Checked 19 October 2026
How to choose a ChatGPT Ads agency
A ChatGPT Ads agency builds, runs and reports on your ads inside ChatGPT for you. There are 4 kinds of options, and the right one depends on your budget and how much control you want. This is a buyer's guide, not a ranking.
The short answer
If you already work with a big agency group, ask them first. If you spend on Google or Meta and want a proper test without learning a new platform, a specialist is the usual fit. If you want one agency for every channel, your current paid media agency can add it. If your budget is small and you have the time, do it yourself.
Whichever you pick, three things matter more than the name on the door: the account is in your name, the fee does not grow with your spend, and there is a stop rule before launch.
A note on where this comes from. We are a ChatGPT Ads agency, so we are one of the options on this page. We say where we fit, and when we do not, near the end.
What an agency cannot do
Nobody can buy you a place inside the answer. Ads sit below it, labelled Sponsored. And nobody controls the auction, so nobody can honestly promise a cost per click or a cost per sale before the test.
Your options
4 ways to get ChatGPT ads run
OpenAI lists its own sales team, agency partners and self-serve as ways to buy. Add the agencies building on top, and you get these 4.
Option 1
OpenAI's ads team and the big agency groups
OpenAI sells ChatGPT ads directly, and says it works with Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis and WPP to help businesses buy them. These partners handle budgets, bidding and creative through the tools they already use.
Suits: Large brands that already have a holding group agency on retainer and want ChatGPT inside the same plan.
Watch for: Built for big budgets. If you are not already a client of one of these groups, this is rarely the door you walk through.
Option 2
A specialist ChatGPT Ads agency
A small team that runs ChatGPT Ads as its main job. They build the account, set up tracking, write the context hints and ads, and manage them day to day.
Suits: Brands already paying for Google or Meta that want to test ChatGPT properly without learning a new platform in house.
Watch for: The channel only opened in January 2026, so everyone is new. Ask what they have actually launched, not how long they have been doing it.
Option 3
A generalist paid media agency adding the channel
The agency that already runs your Google, Meta or LinkedIn ads offers to add ChatGPT to the list.
Suits: Teams that want one agency and one report for every channel, and are happy for ChatGPT to be a small line in it.
Watch for: ChatGPT has no keywords. If they plan to paste your Google keyword list in, the test will look dead before it starts.
Option 4
Doing it yourself in self-serve
You open an account in Ads Manager and run it yourself. Self-serve is open in 63 countries, from $25 a day per campaign in the US (15 EUR or GBP a day locally).
Suits: Small budgets, and marketers who have the hours to learn a new ad platform and want full control.
Watch for: The setup is where most time goes: the application, the pixel, the conversion events. Budget the hours, not only the media.
Source for the agency partners: OpenAI, new ways to buy ChatGPT ads. There is also a pilot to buy through Amazon DSP, see our Amazon guide.
Pricing
The 4 pricing models you will meet
How an agency is paid tells you what it is paid to do. Ad spend is always separate and goes to OpenAI.
| Model | How it works | What it rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed fee | One price for a defined job, for example building the account and running the first month. | Getting the job done on time. The agency earns nothing extra by spending more of your money. |
| Monthly retainer | A flat fee each month for management and reporting, often with a minimum term. | Keeping you as a client. Check the minimum term and notice period, they matter more than the headline price. |
| Percentage of spend | The agency takes a share of what you spend on ads each month. | Spending more. On a young channel where the right answer is often to spend less, the incentive points the wrong way. |
| Managed minimums | A minimum spend commitment to buy through a sales team, as in the early managed pilot. | Scale. Fine for brands that were going to spend that much anyway, a wall for everyone else. |
What the public prices say
Most agencies do not publish a price. These are the ones that do, checked on 19 October 2026:
- GPT Ads AI charges a fixed retainer from $5,000 a month, no percentage of spend, with a 90 day first term and then month to month. It recommends at least $10,000 a month in media. It puts the market at roughly $1,500 to $3,000 a month for small business packages and $3,000 to $10,000 for specialist management (gptadsai.com).
- OneMetrik reports that Uproer’s managed ChatGPT Ads start at $5,000 a month, and lists every other agency in its ranking as custom pricing (OneMetrik).
- AdVenture Media wrote in February 2026 that management typically costs 15 to 25% of media spend, against 10 to 15% for mature search, and that flat retainers start at $3,500 to $5,000 (AdVenture Media).
- OpenAI’s managed pilot started with a $50,000 minimum. OpenAI dropped it on 5 May 2026, when self-serve opened in the US (Digiday). If someone still quotes it, ask which product they mean.
Compare the whole first quarter
A monthly price hides the term. Add up the fee for the minimum term, plus the notice period, plus the media you will need for a readable test. That is the real number to compare.
Then check what you get back if the test says stop.
Side by side
The 4 options compared
| Option | Cost | Speed to launch | Your control | Who owns the account |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI's team or a holding group | Not published. Tied to a large media plan. | Depends on their onboarding, not on you. | Low. You approve a plan. | Depends on the contract. Ask. |
| Specialist agency | A fixed fee or retainer on top of media. Public examples run from about $1,500 to $10,000 a month. | Fast if they have done it before. Ask for a date in writing. | Medium. You set the goals, they run it. | Should be you. Get it in writing. |
| Generalist paid media agency | Often a percentage of spend, or added to your current retainer. | Depends on how much they have learned the platform. | Medium, inside your existing agency setup. | Usually you, if they set it up in your name. |
| Do it yourself | Only media, from $25 a day in the US. Plus your own hours. | As fast as you can learn it. | Full. | You. |
In every case, OpenAI has to approve the ad account first. That review is outside anyone’s control, agency or not.
