ChatGPT Advertising Statistics 2026
Verified, source-cited statistics on ChatGPT advertising. Every data point includes its original source. This page is updated as new data becomes available.
ChatGPT Platform Statistics
ChatGPT reached approximately 900 million weekly active users by late 2025. It previously hit 800M WAU by October 2025 (Sam Altman, TechCrunch).
Source: The Information, December 2025
India alone has 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users, making it one of the largest single-country markets.
Source: Sam Altman, TechCrunch, February 2026
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has stated a goal of reaching 2.6 billion users, representing approximately 33% of the global population.
Source: Sam Altman, OpenAI
OpenAI's annualized revenue tripled from the prior year to reach $20 billion in 2025.
Source: PYMNTS, February 2026
OpenAI is targeting $280 billion in revenue by 2030, with advertising expected to become a significant revenue stream.
Source: Fortune, February 2026
ChatGPT Advertising Pricing
ChatGPT ads cost $60 per thousand impressions, positioning them alongside Super Bowl advertising (~$63 CPM).
Source: Adweek, February 2026
Advertisers must commit a minimum of $200,000 to run ChatGPT ads, making this an enterprise-only channel.
Source: Adweek, February 2026
Estimated cost per click ranges from $8 to $12, significantly higher than Google Ads ($2.69 average CPC).
Source: Search Engine Land, February 2026
Investment bank Evercore projects OpenAI could generate $25 billion in annual advertising revenue by 2030.
Source: Evercore ISI, via Fortune, February 2026
ChatGPT Ads Launch Details
OpenAI launched advertising on ChatGPT on February 9, 2026, targeting Free and Go tier users in the United States.
Source: TechCrunch, February 2026
During the initial rollout, ads appear in approximately 0.8% of ChatGPT responses, indicating a cautious approach.
Source: Search Engine Land, February 2026
ChatGPT ads are managed through Microsoft Advertising infrastructure, leveraging Microsoft's existing ad tech stack.
Source: Search Engine Land, February 2026
ChatGPT ads currently provide only basic impressions and clicks data. No conversion tracking is available yet.
Source: Search Engine Land, February 2026
Confirmed ChatGPT Advertisers
The following companies have been confirmed as first-wave ChatGPT advertisers as of February 2026.
Agency holding companies Omnicom, WPP, and Dentsu are also participating in the ChatGPT ads launch (Search Engine Land, 2026).
AI Referral Traffic Statistics
AI-referred sessions now account for 1.08% of all web traffic globally, growing rapidly.
Source: Previsible, 2025
ChatGPT drives 87.4% of all AI referral traffic to websites, far ahead of any other AI platform.
Source: Previsible, 2025
Visitors referred from ChatGPT convert at 15.9%, compared to 2-3% for traditional organic search traffic.
Source: Previsible, 2025
Perplexity AI referral traffic converts at 10.5%, also significantly above traditional organic rates.
Source: Previsible, 2025
AI-referred web sessions grew 527% between January and May 2025, indicating exponential adoption.
Source: Previsible, 2025
ChatGPT Ads vs Other Platforms
| Platform | CPM | Min Spend | Launch | User Base |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Ads | $60 | $200,000 | Feb 2026 | ~900M weekly |
| Super Bowl | ~$63 | Millions | Annual | ~115M viewers |
| Google Ads | $3.12 | None | Oct 2000 | 8.5B daily searches |
| Facebook Ads | $12.07 | $1/day | Nov 2007 | 3.07B monthly |
| TikTok Ads | $10+ | $50/day | Jun 2020 | 1.5B monthly |
Sources: Adweek (Feb 2026); Search Engine Land (Feb 2026); WordStream Advertising Benchmarks (2025)
AI Advertising Market Size
The Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) market was valued at approximately $848 million in 2025.
Source: Industry estimates, 2025
The GEO market is projected to reach $33.7 billion by 2034, representing a CAGR of approximately 50%.
Source: Industry projections, 2025
Global digital advertising spend surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in 2024.
Source: WARC, 2025
70% of ChatGPT users trust the platform's advice, compared to only 10-22% who trust traditional social media advertising.
Source: Nielsen Consumer Trust Index, 2025
Methodology & Sources
All statistics on this page are sourced from publicly available reports, official announcements, and reputable industry publications. Each data point includes its specific source. We update this page as new data becomes available.
Primary sources: Adweek, TechCrunch, The Information, Search Engine Land, Fortune, PYMNTS
Market data: WordStream, Nielsen, Previsible, SimilarWeb, WARC, Statista
Research: Harvard Business Review, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Edelman Trust Barometer
Disclaimer: GPTads is not affiliated with OpenAI. Statistics are sourced from third-party publications and may be subject to revision as new data emerges.