By Floodlight Editorial Team
At this point, all brands should be aware of the fact that ChatGPT runs ads now. What most of the coverage hasn’t addressed until now: how a business actually gets in (direct access through OpenAI or programmatic access through Criteo), what it costs, and what to do if neither current path works for you.
TL;DR: Today, there are currently two paths into ChatGPT advertising: Direct access through OpenAI or programmatic access through Criteo. Direct through OpenAI requires approximately $200,000 and a holding company agency relationship. Most brands don’t qualify for this. However, programmatic access through Criteo, announced March 2, opened the channel to roughly 17,000 advertisers through an existing buying interface. Brands with neither relationship should register interest at openai.com/advertisers, activate LLM traffic tracking now, and prepare clean product feeds for when access opens broadly.
How Do I Advertise on ChatGPT?
Two paths exist right now: advertising directly through OpenAI (which is costly and requires a holding company agency relationship) and programmatic advertising through Criteo.
Path One: Direct with OpenAI
OpenAI has confirmed it wants advertisers to commit at least $200,000 for the early ad test, and the program is currently controlled, curated, and invitation-only. Pricing runs at a $60 CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions), which many consider premium. Additionally, getting invited requires existing relationships through WPP, Omnicom, or Dentsu. Without one of those holding company agency connections, this door for many brands is closed for now.
Path Two: Programmatic Through Criteo
On March 2, 2026, Criteo announced it is the first advertising technology partner integrating with OpenAI’s advertising pilot in ChatGPT Free and Go versions in the United States. With more than $4B in annual media spend and 17,000 advertisers Criteo works with globally, that announcement opened access that simply did not exist before.
How Do I Get Access to ChatGPT Ads?
For anyone without $200K laying around and a holding company agency relationship, Criteo is currently the only realistic option.
According to the pitch deck shared with Digiday, advertisers can go live with their ads in ChatGPT “in days” using their existing Criteo Performance Media setup, with no added complications of new contracts, feeds, or tags.
Advertisers connect a structured product feed, build a campaign, and products become eligible for ChatGPT’s shopping carousel. The deck notes that campaigns can include up to 50 products. The longer play is bigger than just ChatGPT inventory: Criteo’s end goal is to eventually manage ChatGPT ads the same way it manages all other ad campaigns (display, streaming TV, and social) in one place rather than as a standalone channel.One thing to know: as of March 2nd, when Criteo made the initial announcement, they stated that the integration will begin rolling out in the coming weeks as part of the ongoing advertising pilot. Additionally, not every Criteo client is activated yet. If you already have a Criteo account, call your account manager and ask specifically about ChatGPT inventory, because the early adopters of this new channel can become market leaders.
Is There a Waitlist for ChatGPT Advertising?
OpenAI has an advertiser interest page at openai.com/advertisers. While signing up does not get anyone into the current pilot, it does put a business on record before self-serve access opens, which (based on how platforms typically roll out advertising) is worth doing as soon as possible.
If you already work with Criteo, that platform is currently the fastest route.
What Is the Minimum Spend for ChatGPT Ads?
If you go with the direct OpenAI route: ChatGPT ads launched on free and Go tiers at roughly $60 CPM with a $200,000 minimum spend for initial advertisers.
For Criteo: no confirmed minimum has been published. It’s unclear whether the $200,000 minimum commitment still applies through the Criteo partnership, given that the aim of the partnership is to open up accessibility. Some in the industry are speculating that minimums through the programmatic route could land somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000, though nothing official has been confirmed. Criteo’s existing performance campaigns generally run at far lower budgets than a direct OpenAI deal, and that gap is exactly why the integration matters to mid-market advertisers.
Can I Run ChatGPT Ads Through Criteo?
If you have an active Criteo account, you should be able to run ChatGPT Ads in the near future (if not already), since activation is still rolling out across the client base.
One hard requirement that Criteo has mentioned is a clean product feed. The shopping carousel format is feed-driven, so businesses without structured product data will be slow off the line when their access does get turned on.
The involvement of established ad partners like Criteo offers a sense of familiarity to marketers who have concerns about advertising within a newer technology format.
While Criteo is the best integration for ChatGPT ads right now, it won’t be the last programmatic door to open. OpenAI held early talks with TheTradeDesk about helping sell ads in ChatGPT, signaling intent to scale its ad infrastructure beyond this current Criteo partnership. Analysts say gaining access to ChatGPT inventory could help TheTradeDesk (TTD) expand into a new category of digital advertising entirely.
TheTradeDesk’s stock jumped more than 9% after hours when the talks were reported, which tells you something about how the market is sizing up what ChatGPT ad access is worth. For advertisers already running programmatic campaigns through TTD, a confirmed deal would mean ChatGPT inventory shows up inside existing campaign setups with no separate negotiation required. Nothing is confirmed yet.
How Did Brands Get Into the ChatGPT Ad Pilot?
Most of the brands currently inside ChatGPT Ad Pilot took one of three approaches.
Holding Company Agency Deals
Holding company agency deals got the most brands in. Omnicom Media confirmed that more than 30 of its clients secured placements in the pilot. WPP Media and Dentsu joined as well.
Pre-Existing Relationships
Pre-existing platform relationships opened a second route. Target launched a dedicated experience inside ChatGPT in November 2025 and has been building toward deeper AI commerce integration since. Their prior relationship carried into the advertising pilot.
Approached by OpenAI
OpenAI has been mainly approaching “the biggest of the big” brands directly rather than going through agencies, which accounts for a smaller third group that built early direct relationships with OpenAI’s sales team.
For most businesses, none of those routes are on the table today.
When Will ChatGPT Ads Be Open to Everyone?
OpenAI’s revenue targets make an indefinitely invite-only program untenable. Internal OpenAI documents project that free user monetization will generate $1 billion in 2026, scaling to nearly $25 billion by 2029.
The Criteo announcement positions its demand platform as the connective layer between brands and OpenAI’s early-stage ad environment. Google Ads, Meta’s ad platform, and LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager all followed the same arc: closed beta, managed access, then self-serve. The best guess right now is that ChatGPT advertising is likely 12 to 18 months from broad access, but that’s just based on the typical patterns we’ve seen in the past.
Can Small Businesses Advertise on ChatGPT?
Currently, the spend floor and holding company agency requirements rule many small businesses out.
Through Criteo, the floor is lower, but you still need an active account on the platform. Small businesses that don’t already work with Criteo have no confirmed path in today.
What small businesses can do is get ready for when a path opens. Four things worth doing now:
Register at openai.com/advertisers
Registering is free, takes about two minutes, and puts your business on the list before self-serve launches.
Start Tracking AI-Referred Traffic
Aggregated data across Criteo’s U.S. clients shows that users referred from LLM platforms like ChatGPT convert at approximately 1.5 times the rate of other referral channels. A lot of businesses are already getting this traffic and not measuring it. Setting up LLM source tracking in analytics now so you have real numbers for when the internal budget conversation comes up.
Build a Clean Product fFeed
The carousel format requires structured product data. Businesses without it will lose time to setup when access opens.
The channel is opening, but access is still very limited, and will continue to be this way for months to come. The best thing you can do right now is prepare and put your business in a position to move when it goes live for all brands.
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