In this guide · 8 sections
- 01What OpenAI announced on 5 October 2026
- 02Can a Singapore business buy ChatGPT ads?
- 03How ChatGPT ads look, are labelled and are chosen
- 04How ChatGPT ads are billed and measured
- 05What you cannot advertise on ChatGPT
- 06What to keep doing on Google and Meta meanwhile
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
Yes, a Singapore business can open an account: OpenAI lists Singapore as available for self-service Ads Manager. But as of 20 October 2026, ads are only shown to Free and Go users in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, so it suits businesses selling into those markets.
What OpenAI announced on 5 October 2026
OpenAI's post Building advertising for the way people use AI (5 October 2026) has three parts:
- A visual ad format shown during image generation, for users on the Free and Go plans. Ads are labelled and kept separate from the image being created. Testing starts in the US with an initial group of advertisers.
- More measurement. Conversion data can be sent through Hightouch, Tealium and LiveRamp, and attribution partners such as AppsFlyer, Triple Whale, Adjust, Northbeam and Branch are supported. Incrementality tests with Haus, Measured and WorkMagic are described as early stage.
- Brand suitability. Negative Phrases for qualifying advertisers, and pilots with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science.
OpenAI repeats that advertising does not influence ChatGPT's answers. The performance examples in the post (for instance a cost per acquisition 15.3% below one brand's paid-search benchmark) are partner-reported results for specific US brands, not averages you should plan around.
Can a Singapore business buy ChatGPT ads?
Two separate questions decide this: can you open an account, and are there users in your market who see ads?
| Question | Answer (20 Oct 2026) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Can a Singapore company use self-service Ads Manager? | Yes. Singapore is listed as Available | Ads Manager Availability |
| Who must be based there? | The legal entity that advertises and is billed | Ads Manager Availability |
| Which users see ads? | Free and Go users in rollout regions; not Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu or under-18s | Ads in ChatGPT FAQ |
| Where are ads shown to users? | US (from 9 Feb 2026), then Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK | ChatGPT release notes |
| Ads to users in Singapore? | Not announced | ChatGPT release notes |
Check the live lists yourself: Ads Manager availability by country and the ChatGPT release notes, which announce each new country where users start seeing ads.
So an online store shipping to Australia, a Singapore tour operator selling to UK travellers, or a software company with US customers could test now. A clinic, tuition centre or renovation firm serving only Singapore customers would have almost no one to reach. For the user side of this (what ads mean for staff on Free and Go plans), see ChatGPT Go and ads: what businesses should know.
How ChatGPT ads look, are labelled and are chosen
OpenAI's Ads in ChatGPT: The Basics says ads appear below ChatGPT responses. Each ad has an advertiser name, favicon (logo), headline, description, landing page and an image.
- Context, not keywords. The system matches ads to the conversation, the landing page and the ad copy. You can add "context hints" per ad group, but they are not exact-match keywords and do not guarantee delivery.
- Personalisation is optional for users. When a user has ad personalisation on, signals from their wider ChatGPT use may be considered. Personalised ads are not initially offered in the EEA or Switzerland.
- Sensitive topics are excluded. Ads are not shown near conversations about personal health, mental health or politics.
How ChatGPT ads are billed and measured
Campaigns are created in OpenAI Ads Manager Beta at ads.openai.com, either through a guided flow or in bulk. According to OpenAI's help centre:
| Item | How it works |
|---|---|
| Buying options | Views (impressions), Clicks (traffic) or Conversions (optimise to a standard conversion event) |
| Bids | Maximum CPM bid for reach campaigns, maximum CPC bid for click campaigns, set per ad group |
| Suggested starting bid | US$3 to US$5 per click for CPC campaigns |
| Auction | Relevance-weighted, second-price auction |
| Reporting | Impressions, clicks, spend, CTR, average CPC and CPM, conversions |
| Data delay | Clicks and impressions about every 15 minutes; spend can lag 7 to 8 hours |
Add UTM parameters to landing page URLs so ChatGPT traffic shows up properly in Google Analytics. OpenAI notes that its ad-review crawler visits landing pages with those parameters; analytics tools may count those visits as paid traffic, but they are not billed clicks.
What you cannot advertise on ChatGPT
OpenAI's ad policies say that during the initial test, ads are mainly limited to lifestyle and household goods, local services, travel and experiences, and digital products or education. Several rules hit Singapore businesses directly:
Check before you build a campaign
The landing page must match the approved ad. A food ad that links to a page selling alcohol, for example, breaks the rules even if the ad itself is fine.
What to keep doing on Google and Meta meanwhile
For a business selling in Singapore, ChatGPT ads are a watch-list item, not a budget line. Customers here still search on Google and scroll Instagram and Facebook, and those platforms reach them today.
Keep Google Search ads on your best keywords
People who search with intent are still the cheapest buyers for most local services. Our guide to choosing Google Ads management in Singapore covers what to expect.
Keep Meta campaigns for discovery
Instagram and Facebook remain the main paid discovery channels for local consumer brands.
Work on being cited in AI answers
ChatGPT search already sends free visitors to websites it cites. See AI search visibility in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews.
Open an Ads Manager account, but do not spend yet
If you sell overseas, set up the account and conversion tracking now so you can test quickly when it suits you.
Recheck when Singapore users get ads
Watch OpenAI's ChatGPT release notes. Until ads reach users here, local campaigns have nowhere to run.
Do it yourself or get help?
Opening an Ads Manager account and running a small test into an overseas market is something a marketer can do in an afternoon, using the steps above.
If your money is better spent fixing the ads you already run, our Ad Account Audit (S$290, paid upfront) reviews your Google or Meta account for wasted spend, tracking gaps and policy risks. For a clean Facebook and Instagram setup with pixel and conversion tracking, see Meta Ads Setup (S$590). IT Sorted is a Singapore-based team of developers with over 10 years of experience.
Frequently asked questions
You can open an account. OpenAI's Ads Manager availability page lists Singapore as available for self-service, provided the legal entity that advertises and is billed is based here. However, as of October 2026, OpenAI had only announced ads for users in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, so you would be reaching customers in those markets.
There is no fixed price. You set a maximum CPM bid for reach campaigns or a maximum CPC bid for click campaigns, and ads compete in a relevance-weighted second-price auction. OpenAI's help centre suggests starting CPC campaigns at US$3 to US$5 per click. Actual costs depend on your market, category and competition.
Only logged-in adults on the Free and Go plans in regions where ads are rolling out, plus logged-out users with all-audience ads. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts have no ads, and OpenAI does not show ads to accounts identified as belonging to people under 18.
Not at the moment. OpenAI's ad policies say ads for health services and financial services outside the US are generally prohibited, and legal services ads outside the US are prohibited. Inside the US, some approved advertisers are allowed case by case. Recheck the policy page before planning any campaign in these categories.
Announced on 5 October 2026, it shows image-based ads during image generation in ChatGPT for Free and Go users. Ads are labelled and kept separate from the image the user is creating. OpenAI said testing would start later in October in the US with an initial group of advertisers.