Overview
- OpenAI has enabled a cost-per-click option inside its ChatGPT ads pilot, with early ads manager screenshots showing $3 to $5 bids per click for a subset of advertisers.
- The rollout remains limited to current pilot testers, and OpenAI has not commented on the change as reporting verified the screenshots.
- Since launch, ChatGPT ad costs and barriers to entry have fallen, with CPMs reported down to about $25, minimum spends reduced to $50,000, and a self-serve ads manager quietly released for some buyers.
- CPC pricing appeals to performance marketers who pay for results, letting teams compare ChatGPT outcomes to established channels like Google and Meta where buyers already plan around click costs.
- The value of a ChatGPT click is still being defined, as advertisers weigh user intent in chat versus search or social, and OpenAI is recruiting a marketing science lead to build privacy-first measurement and attribution.