ChatGPT ads reach Europe and self-service Ads Manager is now listed across the EU

Advertising has arrived

ChatGPT is no longer an ad-free product across Europe. On August 24, OpenAI expanded its advertising system to 31 European markets, following six months of testing in the United States. The company says ads only appear on Free and Go accounts. Plus, Pro and Enterprise remain ad-free.

Each placement sits apart from the answer and carries its own label. OpenAI says a brand cannot pay to alter ChatGPT's response, advertisers do not receive conversations and users can control personalization. Those promises matter because the ad is not sitting beside a page of links. It appears next to a conversation where people may explain what they want to buy and why.

This is no longer a tiny test either. OpenAI says tens of thousands of marketers have advertised in ChatGPT and now offers impression, click and conversion objectives, along with geographic targeting, custom audiences and measurement through OpenAI Pixel.

Ads Manager is now listed as available in EU markets

Updated September 5. OpenAI's availability table now lists Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the other EU countries it covers as available for self-service. That replaces the coming-soon status recorded when this article was published. This check establishes the listed availability, not the exact date it changed.

The billed legal entity must be established in a supported country. An advertiser's location therefore matters independently of the audience it wants to reach. Ads Manager allows campaign management without necessarily hiring an intermediary, subject to its account requirements and advertising policies.

What changes for ChatGPT users

Free and Go users can encounter ads while comparing products, planning trips or choosing software. Plus, Pro and Enterprise users should not. The meaningful test will not be whether a label exists, but whether that separation stays unmistakable as formats evolve and placements fit conversations more naturally.

Advertising and model capability are separate questions. The GPT-6 Astra launch changes model choices and pricing, not whether an advert forms part of the model's reasoning. Our guide to how ChatGPT works separates the model, context and interface.