OpenAI’s ChatGPT reaches the coupon stage of building an ad business

So far, the credit values are still moving around, seemingly while OpenAI works out the right numbers for a bigger push. 

“Given the early stage, I think it’s the right time for OpenAI to offer promo credits, so long as they’re for a sensible amount,” said Farhad Divecha, group CEO of Accuracast. “A $100 credit, for example, won’t get far, but $500 to $1,000 for the right advertisers could prompt them to try the platform, and realise the benefits.”

It’s not like it hasn’t worked before. TikTok did the same thing last fall, dangling credits to juice spending on TikTok Shop in the U.S. Promo credits are old news in digital advertising, in other words, used by everyone from Google to Meta to get new advertisers in the door and push existing ones to test new formats. And they will continue to do so since credits are like catnip for advertisers. They take the financial risk out of trying something new.

From building the platform to scaling the business

For OpenAI, the move is another sign that the platform is moving beyond simply expanding ad availability and building out its product, into actively recruiting advertisers to use them. 

It also reflects a broader shift in how OpenAI is approaching advertising. Just this week, Digiday reported that the company is already putting additional building blocks in place, from hiring out specialist advertising roles to establishing the infrastructure needed to support a scaled marketplace. Promo credits won’t move the needle as much as those efforts, but they could help — somewhat, at least. Because getting advertisers to test a platform is one thing, getting them to adopt it is another.

For example, advertisers that Digiday has checked in with throughout the pilot, who remained hesitant, have indicated they’re waiting for more robust measurement solutions and partners before diving into ChatGPT ads.

“I think OpenAI also needs to promote availability a lot more,” said Divecha. “With many advertisers we speak to, most are keen to try ChatGPT ads, but quite a few still think the minimums are too high or the ad platform is still not open to all advertisers even in the U.K. and the U.S.” 

What’s clear, for now, is that OpenAI is trying to manage the expansion of its ads business carefully without bombarding users with ads. Get the balance wrong and it risks undermining the attention its ad ambitions ultimately depend on.

More advertisers testing ads on the back of promo credits will only make that balancing act harder. And yet it’s one the company has to pull off. OpenAI has set itself an internal target of $2.5 billion in ad revenue for 2026, which it expects will increase 40 times to $100 billion by 2030, according to earlier reports from Axios. Though eMarketer, which has based its estimates on the U.S. — OpenAI’s biggest market — has forecast that the company will “fall roughly 90% short of that target”.

OpenAI did not respond to Digiday’s request for comment.