Pushing the Boundaries: What We Learned from Our First ChatGPT Ads Test

At Propellic, we pride ourselves on staying ahead of the digital marketing curve. So, when OpenAI rolled out ad placements within ChatGPT, we didn't waste any time. We launched a first wave of campaigns for a client to see how this entirely new conversational ad landscape performs compared to traditional channels.

The early results are in, and they are telling. Here is a breakdown of what we've observed so far.

1. CTRs Are Competitive with Meta

One of our biggest questions going into this test was whether users would actually engage with ads inside a conversational AI interface. The answer is yes.

Across roughly 46,000 impressions and $3,000 in spend between July 1 and 15, our broad informational campaign generated a 1.59% Click-Through Rate (CTR). For context, the Meta travel accounts we manage average 1.2% to 1.8% CTR across all objectives, with top performers clearing 2.0%. Awareness campaigns, the closest comparison to what we ran, typically sit at the lower end, around 0.5% to 1.2%. A 1.59% CTR clears that awareness range and lands inside our blended travel range, in a channel that did not exist a year ago.

2. CPCs Came in Far Below Expectations

Early guidance suggested clicks in this placement could run $50 or more. We are seeing an average CPC of $4.20.

That is still meaningfully more expensive than Meta awareness inventory, which typically runs $0.65 to $1 in our accounts, so the efficiency case is not settled. But the gap is nothing like what early estimates implied, and for a channel this new, that changes the math on whether it's worth testing at all.

3. Informational Beat the Hard Sell (BOF)

The most valuable strategic takeaway from our testing centers on intent. We ran bottom-of-funnel (BOF), direct-response style creatives against top-of-funnel, informational content.

Informational pulled a 1.59% CTR against 1.29% for our BOF creative. A modest gap, but a consistent one, and it points in a direction worth paying attention to.

This makes sense when you analyze user psychology. People don't go to ChatGPT to book trips instantly; they go to learn, research, explore, and solve problems. When an ad provides helpful, educational value that naturally flows with their query, engagement holds up. Hard-sell, product-pushing ads feel disruptive, whereas value-first informational ads feel like a natural extension of the conversation.

The Data at a Glance

Metric - Campaign Performance (Date range: July 1 to 15, 2026)

Impressions: 46,000

Spend: $3,000

CTR, informational: 1.59%

CTR, BOF: 1.29%

Average CPC: $4.20

What's Next?

This is an early read, not a verdict. What we can say is that ChatGPT ads are a viable, intent-driven placement, particularly for travel brands that can master value-first, informational marketing. We are actively scaling our tests, refining our creative hooks to lean harder into educational content, and tracking how these clicks mature into down-funnel conversions.