ChatGPT ads were just announced on January 16, 2026. Testing begins "in the coming weeks." There is no self-serve platform yet. No agency is managing ChatGPT ads because you can't buy them yet.
But ads inside AI chatbots? That's already happening — just not in ChatGPT.
Agencies Already Running Paid Ads in AI Chatbots
These agencies are actively placing paid ads inside AI platforms like Perplexity, Copilot, and AI chatbot networks:
Outpace SEO
outpaceseo.com — USA (Remote/Global)
Services: Develops paid ad strategies for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, and Grok. Includes intent research, AI-specific creatives, bidding strategies, A/B testing, and ROI tracking. Currently managing placements in Perplexity and Copilot while preparing brands for ChatGPT ads.
- •Partners with Microsoft Advertising for Copilot campaigns
- •Focus on contextual ads embedded in AI responses
- •Target industries: SaaS, e-commerce, fintech
PMG
pmg.com — Dallas, USA (Global offices)
Services: Manages ad campaigns in Perplexity's closed beta, including sponsored follow-up questions. Extends to Copilot via Microsoft Ads. Offers creative optimization, targeting based on conversational intent, and performance analytics.
- •Early participant in Perplexity ads beta
- •Integrates AI ads with broader programmatic strategies
Universal McCann (UM)
umww.com — Global (Part of IPG Mediabrands)
Services: Handles ad placements in Perplexity's beta program, focusing on sponsored questions and contextual integrations. Provides end-to-end media planning, buying, and optimization for AI chat environments.
- •Collaborates with brands like Indeed for Perplexity ads
- •Preparing clients for ChatGPT ad launches
NoGood
nogood.io — New York, USA (offices in Miami, LA)
Services: Strategizes for ads in AI chatbots like Perplexity and Copilot, including beta testing and optimization for conversational formats. Combines with AEO for hybrid organic-paid visibility.
- •Authors in-depth guides on AI ads
- •Optimizes for Microsoft Ads integration in Copilot
- •Focus on high-ROI testing with improved engagement
Liquid Advertising
Liquid Advertising is one of the few agencies confirmed to be running actual ad campaigns inside AI chatbots via Kontext.
Results: 70% higher ROAS than target, 1.5x better click-to-convert than other platforms.
This is one of the first documented cases of a performance marketing agency executing AI chatbot campaigns at scale.
AI Chatbot Ad Networks — The Infrastructure
These platforms power the ads that agencies place inside AI chatbots:
Kontext — The Market Leader
kontext.so
Funding: $10M seed (April 2025) — M13, Torch Capital, Credo Ventures
Founders: Andrej Kiska (ex-Credo Ventures), Jan Matas (Deepnote co-founder)
Team: 13 people
Advertisers: Amazon, Uber, Canva, Netease, Nimblebit
Publishers: DeepAI, Luzia (65M users), Liner, Pixel Chat, Spicy Chat, Media Search
How It Works:
Kontext uses LLMs to analyze user conversations in real-time and generate contextually relevant ads. Ads appear as branded links beneath chatbot responses. No behavioral tracking — pure contextual targeting based on what the user is discussing in that specific session.
Performance Data:
- •3-5% CTR (vs ~0.1% for display ads)
- •70% higher ROAS than client benchmarks
- •1.5x better click-to-convert than other platforms
- •$3 CPM starting price
- •Publishers see 66% revenue increase ($0.24 → $0.40 ARPU)
Case Study:
Nimblebit (mobile game developer) ran a campaign for Tiny Tower: 1.58% CTR, under $2 CPI, outperformed Facebook by 24% at $2.50 CPM vs Facebook's $7.35.
Access:
- •Direct: kontext.so/advertisers
- •Programmatic: Via PubMatic (as of Dec 2025 partnership)
Thrad — Fortune 500 Brands
thrad.ai
Founder/CEO: Andrea F. Tortella
Status: Millions of daily ads, Fortune 500 clients
How It Works:
Thrad enables chatbots to act as "brand ambassadors" — ads are generated to match the exact tone and style of the conversation. Native ads embedded directly in conversational flows across fitness, health, travel, cooking, dating, finance, gaming, productivity, and shopping verticals.