The first call
8 questions to ask
Ask them all. The answers matter less than how fast they come.
- 01
Whose name is the ad account in, and do I keep it if we stop?
The account, the pixel and the history should be yours. If they leave with them, you start from zero.
- 02
How are you paid, and does your fee go up when my spend goes up?
Tells you whether the agency gains from spending more of your money.
- 03
What is the minimum term, and how much notice do I give to stop?
A low monthly fee with a long lock-in can cost more than a higher one you can stop next month.
- 04
Who runs my account day to day?
The person on the sales call is not always the person writing your ads.
- 05
What have you launched on ChatGPT Ads since it opened?
Ads started in January 2026. Nobody has years of experience. Ask for live accounts, not years.
- 06
How will you track conversions, and what will you send me each week?
Without the pixel or Conversions API set up, you only see clicks, and clicks alone will not tell you if it pays.
- 07
There are no keywords. How will you decide which conversations to show up in?
ChatGPT matches ads to the conversation. Listen for context hints, not keyword lists. In Europe, ask how they work without personalised ads.
- 08
What result would make you tell me to stop?
A good agency sets the test and the stop rule before launch. If they cannot name one, the test never ends.
Red flags
- “Years of ChatGPT Ads experience.” Ads in ChatGPT started on 16 January 2026.
- A promised cost per click or return on spend. Nobody controls the auction, and OpenAI publishes no benchmarks.
- “We will get you into the answer.” Ads sit below the answer. You cannot buy the answer itself.
- A keyword list. There is no keyword bidding on this platform.
- The account in their name. Or no clear answer on what you keep when you leave.
- Lookalike or retargeting plans for Europe. In the EEA and Switzerland, ads are not personalised and there are no custom audiences (OpenAI Help Center).
- A $50,000 minimum quoted as today’s rule. It was dropped in May 2026.
- A long lock-in with no stop rule. On a new channel, you need a way out after the first test.
Green flags
- They ask about your margins and your Google or Meta costs before quoting.
- They tell you the minimum media budget for a readable test, and it is not huge.
- They put the account, the pixel and the billing in your name.
- They say when the test ends and what result means stop.
Where we fit
Dialogue Ads, honestly
We are a specialist ChatGPT Ads agency, run by our founder, Jo-Rémi Saada. We work in English and French.
We charge $4,950 fixed for a 30 day Launch Sprint: the account, tracking, 3 campaigns and daily management, then a week 5 report with your real cost per click and cost per conversion. After that it is $4,000 a month, month to month, no contract. No percentage of spend. Our prices are published on the pricing page.
Two guarantees. Live in 14 days, or the sprint is free: the 14 days start when OpenAI approves your account. And if the week 5 report says stop, you pay half. You keep the account and everything in it either way.
When we are not the right choice
- Your whole test budget is a few hundred dollars. At $25 a day, doing it yourself makes more sense than paying our fee.
- You already have a holding group agency on retainer. Ask them first, it will fit your existing plan.
- You want one agency for Google, Meta and ChatGPT together. We only run ChatGPT Ads.
- You need a promised cost per sale. We do not promise one, and nobody honestly can.
Questions
Choosing an agency, FAQ
How much does a ChatGPT Ads agency cost?
Few agencies publish prices. The public ones we found run from about $1,500 a month for small business packages to $10,000 a month for specialist management, with custom pricing above that. Some charge 15 to 25% of ad spend instead. Ad spend is always on top and goes to OpenAI.
Do I need an agency to advertise on ChatGPT?
No. Self-serve Ads Manager is open in 63 countries, from $25 a day per campaign in the US or 15 EUR or GBP a day locally. An agency saves you the setup time and the learning curve. It does not unlock anything you cannot buy yourself.
Is a percentage of ad spend a bad way to pay an agency?
Not always, but on ChatGPT it rewards the wrong thing. The channel is young, and the right call after a test is often to spend less. A fixed fee or a flat retainer keeps the agency's pay separate from your budget.
Who should own the ChatGPT Ads account?
You. The account, the pixel and the billing should be in your company's name, with the agency added as a user. That way the data and the history stay with you if you change agency.
What is the best ChatGPT Ads agency?
There is no single answer, and be careful with rankings written by agencies that put themselves first. The best fit depends on your budget, how much control you want, and whether you want one agency for every channel. Use the 8 questions on this page to compare them.
Keep reading
ChatGPT Ads cost and the $25 minimum
The $25 daily floor, the 3 ways to pay, and where the $50,000 figure comes from.
Read the guideHow to advertise on ChatGPT
8 steps from account application to a live ad, in the order that matters.
Read the guideChatGPT Ads targeting: context hints
There is no keyword list. How to describe a conversation instead.
Read the guideAsk us the 8 questions
Book a call and use the list on this page. If we are not the right fit, we will say so.