, plain and simple. And as advertisers, we have a responsibility to think about whether we want our brands showing up that way.
My take? The advertisers who win on this platform won't be the ones trying to game the system with the highest bids. They'll be the ones whose products genuinely solve the problem the user is asking about. ChatGPT's success depends on maintaining user trust, which means relevance isn't just a nice-to-have—it's existential for the platform.
The Revel Approach (What We're Actually Doing to Prepare)
At Revel Interactive, we're not waiting for an official announcement to start positioning our clients. Here's a glimpse of our playbook:
1. We're Recommending Microsoft Shopping Budget Now
Here's the strategic move: we're recommending clients allocate 5-10% of their paid search budget to Microsoft Ads Shopping. Why now? Because the setup barrier is practically non-existent. Microsoft Shopping can pull feeds directly from Google Merchant Center through a simple integration, no need to build an entirely new merchant account or duplicate all your feed work.
Why does this matter for ChatGPT? Given the OpenAI-Microsoft partnership, having an active presence on Microsoft Ads positions clients strategically for when ChatGPT advertising launches. Whether the ad platform integrates directly with Microsoft Ads or operates as a standalone system, clients with existing Microsoft Shopping campaigns will have cleaner data, established feeds, and the infrastructure to move quickly.
Budget constraints have kept many of our clients focused solely on Google, but the Microsoft integration removes the operational barrier. Now it's just about carving out a small testing budget to establish presence before ChatGPT ads go live and competition intensifies.
2. We're Working with Clients on Conversational Product Descriptions
Here's something we're starting to explore: AI-driven platforms need different feed optimization. Your product title "Women's Running Shoes Size 8" performs great in traditional Shopping. But ChatGPT users ask "What are comfortable running shoes for someone with flat feet who runs 5Ks?"
We're working with clients to test conversational product descriptions that answer questions, not just list features. It's a different skill set, closer to content writing than traditional feed optimization. Not every client is ready for this yet, but the ones who are will have a significant head start.
3. We're Setting Realistic Expectations with Clients
This is critical. We're not telling clients to shift budget from Google to ChatGPT in Q2. We're not promising this will be a silver bullet. What we are recommending is setting aside 5-10% of their Microsoft Ads Shopping budget as "experimental" so we're ready to test when beta access opens.
We learned this lesson with Performance Max: clients who had budget flexibility to test early got ahead. Clients who waited until their competitors had months of data struggled to catch up.
4. We're Studying Conversational Search Patterns
Try this exercise: Go to ChatGPT right now and type in questions your customers ask. Not keywords, actual questions. See what comes back. Is your brand mentioned? Are your competitors? What content is ChatGPT pulling from?
We've been doing this for weeks across client verticals, and it's revealing. Some brands show up constantly. Others are invisible. That visibility gap exists before paid ads launch, which means there's organic opportunity right now.
The Three Scenarios We're Planning For
Nobody knows exactly how ChatGPT ads will launch, so we're preparing for three possibilities:
Scenario 1: Standalone Platform
OpenAI builds their own ads manager, similar to Google Ads or Microsoft Ads. We'd need to learn a new interface, new reporting, new optimization levers.
Scenario 2: Microsoft Ads Integration
ChatGPT becomes a new campaign type within Microsoft Advertising. This would be ideal. We already know the platform, our clients are already set up, and we could launch day one. Our bet? This is most likely given the OpenAI-Microsoft partnership.
Scenario 3: Hybrid Approach
Standalone platform that also integrates with Microsoft Ads for product feeds and some targeting. Honestly, this feels most realistic given how complex ad ecosystems work.
We're positioned for all three, with the heaviest emphasis on making sure Microsoft Ads infrastructure is solid across our client base.
What We’re Watching For (And You Should Too)
The next 90 days will tell us a lot. Here are our early warning signals that launch is imminent:
OpenAI job postings for "Advertiser Success" or "Agency Relations" roles
Microsoft Advertising webinars or documentation mentioning ChatGPT integration
Beta program invitations starting to circulate (these usually leak to Reddit first, honestly)
Updates to OpenAI's terms of service around commercial content
The moment we see two or more of these signals, we'll know we're weeks away, not months.
The Real Question: Should You Care Right Now?
It depends on your clients and your capacity.
You should absolutely care if:
You manage e-commerce clients (shopping integration is coming)
Your clients have strong Microsoft Ads performance already (lowest barrier to entry)
You have budget flexibility to test new platforms (first-mover advantage is real)
You can wait if:
Your clients are local service businesses without e-commerce (ChatGPT ads will skew toward retail initially)
Your clients have razor-thin margins (beta testing requires budget cushion)
What you absolutely should not do is ignore this until Q4 2026 and then panic when competitors have been optimizing for six plus months. We've seen this before with Performance Max, and it doesn't end well.
Final Thoughts: Staying Ahead Without Losing Our Minds
Look, I get it. Another platform, another set of unknowns, another thing to explain to clients who are still asking why their exact match keywords aren't actually exact anymore. The pace of change in paid search is exhausting.
But here's what I keep coming back to: we're watching the birth of conversational advertising in real time. Twenty years from now, we'll tell newer marketers about "the time before AI ads" the same way we talk about "before smartphones" or "before Performance Max."
The agencies that thrive won't be the ones with perfect information, none of us have that. It'll be the ones who stay curious, test intelligently, and help clients navigate change without overpromising or fear-mongering.
At Revel Interactive, we're approaching this the way we approach every major platform shift: informed optimism, strategic preparation, and a willingness to be wrong and adjust quickly. That's worked for us through every Google update, every Meta algorithm change, and every new feature rollout. No reason to change the playbook now.
Stay tuned. We’ll be sharing updates as we learn more. And if you want to talk through what this means for your specific clients? You know where to find your Revel team. This is what we're here for.
Sources:
This blog was edited with the help of Claude AI.