Advertising in ChatGPT: Best Practices for Dutch Companies

Since August 24, 2026, Dutch ChatGPT users have been seeing advertisements below their answers. A week later, OpenAI also opened self-service: every Dutch company can now start a campaign via ads.openai.com. With this, ChatGPT has rapidly grown from a research project to an advertising channel, reaching an annualized revenue run rate of a billion dollars within 200 days according to market reporting by AI News (OpenAI, AI News).

The short answer

ChatGPT Ads are labeled advertisements that appear beneath a ChatGPT answer for users of the free plan and ChatGPT Go. In the Netherlands, the system selects ads based on the ongoing conversation, general location, and time of day, without using personal profiles. Those who want to succeed with advertising in ChatGPT write ads that align with real customer questions, ensure a landing page that completes the conversation, measure conversions themselves, and continue to invest in organic visibility in AI answers. After all, ads do not buy a placement within the answer itself.

In this article, you will read how the platform works, what differs in Europe compared to the US, and which best practices make a difference right now.

How do ChatGPT Ads work?

A ChatGPT ad is placed below the answer, carries a label, and is visually separated from what ChatGPT says. OpenAI promises that advertisers have no influence over the answers and do not gain access to conversations (OpenAI). So, you are buying attention next to the answer, never a recommendation inside it.

Who sees the ads?

Only logged-in adults with a free account or a ChatGPT Go subscription. Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise remain ad-free, and ads do not appear in temporary chats either (Notebookcheck). That might seem like a limitation, but in the Netherlands, only 13 percent of ChatGPT users pay for a subscription (Emerce/Telecompaper).

Targeting without keywords

If you are used to Google Ads, you will need to switch gears. There are no keywords and no demographic targeting. You steer using so-called context hints, up to 2,000 per ad group, and the system determines which conversation your ad fits best (Qwestyon).

When making this choice, ChatGPT weighs the intent of the conversation, your landing page, the title and text of your ad, your context hints, and your bid (PPC Land). Consequently, your landing page counts towards your reach—a major difference from classic search ads.

Formats and bidding models

Sources: OpenAI, October 5, 2026, Qwestyon.

Where you are not allowed to advertise

OpenAI keeps ads away from conversations about health, mental health, and politics, and does not show them to minors (EcomCrew). Gambling, alcohol, tobacco, erotica, and political ads are prohibited. Financial service providers, healthcare providers, and legal parties are assessed on a case-by-case basis (OpenAI ad policies).

ChatGPT Ads in the Netherlands: what is possible and what isn't (yet)?

Since August, the Netherlands has been part of the largest expansion to date: 31 European markets simultaneously, six months after the US launch (OpenAI). The audience is vast. According to the AI Monitor by Newcom, 8.6 million Dutch people use AI in their daily lives, and ChatGPT is the most important tool for 56 percent of them (Dutch IT Channel).

Still, Dutch advertisers are buying a stripped-down version of the American product. The GDPR and the Digital Services Act dictate what is allowed.

Sources: Notebookcheck, Digiday, Qwestyon, OpenAI.

Consent as the foundation

In Europe, OpenAI relies on consent as the legal basis for personalized ads, not legitimate interest (Digiday). Users who do not give consent will still see ads, but purely based on the current conversation. Therefore, count on a substantial part of your Dutch audience always being approached contextually.

Stricter supervision ahead

The European Commission has designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE) under the Digital Services Act. OpenAI must comply with the additional obligations by January 2027 at the latest (AI News). For advertisers, this means more transparency, for example regarding who paid for which ad. Targeting based on sensitive personal data and targeted advertising to minors was already prohibited under the DSA (EU Perspectives).

Eight best practices for Dutch advertisers

The best ChatGPT campaigns feel like a useful next step to the answer. This requires a different approach than search ads or social. These eight principles make the difference right now.

1. Think in customer questions, not in keywords

People don't type three separate words into ChatGPT; they explain their situation. "Which accounting software suits a BV with five employees that uses Exact a lot?" is a typical question. Gather real questions from your sales and customer service teams and translate those into context hints, in Dutch and in your customer's own words.

2. Write an ad that complements the answer

Your ad sits directly below an answer the user just read. Do not repeat that answer, but offer the logical next step: a calculation tool, a demo, a concrete price, or next-day delivery. Specificity beats superlatives, especially for Dutch consumers, who view AI outputs with suspicion anyway according to KPMG research (Searchlab).

3. Finish your landing page

The landing page is weighed in deciding whether your ad is shown at all. Ensure the page exactly answers the question you are advertising on, complete with prices, conditions, and a clear next step. A generic homepage is a waste of budget here.

4. Treat your product feed as a storefront

For webshops, product cards and carousels are the strongest format. ChatGPT matches products with a detailed question, so vague product titles simply won't be shown (Qwestyon). Update titles, prices, and reviews just as you would for Google Shopping. Shopify stores have been able to use the free ChatGPT Ads app since September 23, although it initially only supported English at launch.

5. Measure yourself, and measure strictly

Install the OpenAI Pixel and the Conversions API together, using shared event IDs to prevent duplicate counting. Keep Dutch cookie regulations in mind: you need visitor consent for a tracking pixel, so have your consent banner and privacy statement reviewed. Set the view-through window to zero if you are comparing ChatGPT to Google or Meta, as OpenAI also includes modeled conversions.

6. Start small and conversion-oriented

Start with CPC or oCPC and a fixed test budget. Only switch to oCPM once your account reliably registers conversions; otherwise, the algorithm will optimize for noise. Early results are promising, though they come from OpenAI's own measurement partners: WeightWatchers saw acquisition costs 15.3 percent lower than paid search (OpenAI).

