AI Paid Ads and 10 key criteria you may like to know

AI paid ads are on their way…it’s official.

We’ve been talking about this in the office for months now as we knew this was coming, and now it’s launching in beta across the Globe. To be more specific, the beta version is already live in the US, but it is now launching in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea.

Yes we’ve signed up for the beta testing and below are 10 of the key criteria AI paid ads will operate within:

1. Ads will be shown only to users on the Free and Go plans (not the Plus, Pro, Enterprise, and ads-free plans) in the UK.
2. Ads are clearly labelled as ‘Sponsored’ and appear separately from ChatGPT responses.
3. Advertisers do not influence ChatGPT’s answers or recommendations.
4. Conversations are not shared with advertisers, and user data is not sold to them.
5. Users can hide ads or mark them as irrelevant through the ad menu.
6. Ad preferences can be adjusted in ads Settings.
7. Ads may be based on factors like conversation context, general location, and activity/preferences.
8. Users can tap ‘About this ad’ to see why a specific ad appeared.
9. ‘Ask ChatGPT’ on an ad allows users to discuss or learn more about that specific sponsored content.
10. Ads are integrated into the platform UI, not inserted by the assistant itself.

The UK rollout is part of OpenAI’s broader monetisation and platform expansion strategy and this decision should come as no surprise given the cost of running large AI models and considering most users are using a free account. Much like with Google, the platform needs to generate revenue somehow.

With so many people and businesses using AI, the AI paid ads space cannot be ignored and must be considered a wholly new digital marketing platform rather than an extension of display or performance max. Whereas Google Ads rely primarily on keywords, AI ads have the potential to be influenced by nuance in conversation and are therefore likely to be highly relevant – although the user journey may be longer and more exploratory.

Potential Challenges with AI Paid Ads and Next Steps for Marketers

As this is a very new form of digital advertising, there will be no established benchmarks or average ROI/ROAS figures (like with Google Ads). And while in the beginning, there may be limited competition, we expect adoption to grow rapidly. It’s likely that GA4 (Google Analytics) might struggle to correctly attribute conversions to AI paid ads and they may show up as referral or Chat GPT as an organic channel.

Marketers should be beginning to think about conversational customer journeys and reviewing their content strategy to ensure that the website is AI-friendly. KPIs and measurement frameworks should be carefully considered and budget set aside to allow for testing the platform in the early stages before investing heavily.

If you feel like AI paid advertising could be a good fit for you but you’re unsure you’re in a good position to consider it, reach out to us to discuss strategy!