If you ask ChatGPT how much your three-bed house in Kent is worth, it comes back with a range, a few caveats and a prompt to keep the conversation going. Since June 2026, it also shows ads beneath that answer, because OpenAI opened ChatGPT to UK advertisers that month.
We ran a test on the platform in September 2026 for a national estate and letting agency client, and set the results against the same agency’s Google Search campaigns. The first month shows ChatGPT ads are worth running for estate agents, as long as their Google Search valuation campaigns are already fully funded.
Key takeaways
- ChatGPT ads are labelled placements beneath ChatGPT’s answers, open to UK advertisers since June 2026, and a 30-day test at the £15 minimum daily budget is budgeted at £450.
- Homeowners asking ChatGPT what their property is worth are the same audience estate agents pay Google to reach, and property advertisers were absent from the leading UK advertiser categories in July 2026.
- In our first estate agency test, ChatGPT clicks cost less than Google Search clicks and each valuation cost more, so the channel belongs alongside fully funded Google valuation campaigns.
- If your Google Search valuation campaigns lose impression share to budget, the money for a ChatGPT test will buy more valuations in Google.
- A strong setup gives each need its own ad group, uses short action-led headlines, sends clicks to valuation-specific landing pages and has conversion tracking live before launch.
- OpenAI’s policies rule out ads for individual property listings and mortgage promotion, and UK advertisers need PECR consent before the pixel records a conversion.
What are ChatGPT ads?
ChatGPT ads are sponsored placements that appear beneath ChatGPT’s answer when a business is relevant to the conversation. They are labelled, they sit apart from the answer, and OpenAI has committed that ads do not influence what ChatGPT says (OpenAI, January 2026).
Only logged-in adults on the Free and Go tiers see them, so Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise users get an ad-free ChatGPT. OpenAI also withholds ads from accounts it believes belong to under-18s and keeps them away from conversations about health, mental health and politics (OpenAI, January 2026).
The account structure mirrors Google Ads. Campaigns hold the budget and objective, ad groups hold the targeting, and ads hold the creative. Targeting runs on context hints, which are short descriptions of the conversations where your ad belongs and act as broad thematic signals with no exact-match rules (OpenAI Help Centre, October 2026). You buy on one of three objectives: views, charged per thousand impressions; clicks, charged per click; or conversions, where the system optimises towards a conversion event and still charges per click or impression (OpenAI’s campaign set-up guide, October 2026).
Why have ChatGPT ads grown so quickly?
ChatGPT ads grew quickly because OpenAI lowered the barrier to entry month by month. The US pilot launched on 9 February 2026 on impression-only pricing at $60 per thousand, with minimum commitments reported at $250,000 (PPC Land, May 2026). By 5 May, US advertisers could open their own accounts, bid per click and launch with no minimum spend (PPC Land, May 2026).
The UK soon followed, ads went live here on 6 June 2026, the first European market, and UK businesses gained self-serve access on 22 June (PPC Land, June 2026). ChatGPT ads passed a $1 billion annualised revenue run rate in under 200 days, on a platform that serves more than 1 billion weekly users (OpenAI, August 2026).
More than half of UK adults (54%) now use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini, rising to 79% of 16 to 24-year-olds (Ofcom’s research on UK adults’ media use, April 2026). In September 2026, 45.7% of UK users eligible for ads saw at least one, the highest share of any market measured (Similarweb and Graphite’s ChatGPT ad click-rate data, September 2026). The same shift is reshaping Google’s results pages, which we cover in our guide to how AI search is changing results.
In one July week, 1,342 advertisers were observed running ChatGPT ads in the UK, led by telecoms and travel brands, with no property advertisers among the leading categories (Adthena, July 2026). For an estate agency, that means less competition for valuation-led conversations.
Why should estate agents run ChatGPT ads?
Estate agents should run ChatGPT ads because the platform reaches homeowners at the moment they ask what their property is worth, and our September 2026 test for a national estate agency turned that moment into 11 valuation requests. The test ran alongside the same agency’s Google Search valuation campaigns, which gave us a direct benchmark.
What did our test look like?
Our client is a long-established UK estate and letting agency with a national branch network. We’ve worked with them for five years, so we had a mature Google Search account to compare against.
We ran the test for the full calendar month of September 2026 on a £15 daily budget, the platform minimum, with a £4.00 maximum cost per click. We split it into two ad groups, one targeting people asking about property values, rental yields and the current market, and the other promoting the valuation service more broadly. We counted a conversion as either an instant valuation or an expert valuation request, the same definition we use in Google Ads.
What did it deliver?
