Ads in AI assistants for professional firms: get seen under the answers of ChatGPT, Copilot and Google
Since 2026, several AI assistants sell advertising. Ads sit next to or below the answer, labelled as sponsored, and do not change what the assistant says. That is the difference with GEO, which works on the answer itself: advertising buys a placement around it. For a firm, AI ads can add to GEO. They do not replace it.
Price
Priced in your action plan, after the audit.
Eligibility checks, platform choice, test budget, ads and landing pages, tracking and a monthly decision to continue or stop.
This channel has no published price: what it costs depends on what the audit finds and on whether we do it with you or for you.
When this channel makes sense for you, and when it does not
It makes sense if
- Your buyers use ChatGPT or Copilot to prepare a purchase, and your offer is simple to describe.
- You already advertise on Google and want to test a new placement with a test budget.
- Your profession is not in a category the platforms exclude or restrict heavily.
It is the wrong channel if
- You are in regulated finance, health or another sensitive topic: platforms exclude or tightly restrict those ads.
- You hope an ad will make the AI speak well of you: ads do not influence the answer.
- No answer names you today: start with GEO, advertising does not fix an absence.
What the audit looks at on this channel
- The buyer questions where an AI assistant already shows ads.
- The platforms open from your billing country and for your profession.
- What the answers say about you today, before paying for a placement next to them.
- Your existing Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising campaigns, already eligible for some AI placements.
What your action plan contains
- The platforms to test, or the decision to wait.
- A test budget, a duration and a stop rule.
- The ads and landing pages.
- The measurement: enquiries, cost per enquiry, comparison with your other channels.
Before you pick a channel, see where you stand.
The Shortlist Scan is free: 20 buyer questions asked to four AI engines, against 3 competitors. It is where the audit starts. The Diagnostic then turns it into a tailored action plan.
Done with you or done for you
The action plan says what to do. You then choose who does it, channel by channel, and you can change your mind later.
Done with you
- We check eligibility and prepare the ads and the tracking.
- Your team launches from your accounts; we review the results every month.
Done for you
- We open or take over the ad accounts in your name and run the tests.
- We stop what does not pay and report every month.
What we will not do
- Promise that an ad will change what the AI answers.
- Work around a platform’s rules on finance or health.
- Hold your media budget. You pay the platform directly.
How this channel works with the others
Frequently asked questions
Can you advertise in ChatGPT?
Yes, since 2026. OpenAI started a test in the US on February 9, 2026 and is extending it to Free and Go users in selected regions. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu users do not see ads, and neither do accounts identified as under 18.
What does an ad in ChatGPT look like?
A unit below the answer, labelled as an ad and kept separate from it: advertiser name and logo, headline, description, image and link. OpenAI states that ads do not influence ChatGPT’s answers.
Can any firm buy ChatGPT ads?
OpenAI’s Ads Manager is self-serve and in beta, and availability depends on the country of the billed entity; the US, the UK, France and Germany are on the list. In the US the standard minimum daily budget is $25, and it varies by market. Financial services are accepted only under strict eligibility criteria, and personalised ads are not offered at first in the EEA and Switzerland.
What about Copilot, Google and Perplexity?
Eligible Microsoft Advertising campaigns run in Copilot automatically. Google shows ads above and below AI Overviews, and inside them only in English, in twelve countries, never for finance. For Perplexity we found no current official source on whether it accepts advertisers, so we do not state it.
What does it cost?
Management is priced in your action plan, after the audit. The media budget comes on top and is paid directly to the platform.
Platform facts checked at the source on October 20, 2026: OpenAI, ads in ChatGPT, OpenAI, ads in ChatGPT: the basics, OpenAI, Ads Manager availability, OpenAI, daily budgets, Google Ads Help, ads in AI Overviews, Microsoft Advertising, ads in Copilot.
One audit, one action plan, and you choose who applies it.
Every page on this site leads to the same starting point: the free Shortlist Scan, then the Diagnostic. The action plan that comes out of it is built for your firm, channel by channel, and applied with you or for you.