What happened. On 31 August OpenAI announced that ChatGPT ads had reached a $1 billion annualised run rate less than 200 days after launch. The ads are sold in more than 40 countries, with more than 50 technology and measurement partners. The same day, the self-serve Ads Manager opened in India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. In Europe ads could previously be bought only through selected agencies; now they are open directly to advertisers of any size. For comparison: Google’s search revenue was $63.3 billion in the second quarter, roughly $695 million a day. OpenAI’s whole year of ads equals what Google makes from search in 1.4 days.
The bigger picture. The news is not the number but how the door opens. The first sales channel for this new inventory is being built without the agency layer. Google and Meta started the same way. Both times agencies survived, not by selling access but by selling the judgement on top of it. Those who could not became resellers. Amazon starting to sell ChatGPT ads ten days later points the same way: the money coming through this door will be carried by the big platforms.
For executives: Test ChatGPT ads now with a small budget. From your agency, ask not for “access” but for which decision in this new channel it makes better than you would.