7. Guard your brand voice

OpenAI offers an option that automatically rewrites your ad copy for each conversation and translates it into the user's language. Leave this off until you have seen what remains of your text. For regulated sectors, or brands with claims they must legally stand behind, copy you didn't write yourself is a real risk.

8. Arrange brand safety in advance

OpenAI already filters ads out of sensitive conversations. Additionally, since October, larger advertisers have been able to set Negative Phrases to exclude specific contexts, while DoubleVerify and IAS are testing independent controls (OpenAI). If you operate in financial services, healthcare, or legal advice, read the advertising policy first, as OpenAI decides these on a case-by-case basis.

Why GEO is becoming more important, especially now that there are ads

Those who advertise are placed below the answer. Those with organic visibility are included in it. Since ads do not influence the answers according to OpenAI, your ad can neatly appear beneath an answer that recommends your competitor. Generative engine optimization (GEO), optimizing your visibility in AI answers, therefore remains the foundation.

The beauty is that both disciplines run on the same raw material: the questions your customers ask. A few principles:

• Answer questions literally on your own site. A clear explanation with prices, conditions, and comparisons is what language models love to quote—and it doubles as a strong landing page for your ads.
• Make sure others write about you. ChatGPT relies on sources it trusts, such as industry media, review platforms, and comparison sites. Mentions there carry more weight than your own claims.
• Keep your business data consistent everywhere. Name, offerings, prices, and locations must be identical on your site, in Google Business Profile, and on external platforms.
• Allow OpenAI's crawlers. Blocking OpenAI's search crawler in robots.txt makes it difficult for ChatGPT to find up-to-date information about you.
• Measure your AI visibility separately. Use a GEO tool to track which questions mention your brand, and compare that with your advertising results.

The smartest route is a combination: GEO for credibility within the answer, and ads to be visible at the moment of decision for questions where you aren't winning organically yet.

Step-by-step plan: how to start this month

1. Open an account at ads.openai.com and verify your company. It's free and takes time, so do it even if you don't want to spend money yet.
2. Check the advertising policy if you operate in a regulated sector or a prohibited category like alcohol.
3. Choose your public brand name carefully. Changing it later will pause your ads until OpenAI approves it (Qwestyon).
4. Collect twenty to fifty real customer questions from sales and customer service and convert them into context hints.
5. Build or improve a landing page per question cluster that finishes the answer.
6. Install Pixel and Conversions API within your existing consent solution and check your Event Quality Score in Ads Manager.
7. Start with CPC or oCPC and a fixed budget for six to eight weeks.
8. Compare fairly: set the view-through window to zero and place the results alongside GA4 and your CRM.
9. Compare the results with your GEO measurements and shift budget toward the questions where you are not yet visible organically.

Frequently asked questions about ChatGPT Ads

Are ChatGPT Ads available in the Netherlands?

Yes. Dutch users have been seeing ads since August 24, 2026, and since August 31, Dutch companies have been able to launch campaigns themselves via Ads Manager at ads.openai.com.

How much does advertising in ChatGPT cost?

Pricing is determined via an auction. There is no longer a minimum spend, just a minimum daily budget per currency. In the US, click prices were around 3 to 5 dollars according to market participants, and CPM dropped from approximately 60 to 25 dollars (Qwestyon). Dutch figures are not yet public.

Do ads influence ChatGPT's answers?

No, according to OpenAI. Ads are labeled beneath the answer and run on separate systems. If you want to be mentioned in the answer itself, you need to invest in GEO.

Who sees ChatGPT ads?

Logged-in adults with a free account or ChatGPT Go. Paying users of Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise do not see advertisements.

Can I use my customer database for targeting?

Not in the Netherlands. Custom audiences are not available in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Ads are selected here based on the conversation, general location, and time.

Can I manage ChatGPT Ads from Shopify or HubSpot?

Shopify stores in countries where ChatGPT Ads are active can use the free app as of September 23, 2026. OpenAI has not yet specified countries for the HubSpot integration.

What is the difference between ChatGPT Ads and GEO?

With ChatGPT Ads, you pay for a labeled spot below the answer. With GEO, you earn a spot inside the answer because ChatGPT mentions your brand as a relevant source or provider. The two reinforce each other.

Finally: step in early, measure sharply

ChatGPT Ads are six weeks old in the Netherlands. The auction is young, competition is still limited, and the platform changes almost every two weeks. This makes now the time to test, with a fixed budget, strict measurement, and a clear question: does this channel help customers at the moment they are making a choice?

Companies that learn now how their customers ask AI questions have an advantage that extends beyond advertising. The same insights improve your website, your customer service, and your visibility in AI answers.

Want to know what AI search behavior means for your marketing and organization? ai.nl helps companies with AI strategy, workshops, and keynotes. Contact us to get acquainted.

Sources

• OpenAI, ChatGPT Ads expands across Europe, August 18, 2026, updated August 31, 2026
• OpenAI, Building advertising for the way people use AI, October 5, 2026
• OpenAI, Advertising policies
• Qwestyon, ChatGPT Ads Updates (October 2026)
• Digiday, ChatGPT ads land in U.K. as OpenAI outlines EU privacy rules
• Notebookcheck, ChatGPT ads hit Europe on Monday, but not the personalized kind
• PPC Land, ChatGPT ads reach Europe
• EcomCrew, ChatGPT Ads launch in 31 European markets
• AI News, ChatGPT Ads passes $1B run rate in 200 days
• EU Perspectives, ChatGPT ads enter Europe amid EU scrutiny
• Dutch IT Channel, Newcom AI-Monitor July 2026
• Emerce, ChatGPT populairste AI-tool onder Nederlandse consumenten
• Searchlab, Vertrouwen in AI-antwoorden statistieken 2026