Recent Launches:
- •Jan 14, 2026: "Thrad for Retailers" — helps retailers monetize AI assistants, turning customer service chatbots into revenue engines
- •Dec 2025: $500K Monetization Fund — cash grants + tech for AI apps to integrate ads
"The legacy search bar is officially a relic of the past. Consumers today want conversational environments where they can explore and 'vibe buy' alongside their favourite brands." — Andrea F. Tortella
Access: thrad.ai or platform.thrads.ai
Koah Labs — "AdSense for GenAI"
koahlabs.com
Funding: $5M seed (Sep 2025) — Forerunner, South Park Commons, Andrew Karam (AppLovin co-founder)
Founder/CEO: Nic Baird
Advertisers: UpWork, Skillshare, General Medicine
Publishers: Luzia, Heal (parenting app), Liner (student research), DeepAI
Performance Data:
- •7.5% CTR (4-5x better than AdMob/AppLovin)
- •Early partners earn $10,000+ in first 30 days
- •80M+ user reach through publisher network
Focus:
Koah targets the "long tail" of AI apps built on top of large models — especially apps with users outside the US where subscriptions are hard to sell. They're not going after ChatGPT; they're capturing everything else.
"Once these things get outside San Francisco, there's only one way to make them profitable on a global scale. It's happened time and time again." — Nic Baird, CEO
Access: koahlabs.com — most publishers go live in under a day
What About ChatGPT?
OpenAI announced ChatGPT ads on January 16, 2026. Here's what we know:
- •Testing begins "in coming weeks" — US only, adults only
- •Ads appear on Free and Go ($8/mo) tiers
- •Plus ($20), Pro ($200), Business, Enterprise remain ad-free
- •Format: "Sponsored Recommendations" at bottom of responses
- •No self-serve platform yet
- •Expected timeline: Q1-Q2 2026 beta, Q4 2026 sidebar ads, 2027 self-serve
Initial advertisers confirmed: Walmart, Sephora
OpenAI is projecting $1B in "free user monetization" revenue in 2026, growing to $25B by 2029. They hired Fidji Simo (ex-Meta/Instacart) to run applications. This is happening.
GEO/AEO Agencies — Organic AI Visibility
On the organic side (getting cited by AI without paying for ads), these agencies specialize in AI search optimization:
- •First Page Sage (firstpagesage.com) — Pioneered GEO in 2023, $8-12K/mo, clients include Salesforce, Logitech, Verizon
- •Rock The Rankings (rocktherankings.com) — B2B SaaS focus, 62% AI visibility in 72 hours for Churn Buster
- •Growth Engines (growth-engines.com) — ChatGPT ads readiness, entity optimization, GEO
- •Tenacious AI Marketing (tenaciousmarketing.co.uk) — UK-based, Dean Whitby founder, award-winning AEO/GEO
- •Ten Speed (tenspeed.io) — 70% AI citation increase in 6 months
- •Animalz (animalz.co) — B2B SaaS content + AEO audits
- •Graphite (graphite.io) — MasterClass, Notion, Calm, Webflow clients, built own AEO platform
The Bottom Line
Nobody is managing ChatGPT ads yet because they don't exist yet. But:
- Agencies like Outpace SEO, PMG, Universal McCann, and NoGood are already running ads in Perplexity and Copilot
- Liquid Advertising achieved 70% ROAS lift via Kontext's AI chatbot network
- Ad networks Kontext, Thrad, and Koah reach 100M+ users across thousands of AI apps
- ChatGPT ads launch in weeks/months — first movers will have advantage
The agency that builds AI chatbot ad expertise NOW will be positioned to capture ChatGPT ad budgets when OpenAI opens the floodgates.
