How to Advertise on ChatGPT: First Campaign Step by Step
Steps to build your first ChatGPT campaign: objective, ad group and context signals, creative–landing match, budget, UTM, and policy approval.
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Last checked: September 21, 2026
To advertise on ChatGPT, after opening your account you choose a campaign objective, define the ad group and its context signals, prepare the ad copy and landing page, set the budget, and submit the ad for review. Ads are managed through OpenAI Ads Manager; this guide summarizes the steps to build a first campaign in the right order. Examples are illustrative; no guarantee of impression or outcome is implied. (No account yet? How to Open a ChatGPT Ads Account.)
Ad structure: campaign, ad group, ad
OpenAI Ads Manager works at campaign, ad group and ad levels (Ads in ChatGPT). The campaign sets the objective, the ad group carries context and targeting, and the ad is the creative the user sees.
| Level | What's defined |
|---|---|
| Campaign | Objective and overall structure |
| Ad group | Context signals, budget/bid frame |
| Ad | Headline, description, landing link |
1. Define the campaign objective in one sentence
"Trying ads" is an intent; to evaluate a campaign you need a concrete outcome: a product sale, a completed demo form, or an account signup. Think about what happens after the ad — a demo form and a qualified lead may not carry the same commercial value. Map your objective to the campaign objectives available in your account.
2. Set up the ad group and context signals
In ChatGPT ads, context hints at the ad group level help matching; they are not exact-match keywords that guarantee display in a specific conversation. Don't base your prep on the assumption that one phrase will always trigger the ad. Instead, clearly define the need your product addresses.
3. Match the ad copy with the landing page
Before writing ad copy, state in one sentence which problem your product solves. The ad's promise must be met with equal clarity on the landing page: if the ad says "review your ChatGPT ad performance," the page should show that flow immediately. For message ideas, study competitor examples — Maya Ads Library presents the headline, description and landing link of sponsored ads observed in your project.
4. Set the budget together with a review time
Pick a starting budget based on what your team can allocate to a test. Write down the spend limit, campaign duration and when results will be evaluated. Changing several settings right after the first clicks makes it hard to tell which change caused what.
5. Add traffic tags (UTM) before launch
OpenAI supports adding static UTM parameters to ad links. Set a consistent source, medium and campaign naming for your team, and test the link before launch. An illustrative scheme is utm_source=chatgpt, utm_medium=paid, utm_campaign=demo_sept; these are example names, not a platform requirement (how ads work).
6. Check ad policy and submit for review
Before submitting, confirm your ad complies with the OpenAI ad policies; categories such as adult content, gambling, alcohol/tobacco, political content and weapons are prohibited, and areas like healthcare and finance are restricted. Ads go through a review process; if rejected, fix the reason and resubmit.
7. Plan the first check after launch
The first check aims to catch technical issues, not judge performance: is the ad running, does the landing page work, is conversion measurement receiving data? These three are different checks. Open Maya Ads Analyzer to track the campaign and use Health Check to review setup points. For running a live campaign: How to Monitor ChatGPT Ads.
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| Delivery status | Is the ad approved and live? |
| Landing page | Does the link and target action work? |
| Measurement | Was the test transaction sent as an event? |
| Tags | Are the UTM parameters correct? |
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GEO researcher at Maya. Studies how large language models retrieve, rank, and cite sources — and what brands can do to show up in AI answers.