Over September 2026, £457.39 of spend produced 11 valuation requests from 158 clicks. Every figure below covers 1 to 30 September 2026.
| Metric | ChatGPT ads, September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Spend | £457.39 |
| Impressions | 30,568 |
| Clicks | 158 |
| Valuation requests | 11 |
| Click-through rate | 0.52% |
| Cost per click | £2.89 |
| Cost per thousand impressions | £14.96 |
| Cost per valuation | £41.58 |
The two ad groups finished £2.27 apart on cost per valuation. The values and market group produced 6 valuations at £40.55 each, and the broader valuation group produced 5 at £42.82. At 11 conversions, that gap is too small to read anything into, so both stay live while the data builds.
At ad level, our “Home Valuation In 60 Seconds” ad converted 13.3% of its clicks (4 from 30), while “How much is my property worth?” converted 3.6% (2 from 56). The action-led headline drew fewer clicks and converted a larger share of them.
What does this tell estate agents?
Our client paid £2.89 per click on ChatGPT in September, against £3.73 on their Google Search valuation campaigns over the same month, and 6.96% of those ChatGPT clicks became valuation requests. Our context hints targeted conversations about property values and valuations, which is the intent estate agents pay Google for.
Our two lead ads were 9.7 percentage points apart on conversion rate, and the two ad groups finished £2.27 apart on cost per valuation. Six conversions across two ads is a thin base, so both ads stay live, but the early signal favours action-led headlines that promise a quick valuation.
When should estate agents hold off?
Estate agents should hold off on ChatGPT ads if their Google Search valuation campaigns aren’t fully funded, which shows up in Google Ads as search impression share lost to budget. In the same month as our test, the same agency’s Google Search valuation campaigns delivered each valuation for £15.05 less. The table compares both channels for the same client, the same month and the same conversion definition of instant and expert valuations.
| September 2026 | ChatGPT ads | Google Search valuation campaigns |
|---|---|---|
| Spend | £457.39 | £4,616 |
| Valuation requests | 11 | 174 |
| Cost per valuation | £41.58 | £26.53 |
| Cost per click | £2.89 | £3.73 |
| Click-through rate | 0.52% | 9.11% |
| Clicks that became valuations | 6.96% | 14.08% |
Google ran on 10.1 times the budget, across the account’s valuation campaigns, with five years of conversion history and bid optimisation behind it, while ChatGPT had one month, two ad groups and the platform’s minimum spend. Those advantages sit on Google’s side of the table, so the £15.05 gap partly reflects account maturity.
The UK minimum daily budget is £15, which OpenAI treats as a seven-day average, so a single day spends up to twice that figure (OpenAI Help Centre, October 2026). A month-long test therefore takes £450 out of another channel. If your Google Search valuation campaigns lose impression share to budget, that £450 belongs there first, alongside the organic valuation traffic our SEO for estate agents work builds over time.
Click-through rates on ChatGPT sit below Google Search. In the early pilot, one advertiser recorded a 0.91% click-through rate against a 6.4% Google Search benchmark in its sector (Campaign, March 2026), and our client’s 0.52% sat below the UK average of 0.74% (Similarweb and Graphite, September 2026).
Delivery and reporting were also slow to settle in the pilot. An enterprise advertiser had spent 3% of a $250,000 budget weeks into the pilot, and early advertisers reported a fault that blocked visibility into their own data (Campaign, March 2026).
At 11 conversions in a month, our own sample is small enough that a single extra valuation would have moved our client’s cost per valuation from £41.58 to £38.12. That sensitivity is why we’re keeping the test running before making any allocation decisions.
How should estate agents set up ChatGPT ads?
1. Open the account in the agency’s name
Create the Ads Manager account in your own business name, then invite your marketing agency as a user (Search Engine Land, 2026). OpenAI verifies each account before ads run, and some new self-serve accounts start limited to their home country until identity verification is approved and a spend threshold is met (OpenAI Help Centre, October 2026).
2. Build one ad group per need
Give sales valuations, lettings valuations and general market questions their own ad groups, each with its own landing page, because each ad group works best focused on a single theme or intent (OpenAI Help Centre, October 2026). Context hints work best as descriptive phrases that cover the service you offer, the need it meets and the situation where it’s relevant. “Free online valuation for homeowners thinking of selling in Kent” covers all three in one hint. We cover structure and testing in more detail in our guide on how to test context hints properly.
3. Write action-led ads
OpenAI’s guidance puts headlines at 16 characters and descriptions at 32 (PPC Land, May 2026), and both of our lead ads ran longer, at 28 and 30 characters. Lead with the action and the speed of the valuation, as the action-led “Home Valuation In 60 Seconds” converted a larger share of its clicks than the question-led alternative in our test.
4. Set bids and location
Start on the clicks objective with a maximum cost per click, so you only pay when someone reaches your site. OpenAI’s suggested starting bid in the US was $3 to $5 (PPC Land, May 2026), and our £4.00 cap delivered an average of £2.89. Match location targeting to your branch network, using the region, city and postcode targeting OpenAI offers where available by country (OpenAI Help Centre, October 2026).
