Earlier this week, we had a conversation with a client about Google Ads and how people respond to sponsored search results.
The general feeling in the room was familiar: when several sponsored results appear at the top of Google, many of us instinctively scroll past them and look for the first organic result.
That led us to discuss whether businesses should be putting more effort into generative engine optimisation, or GEO, rather than relying so heavily on paid search.
Our reasoning was simple. If potential customers are increasingly asking ChatGPT and other AI tools for recommendations, businesses need to appear in those answers. At that point, ChatGPT did not offer the familiar sponsored listings we see on Google.
The following morning, an email arrived announcing new opportunities for advertising in ChatGPT.
You could not have planned the timing.
More importantly, we are hearing more and more from clients who find us through an AI search. That does not prove that AI has replaced Google, but it does demonstrate that AI discovery is already producing genuine commercial enquiries.
So, what are ChatGPT ads, how does advertising in ChatGPT compare with Google Ads, and does its arrival make GEO any less important?
OpenAI began testing advertising in ChatGPT in the United States in February 2026 and has since expanded its advertising activity.
Ads may appear underneath a ChatGPT response. They are labelled as sponsored and visually separated from the answer itself.
OpenAI states that advertisers cannot pay to influence, rank or alter ChatGPT’s answer. The answer and the advert are produced by separate systems.
This distinction matters.
A company appearing inside an AI-generated answer is not necessarily advertising. It may be mentioned because the AI considers its website, products, expertise or reputation relevant to the user’s question.
A sponsored placement is different. It is a paid opportunity displayed after the answer.
OpenAI currently uses the subject of the conversation to match users with relevant advertisements. Where users have enabled personalised advertising, signals such as previous chats, memories and interactions with ads may also contribute to the selection process. OpenAI says advertisers do not receive users’ conversations or personal details.
The advertising platform is still developing. OpenAI now supports cost-per-click and cost-per-thousand-impressions buying, alongside conversion measurement and a beta self-service Ads Manager.
In other words, advertising in ChatGPT is no longer just an idea; it is becoming a functioning paid media channel.
Google Search advertising is based primarily on keywords and search intent.
An advertiser chooses the searches it wants to target, enters an auction and bids for visibility. Google considers the bid alongside the relevance and quality of the advert and its destination page. The resulting sponsored listings can appear above or alongside organic search results.
Unlike traditional search campaigns, advertising in ChatGPT starts from a conversation rather than a conventional search results page.
That creates several important differences.
1. The user may have revealed much more context
A Google search might be:
“Best CRM for a small business.”
A ChatGPT conversation might explain that the business has six employees, works in professional services, has a limited budget and needs to integrate with specific software.
That context could allow ChatGPT to match an advert to a much more developed requirement.
2. The advert appears after an answer
Google ads often occupy the most prominent positions before the organic results.
ChatGPT ads appear separately below the AI-generated response. The user has therefore already received advice before seeing the paid placement.
This could make the advert feel less intrusive, but it also means the advert must compete with an answer that may already have satisfied the user’s need.
3. There is no traditional list of ten blue links
Google users are accustomed to scanning, comparing and skipping between multiple results.
ChatGPT provides a synthesised answer. That changes the journey from “Which link should I open?” to “Do I trust this answer, and what should I do next?”
An advertiser is entering that decision-making process rather than simply buying a higher position in a list.
4. Paying for an advert does not buy inclusion in the answer
This is the most important distinction for businesses.
Investing in advertising in ChatGPT can provide paid visibility, but it does not make a company more likely to be recommended in ChatGPT’s answer.
That is where GEO remains relevant.
Some people deliberately scroll past sponsored listings because they place greater trust in an organic result. Our client conversation reflected that behaviour.
However, businesses should be careful about treating it as a universal rule.
Research into search advertising has found that many users struggle to distinguish reliably between paid and organic results. Others will click an advert when it closely matches their immediate need.
Google Ads would not remain such a significant marketing channel if nobody used them.
The more useful conclusion is that people behave differently depending on:
– The urgency of their need
– How commercial their search is
– Their awareness of advertising labels
– Their trust in the advertiser
– The relevance of the message
– Whether the organic results appear more credible
– The device and search format they are using
ChatGPT will develop its own behavioural patterns. It is too early to assume that users will either embrace its ads or automatically ignore them.
Businesses should test those assumptions with evidence rather than building a strategy around personal browsing habits.
No.
It makes the distinction between paid and earned AI visibility more important.
Generative engine optimisation is the process of making a business easier for AI systems to understand, trust and reference. It includes publishing useful, clearly structured content and supporting it with credible evidence, consistent business information and genuine third-party authority.
GEO does not guarantee a fixed “number one ranking”. AI answers are generated dynamically and can vary according to the user’s wording, context and chosen platform.
The aim is to increase the likelihood that the business becomes a credible source or relevant recommendation.
If a business appears within the answer, it has influenced the user before the sponsored placement is shown. That is potentially a very valuable position.
Paid advertising and GEO therefore solve different problems:
– Advertising in ChatGPT buys visibility around a relevant conversation.
– GEO helps a business earn visibility within AI-generated answers.
– Google Ads capture demand through paid search placements.
– SEO builds visibility in traditional organic search results.
The strongest strategy may eventually use all four.
Not automatically.
Google Ads is a mature platform with established targeting, reporting and conversion data. Advertising in ChatGPT is still developing, and its suitability will vary by market, audience and objective.
Moving an entire budget based on novelty would be a poor decision.
Instead, businesses should ask:
– Are our customers already using AI to research services like ours?
– Do we understand the questions they ask before making a purchase?
– Does our website answer those questions clearly and credibly?
– Can we identify enquiries and website visits originating from AI platforms?
– Is advertising in ChatGPT available and appropriate for our market?
– Do we have enough budget to test it without weakening a proven channel?
Where ChatGPT ads are available, an initial campaign should be treated as a controlled experiment. Set a defined budget, use trackable landing pages and judge the results against commercial outcomes rather than impressions alone.
This efficiency saves you significant time and resources in the long run. Furthermore, the conversion rates of pages featuring real, authentic images are consistently higher than those relying on generic filler. People buy from people. When they can clearly see the human element behind your brand, they are far more likely to pick up the phone and make an enquiry. The return on investment is clear: stronger brand loyalty, higher conversion rates, and a visual identity that is completely bulletproof against imitation. So, is professional photography worth the investment? Absolutely, because it pays for itself by turning visitors into loyal clients.
The first priority is visibility measurement.
Ask new customers how they found the business. Add AI discovery as an option in enquiry forms. Review website analytics for traffic from ChatGPT and other AI platforms, while remembering that some AI-influenced journeys may appear as direct traffic.
Next, review the questions customers ask during sales conversations. Those questions should inform useful website content that both humans and AI systems can understand.
Finally, avoid treating paid advertising, SEO and GEO as competing trends. They are different ways of being discovered at different points in the customer journey.
The arrival of ChatGPT ads has not ended the case for GEO. If anything, it has made the opportunity clearer.
Businesses can now pay to appear beside an AI answer using advertising in ChatGPT.
The harder and potentially more valuable task is becoming a business the AI chooses to mention within it.
If you want to ensure your website is built to capture both paid and organic AI visibility, contact the team at Eighty3 Design today.
