The Largest Expansion of OpenAI's Ad Business

OpenAI announced on August 19, 2026 that ChatGPT ads will reach 31 European markets starting Monday, August 24, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria. According to the company's official blog and Search Engine Land, this is the largest geographic expansion yet for ChatGPT's advertising business since testing began in the United States in February 2026.

Who Sees Ads and How Targeting Works

Ads will appear only for Free and Go plan users, while Plus, Pro and Enterprise subscribers remain ad-free. According to OpenAI, ads are clearly labeled and kept separate from the model's generated responses, with targeting based on the topic of the ongoing conversation, approximate location, device type, time of day and language, without advertisers gaining access to the content of user conversations.

Access Still Limited, Self-Service Coming Late Summer

For now, access to the ad tool remains limited to OpenAI's own sales team, agency partners and technology partners, with no direct opening for any advertiser. According to Adweek, self-service access through the Ads Manager platform, with CPM and CPC bidding, conversion optimization, geo-targeting and custom audiences, is expected only by the end of the European summer of 2026.

Ad Revenue Growing More Than 25 Percent in a Month

OpenAI said advertising revenue has grown more than 25 percent since the start of August 2026, a sign that the ad-based business model inside ChatGPT is gaining real traction with advertisers, even while available in only a handful of markets so far. Before the European expansion, the program had already grown to eight additional markets beyond the United States.

Why It Matters for Brazilian Agencies and SMBs

Brazil is not yet among the 31 announced markets, but OpenAI's pace of expansion, from the United States straight to Europe in six months, suggests ChatGPT ads reaching the Brazilian market may not be far off. Digital marketing agencies that today concentrate spend on Google Ads and Meta Ads should start mapping how conversation-based targeting would work for their clients, since a new advertising channel inside an app used by hundreds of millions of people tends to open room, even if initially limited to a few partners, for whoever learns the format ahead of the competition.