5. Track valuations before you launch
Install OpenAI’s pixel or Conversions API, with PECR consent in place first, and tag every ad with UTMs, so GA4 shows ChatGPT valuations alongside Google’s. Without that, you’ll be judging the channel on click-through rate alone, and at 0.52% that would have written off a test that delivered 11 valuations.
What should estate agents avoid with ChatGPT ads?
Advertising individual listings. OpenAI prohibits ads for individual property sales or rentals, and ads can link to listing platforms as long as neither the ad nor the landing page references a specific listing (OpenAI’s ad policies, September 2026). Build campaigns around valuations, lettings management and local expertise.
Promoting mortgage services. Financial services ads are generally prohibited outside the US, so agencies with an in-house mortgage arm need to keep it out of ChatGPT campaigns (OpenAI ad policies, September 2026). Keep mortgage messaging off the landing pages too, since OpenAI reviews the destination as well as the ad.
Switching on tracking without consent. OpenAI’s pixel and Conversions API trigger PECR consent requirements, so your cookie banner and privacy notice need updating before launch (Browne Jacobson, September 2026).
Relying on the “Sponsored” label. CAP rules warn against relying on “Sponsored” as an ad label, and the advertiser stays responsible for compliance (Browne Jacobson, September 2026). Check ad copy against CAP guidance before launch.
Sending clicks to the homepage. OpenAI uses landing page content to decide where ads appear (PPC Land, May 2026), so a generic homepage weakens targeting as well as conversion. Send each ad group to the valuation page it promises.
Calling it after a fortnight. Our month at the minimum budget produced 158 clicks and 11 valuations, enough for an early headline signal, and we’re keeping the test running before making any allocation decisions. Plan for at least three months of data before moving budget.
Expecting ads to win the answer. OpenAI keeps sponsored placements separate from its answers, so paying for an ad does not change whether ChatGPT recommends your agency (OpenAI, January 2026). Earning that recommendation is the job of AI search optimisation, and it’s worth running alongside any paid test.
Frequently asked questions
How do you advertise on ChatGPT?
You advertise on ChatGPT by creating an account in OpenAI’s Ads Manager, which opened to UK businesses on 22 June 2026. Once OpenAI verifies the account, you set a campaign objective and budget, build ad groups with context hints, and upload ads with a headline, description, image and landing page. Ads go live after passing OpenAI’s policy review.
Does ChatGPT have ads?
Yes, ChatGPT has shown ads to UK users since 6 June 2026. They appear beneath ChatGPT’s answers for logged-in adults on the Free and Go tiers, are labelled as sponsored, and do not appear for Plus, Pro, Business or Enterprise subscribers. OpenAI states that ads do not influence ChatGPT’s answers.
How much do ChatGPT ads cost?
ChatGPT ads have a UK minimum daily budget of £15, and you set the maximum you pay per click or per thousand impressions. In our September 2026 estate agency test, a £4.00 maximum bid produced an average cost per click of £2.89, impressions cost £14.96 per thousand, and each valuation request cost £41.58.
Is there a minimum spend for ChatGPT ads?
Yes, the UK minimum daily budget for ChatGPT ads is £15, with no minimum spend commitment. OpenAI treats the daily budget as a seven-day average, so a single day spends up to £30, and a 30-day test at the minimum is budgeted at £450. Advertisers in the February 2026 US pilot faced reported minimum commitments of $250,000.
How do ChatGPT ads work?
ChatGPT ads work by matching sponsored placements to the topic of a user’s conversation. Advertisers write context hints describing when their ad is relevant, and OpenAI combines these with the ad copy and landing page content to decide where it appears. The ad then shows beneath ChatGPT’s answer, separate from the answer itself.
Are ChatGPT ads worth it for estate agents?
ChatGPT ads are worth testing for estate agents whose Google Search valuation campaigns are already fully funded. In our September 2026 test for a national estate agency, £457.39 produced 11 valuation requests at £41.58 each, with clicks costing £2.89 against £3.73 on Google Search. Google still delivered valuations more cheaply, at £26.53, on 10.1 times the budget.
Can estate agents advertise property listings on ChatGPT?
No, OpenAI’s ad policies prohibit ads for individual property sales or rentals. Estate agents can still advertise valuation services, lettings management and local expertise, and ads may link to listing platforms as long as neither the ad nor the landing page references a specific property. Financial services ads, including mortgages, are generally prohibited outside the US.
So, should your agency run ChatGPT ads?
Yes, if your Google Search valuation campaigns are already fully funded. Our client’s first month cost £457.39, produced 11 valuations and delivered cheaper clicks than Google, which justifies a funded, tracked test with action-led creative and at least three months of data.
If your Google campaigns lose impression share to budget, keep the money in Google Search for now. At £26.53 per valuation against £41.58, the established channel still delivers more valuations per pound, and ChatGPT’s measurement and targeting are developing month by month.
Either way, the decision comes down to where your next pound of paid media earns the most valuations. If you’d like us to look at that for your agency, explore our paid media lead gen solutions.
