ChatGPT Ads
Advertising in ChatGPT, testing with a budget you can afford to lose.
On 19 August 2026, OpenAI announced that ChatGPT Ads would roll out to 31 European markets in the week of 24 August, the Netherlands included. A brand-new channel with hundreds of millions of users, and plenty of nonsense surrounding it. We help online stores test it seriously with a small budget and tight measurement, and at the end you'll know whether it delivered or whether it's still too early.
What's happening right now
Every new advertising channel follows the same pattern. In the first months, clicks are relatively cheap and benchmarks are thin, so the real question is how much you're willing to pay to be among the first to know if it works.
- More and more research and buying questions are going to ChatGPT, from 'which washing machine suits a family of four' to a comparison between two brands.
- The platform is still young, benchmarks are scarce and change month to month.
- Agencies are already selling 'guaranteed recommendations from ChatGPT', while OpenAI keeps advertising and answers strictly separate.
- Without your own measurement setup, it stays guesswork what the channel contributes alongside your existing campaigns.
The opportunity
Ads in ChatGPT are contextual. They appear clearly labelled underneath the answer and connect to the conversation, without influencing the answer itself. That's a very different moment from a search results page, because the user is often already comparing or deciding. For online stores with healthy margins and a clear niche, testing early produces data the rest of the market won't have for another year. Against that, the channel is new, so we set a fixed test budget and fix the date in advance when we take stock.
Our approach
How we approach a new channel.
The same level-headed method we apply to every channel. With a hype-sensitive channel, that's exactly what makes the difference.
Baseline measurement of AI traffic
Before we spend a single euro, we check how much traffic and revenue already comes from ChatGPT and other AI sources, because that's sitting in your own data once your measurement is right.
Access & setup
Digital Bean is an OpenAI Select Partner, which gives us access to the ad platform in the Netherlands, where most advertisers can't buy it directly themselves yet. We arrange that access and set up campaigns, conversion measurement and budget monitoring.
Test plan with hypotheses
We set out in advance which products and which context we're testing, with what budget, and when we'll call the test a success or a failure.
Tight measurement
Conversions from ChatGPT Ads land in the same measurement setup as your other channels, so it's an apples-to-apples comparison.
Stopping is fine too
If the cost per order stays too high, we pause the channel and the budget goes back to Google Ads or SEO.
Feeding into GEO
What we learn about how your audience searches with AI feeds straight into your organic AI visibility (GEO). The same product data plays a role on both sides: OpenAI publishes its own feed specification for shopping in ChatGPT, with a mapping from the Google Shopping format.
In the Growth System
Stage 3: the experimental acquisition channel.
ChatGPT Ads runs alongside Google Ads in the acquisition stage of the Growth System, with an explicit test label attached. The measurement foundation from stage 1 determines whether we can put the results next to your other channels. And it touches stage 4: getting your brand visible inside AI answers is organic work, while the ad slot underneath it is something you buy. We do both, and keep them apart in the reporting.
View the full Growth System- 01 Measure
- 02 Discover
- 03 Attract
- 04 Get found
- 05 Scale
Frequently asked questions
What clients usually ask.
Missing a question? Email or call us, the lines are short here.
Is ChatGPT Ads already available in the Netherlands?
OpenAI announced on 19 August 2026 that the rollout to 31 European markets, including the Netherlands, would begin in the week of 24 August. You can't buy it yourself here yet: it runs through OpenAI's Ads Solutions team, agency partners and technology partners. A self-serve Ads Manager has been announced but isn't available in the Netherlands yet. Digital Bean is an OpenAI Select Partner, so we arrange that access for our clients.
Where do the ads appear and who sees them?
Ads appear clearly labelled underneath the answer, shown to logged-in adult users on the free and cheaper subscription tiers. Paid tiers such as Plus and Pro stay ad-free. Note: you're buying the ad slot underneath the answer. What ChatGPT says in the answer itself is separate from that.
Can I pay to get ChatGPT to recommend my brand?
No. OpenAI keeps advertising strictly separate from the answers. Anyone selling you 'guaranteed recommendations in ChatGPT', paid or organic, is selling something that doesn't exist.
What does a click cost?
Official benchmarks barely exist yet; the figures circulating are indications from early advertisers and vary a lot. That's why we deliberately start small and work out weekly what a click and a conversion actually cost you.
Who does this make sense for right now?
For online stores with healthy margins, a clear product category and room to experiment. If your measurement, your Google Ads or your SEO still needs work, starting there almost always pays off more, and we'd rather tell you that now than after three months of testing.
Your own data already shows how much revenue comes from AI.
We'll map out the AI sources in your analytics and look together at whether advertising in ChatGPT already makes sense at your margins.
Reply within 24 hours on working days