OpenAI has opened up a self-serve Ads Manager for ChatGPT Ads, and in this tutorial we walk through the entire beta platform live: signing up, setting up your business account, creating your first campaign, setting budgets and bids, designing ad creative, installing conversion pixels, uploading product feeds, and managing team access. If you are a marketer, business owner, or agency planning to advertise on ChatGPT, this guide covers everything you need before you spend a single rupee or dollar.
Video Timeline: Jump to Any Section
| Time | Section |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | Introduction |
| 00:41 | Signing Up for OpenAI Ads |
| 01:22 | Generating an AI Ad Preview |
| 02:47 | Business Account Setup and Country Availability |
| 05:31 | Dashboard Overview and Core Metrics |
| 07:18 | Creating a Campaign |
| 08:12 | Budget and Bidding Limits |
| 10:16 | Ad Creative Setup and Guidelines |
| 12:13 | Reviewing and Publishing Campaigns |
| 14:39 | Tools: Conversion Pixel Setup |
| 16:10 | Product Feeds, Change History, and Custom Audiences |
| 17:10 | Billing and Invoice Settings |
| 17:50 | Account Settings and User Role Management |
| 18:57 | Conclusion and Final Thoughts |
How to Sign Up for ChatGPT Ads Manager
To get started, go to the OpenAI Ads portal and register using your business email address. During sign-up, you also get the option to generate an AI ad preview by simply entering your website URL. ChatGPT’s system automatically pulls a headline, product image, and description from your site and shows you a sample of how your ad could look, before you even build a campaign manually.
Setting Up Your Business Account
Once registered, you need to enter your legal business details, select an industry category, and choose your billing currency. As of this beta rollout, availability is limited by region, so if your country is not yet supported, you may need to select the United States to proceed with setup and explore the platform. Always confirm current country availability on OpenAI’s official Ads documentation before assuming access.
Understanding the ChatGPT Ads Dashboard
The main dashboard gives you a clear view of core performance metrics, including total spend, impressions, clicks, and cost per click (CPC). It also breaks down performance by device type and platform, covering Web, iOS, and Android separately, so you can see exactly where your budget is being spent most effectively.
How to Create a Campaign in ChatGPT Ads Manager
When creating a campaign, you first choose a campaign objective. The current options are Reach, Clicks, and Conversions. After selecting an objective, you set your targeting locations and can exclude specific platforms if you only want your ads to run on certain devices, such as Web or mobile app only.
Budget and Bidding Rules You Need to Know
During the beta, the platform enforces clear minimum spend rules. A campaign requires at least $25 per day as a daily budget, and $100 as the minimum total campaign budget. You also set a maximum CPC bid, and increasing this bid estimate generally helps improve ad delivery, since it makes your ad more competitive in the auction.
Ad Creative Guidelines: Titles, Descriptions, and Images
When setting up ad creative, you define your destination URL along with a title and description. Both have character limits, and staying within them is important, since going over the limit causes your text to get truncated in the actual ad. For images, ChatGPT Ads currently requires a 1:1 square image format, so any creative you design should be prepared as a square asset from the start.
Reviewing and Publishing Your Campaign
Before your ads can actually go live and start serving, there is a pre-publish checklist. You need to upload a business logo and set up a valid billing method. Without both of these completed, the platform will not allow your campaign to launch, even if everything else is configured correctly.
Setting Up Conversion Tracking (Pixel Setup)
The Tools section lets you create data sources for Web, iOS, and Android separately. Each data source generates a unique pixel ID and tracking code that you install on your website or app. Once installed, you can configure custom conversion events, such as app installs, checkout started, or appointments booked, so you can measure exactly what actions your ads are driving.
Product Feeds, Change History, and Custom Audiences
For ecommerce and retail advertisers, you can upload a product catalog feed through SFTP or CSV. The platform also keeps a change history log, so you can track edits made to your account and campaigns over time. In addition, you can build custom audiences by uploading a customer list as a CSV or TXT file, which lets you target people who are already in your existing database.
Billing and Invoice Management
Under billing settings, you can manage your payment methods, download monthly invoices, and configure notifications related to billing activity. This section is useful for finance teams or agencies who need clean, exportable records for client reporting.
Managing Team Access and User Roles
ChatGPT Ads Manager supports multiple team members on one account, with three role types: Admin, Member, and Viewer. You can invite teammates directly by email and assign them the appropriate role, depending on whether they need full control, editing access, or read-only visibility into performance.
Final Thoughts
This walkthrough covers everything currently available in the ChatGPT Ads Manager beta, from sign-up to publishing your first campaign. Since this is still a beta rollout, expect OpenAI to expand country availability, ad formats, and targeting options over the coming months. If you are planning your 2026 advertising strategy, it is worth setting up your account early and getting familiar with the dashboard, so you are ready to scale the moment full access opens up in your region.
You sign up by visiting the OpenAI Ads portal and registering with a business email address. You can also enter your website URL during sign-up to generate an automatic AI ad preview.
During the current beta, the minimum daily budget is $25, and the minimum total campaign budget is $100.
ChatGPT Ads currently requires a 1:1 square image format for ad creative.
Yes. The Tools section lets you create data sources for Web, iOS, and Android, each with a unique pixel ID, so you can track custom events like app installs, checkout started, or appointments booked.
Yes. Advertisers can upload a product feed through SFTP or CSV, which is useful for ecommerce and retail campaigns.
The platform supports three roles: Admin, Member, and Viewer, and account owners can invite teammates by email and assign the appropriate role.
No. As of this beta rollout, availability is limited by region. Advertisers outside supported markets may need to select an available country, such as the United States, to explore the platform. Always check OpenAI’s official documentation for current availability.
Before publishing, you must upload a business logo and set up a valid billing method. Campaigns cannot start serving without both completed.
