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The next place your customer discovers your brand may not be Google or Instagram. It could be a conversation with ChatGPT.
OpenAI began rolling out ChatGPT Ads to users in India on 27 August 2026, and self-serve Ads Manager access is now available to Indian advertisers. That means businesses can start creating and managing their own ChatGPT advertising campaigns.
The opportunity is already significant. ChatGPT has more than $ 1 billion weekly active users globally, while India has more than 100 million weekly active users. OpenAI also says ChatGPT Ads have crossed a $ 1 billion annualised revenue run rate, with tens of thousands of advertisers already using the platform.
That makes ChatGPT Ads more than another new placement to test. People are using ChatGPT to research products, compare services, evaluate options, and decide what to do next. For marketers, that means there is a new opportunity to reach potential customers while they are actively thinking through a purchase.
But ChatGPT Ads do not work like Google or Meta. There is no traditional keyword list to copy across, and simply moving an existing search campaign to ChatGPT will not be enough.
Here is how to approach your first campaign.
ChatGPT Ads appear separately from ChatGPT’s answers and are clearly identified as sponsored content. Most importantly, paying for an ad does not mean paying to influence what ChatGPT says. OpenAI keeps advertising separate from its answers.
The difference becomes clear when you consider the type of conversation users have. Someone might ask, “Which 2BHK should I buy in Pune under ₹80 lakh?” Another user might compare MBA programmes, CRM platforms, cars, or financial products.
These are not simple searches. They are conversations around a decision. That is what makes the platform particularly interesting for businesses with longer consideration cycles.
Start by accessing OpenAI Ads Manager and completing the advertiser onboarding process. India is now included among the markets with self-service Ads Manager access.
Keep your registered business details, billing information, website, logo, and landing page ready before you begin.
Your landing page should also match what you are advertising. If the ad promotes a residential project, take users to that project’s page. If it promotes a course or software product, send them directly to the relevant page rather than making them search your website for it.
Attribution should not be an afterthought. Decide what a valuable conversion means before the campaign goes live. It could be a purchase, enquiry, phone call, demo request, brochure download, or qualified lead.
OpenAI supports measurement through tools such as the OpenAI Pixel and Conversions API, along with other measurement capabilities.
Add UTM parameters to your landing-page URLs as well. This makes it easier to identify ChatGPT traffic in GA4 and understand what happens after the click.
For businesses such as real estate and B2B, remember that the final conversion may happen days or weeks after the initial interaction. Looking only at last-click data can undervalue the channel.
ChatGPT Ads uses a campaign structure that will feel familiar to performance marketers, with campaigns, ad groups, and ads.
Define your objective, budget, dates, and targeting before launching. Current buying options include CPM and CPC approaches, with conversion-focused optimisation available for eligible campaigns.
For your first campaign, start with a controlled budget. Your initial objective should be learning which audiences, contexts, and messages generate meaningful results.
This is where ChatGPT Ads differ most from traditional search advertising.
Instead of only targeting “2BHK Pune”, think about the conversation behind that search. You might want to reach someone comparing 2BHK homes in Pune based on budget, connectivity, location, and proximity to work.
The same principle applies to education, finance, software, and other categories. Think about what your customer is trying to solve, what alternatives they are considering, and what information they need before making a decision.
Your context hints should sound like real customer situations, not a list copied from a keyword planner.
The creative space is limited, so avoid vague claims such as “India’s leading solution” or “world-class quality”. Use the space to communicate something useful.
Highlight a specific location, price, product, benefit, offer, or next step. Create several variations and use campaign data to identify which messages connect with the right contexts.
Once the campaign is approved, look beyond impressions. Track clicks, CPC, conversion rate, cost per conversion, and lead quality.
ChatGPT Ads is still developing, so there are no universal benchmarks that can tell every advertiser what a good campaign should look like. Your first campaign should therefore be treated as a learning phase.
Identify the contexts that generate quality conversions, improve the messages that underperform, and gradually scale the combinations that work.
The format is particularly suited to businesses where customers research before buying. Real estate, education, financial services, healthcare, B2B software, automotive, travel, and other high-consideration categories are worth testing.
ChatGPT Ads should not replace Google or Meta. Instead, they can add another layer to your acquisition strategy by reaching customers during research and decision-making.
New advertising platforms come with limited benchmarks, which makes strategy and measurement even more important.
Digital Tokri has been running performance campaigns from Pune for nine years, across more than 6,000 campaigns and 300+ clients. The team brings experience across media buying, creative, tracking, and landing-page optimisation.
Its experience with real estate brands including Nirman, Namrata Group, and Vasupujya is particularly relevant for businesses with long consideration journeys.
If you are looking for a ChatGPT Ads agency in Pune, Digital Tokri can help you plan the campaign, develop context signals, create ads, set up measurement, and optimize performance.
ChatGPT Ads have now entered the Indian market, and businesses have an opportunity to start learning while the channel is still new.
Want to know if your business is ready for ChatGPT Ads?
Call +91 808 083 6251 or visit digitaltokri.com for a free ChatGPT Ads readiness check.
Start with the right strategy, measure what matters, and build your advantage before the channel becomes crowded.
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