This isn’t hype, because it’s not available right now. The best approach is to understand it now and prepare yourself ahead of time, so that when it launches, you can take advantage early and gain the benefits.
ChatGPT will now have ads, and this marks the beginning of a gold rush—the kind that creates millionaires within months. But what exactly are ChatGPT ads? Why do they represent the biggest money-making opportunity of 2026-2027? And more importantly, how can you get started today?
The Pattern of Asymmetric Opportunities
If you look back through recent history, every decade brings with it an asymmetric opportunity. Google Ads dominated the 2000s, Facebook Ads ruled the 2010s, and now ChatGPT is positioned to be the defining platform of the 2020s. When TikTok ads launched, we saw people become deca-millionaires within months. That’s the scale of opportunity we’re looking at with ChatGPT today.
Understanding ChatGPT Ads
OpenAI recently announced how ads will function within ChatGPT. They’re currently testing the feature with adults in the United States, and the concept is straightforward: free users and Go plan users will see advertisements while using the platform.
However, OpenAI has made several important commitments about how these ads will work:
- Ads will never alter the answers ChatGPT generates
- Personal information will never be shared with advertisers
- Ads will only be relevant to your search intent and interests
- All advertisements will be clearly labeled
OpenAI has shared two examples of how these ads will appear. In the first example, when someone asks for a dish idea, a sponsored hot sauce recommendation appears at the bottom. In the second, a user requesting a travel itinerary sees a promoted travel business at the bottom, complete with a “chat with business” option that opens a new chat window for direct communication with the company.
Additionally, when you ask for product recommendations—like the best leather jackets under $150—you might see sponsored recommendations at the top, similar to how Google displays ads in search results.
Why This Is the Biggest Opportunity Right Now
ChatGPT currently boasts hundreds of millions of weekly active users, with the majority using the free version. To understand why this matters, let’s look at historical precedents.
The Google Ads Precedent
More than 20 years ago, when Google Ads first launched, millions of people were using Google, but very few businesses were advertising on the platform. This created a massive gap between demand and supply. You could acquire warm leads for pennies on the dollar. Fast forward to today, and Google Ads has become highly competitive and insanely expensive.
The Facebook Ads Window
Ten to fifteen years ago, when Facebook first introduced ads, there were countless free eyeballs on the platform. People were scrolling through their news feeds, but advertisers were scarce. This created a brief window where you could promote your brand and acquire tons of users for minimal spend.
The Slow-Moving Giant Problem
The reason these windows exist is because of slow-moving large companies. These corporations account for the majority of ad spend on social platforms, but they’re bureaucratic. They’ll take at least six months to understand what ChatGPT ads are, another six months to test the platform, and only then will they go all in.
This creates a brief period where you can work with companies, promote their brands on ChatGPT ads, and take a commission on every sale you generate for them.
What Makes ChatGPT Better Than Previous Platforms
Here’s the secret that makes ChatGPT even more powerful than Google or Facebook: the depth of information OpenAI has about its users.
While Facebook had to estimate your interests, age, and spending capacity to target you accordingly, OpenAI gains insight directly from user conversations. This allows businesses to reach genuinely relevant audiences with unmatched precision.
The Always-On Advantage
Unlike social platforms like Facebook, which people typically use after work hours, ChatGPT is used every hour of the day. People use it at work, for date recommendations, planning itineraries, cooking ideas—practically everything.
A significant portion of users turn to ChatGPT for personal improvement advice: how to look better, lose weight, and improve physical appearance. These questions demonstrate enormous intent to improve and a willingness to spend money on value.
The Small Business Opportunity
Most small businesses desperately want to level up with AI. They’ve witnessed how AI is transforming people’s lives and want to be part of that transformation. They want to be recommended when someone searches for “the best restaurant for a date in Los Angeles” or “the best hotels in New York between $150 and $250 per night.”
These are high-intent searches with significant commercial value.
How to Start Your AI Ads Agency
The business model is simple: work with small to medium-sized businesses, help promote their offerings on ChatGPT, and take a commission on every sale you facilitate. This creates a no-brainer offer for clients.
The ROI-Driven Payment Approach
Your clients won’t pay you upfront. They’ll only pay when you help them make a sale. This is one of the easiest ways to start acquiring clients in the agency world because there’s virtually no risk for them.
Building Your Foundation
Before diving in, you need to master the basics:
Learn Advertising Fundamentals: HubSpot Academy offers a certification course on advertising that covers all the essentials.
Master Sales Psychology: Read Neuromarketing, which introduces the four-step sales framework:
- Identify the pain
- Showcase the gain
- Prove the gain
- Make the sale
This framework teaches you how to approach the “old brain,” where buying decisions are made. The book includes examples of viral ad campaigns and timeless principles you can implement in 2026.
Understand AI Search Optimization (AEO): Learn how to rank businesses in ChatGPT organically. When people ask relevant questions, your clients’ products should appear as recommendations. This is different from traditional SEO—it’s about optimizing for AI-powered search.
Your Tech Stack for 2026
Here’s the complete toolkit for running your AI ads agency:
- Sales and Outreach: Clay.com, Apollo, and Instantly for cold outreach and client acquisition
- Ad Creation: Nano Banana Pro for ad images and creative assets
- Research and Copy: ChatGPT Deep Research for ideation and copywriting
- Video Ads: Higgsfield AI for creating compelling ad videos
- Delivery: ChatGPT Ads platform for campaign execution
The Bottom Line
The ChatGPT ads opportunity represents a rare convergence of massive user adoption, minimal competition, superior targeting capabilities, and constant engagement. The window won’t stay open forever—as with Google and Facebook before it, early movers will capture disproportionate value.
The question isn’t whether ChatGPT ads will become a dominant advertising platform. The question is whether you’ll position yourself to capitalize on this opportunity before the window closes and the big players move in.
The gold rush has begun. Will you stake your claim?
Ready to start your AI ads agency journey? The tools are available, the opportunity is clear, and the market is waiting. The only thing missing is your action.