Best Buy, Expedia and Enterprise test OpenAI’s early ad model

As ChatGPT edges further into the advertising business, some familiar brand names are already in the mix.

Best Buy, Expedia, Enterprise Mobility, Qualcomm, and The Knot Worldwide are among the first companies spotted running ads inside ChatGPT responses.

This article explores how OpenAI is rolling out ads inside its flagship chatbot, why the company is taking a conservative approach, and what this means for marketers evaluating AI-driven media channels.

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Best Buy, Expedia and Enterprise test OpenAI’s early ad model

What happened with ads inside ChatGPT

According to reporting by ADWEEK, ads from brands including Expedia, Qualcomm, Best Buy, Enterprise Mobility, and The Knot Worldwide have begun appearing inside ChatGPT responses.

A spokesperson for OpenAI confirmed the early tests. Best Buy and Enterprise Mobility independently confirmed their participation, while Expedia and Qualcomm did not respond to requests for comment.

OpenAI’s Ads and Monetization Lead, Asad Awan, said in a statement that ads are intended to support broad access to AI while remaining separate, clearly distinct, relevant, and useful. The company is working closely with a small group of partners to test new ad experiences while maintaining user trust.

OpenAI began rolling out ads to free and Go users on February 9 as part of an effort to diversify revenue beyond subscriptions. Holding companies including Dentsu, Omnicom, and WPP are reportedly involved in testing placements, bringing brands such as Adobe, Audemars Piguet, Audible, Ford, Mazda, and Mrs. Meyer’s into early experiments.

The company has previously indicated that advertisers would need to commit at least US$200,000 to participate in the early ad test.

How OpenAI is positioning its early ad business

The early signals suggest restraint over scale.

Search intelligence platform Adthena analyzed more than 500 prompts on ChatGPT and found ads appeared in roughly 0.8% of responses. The ads observed were from Expedia, Qualcomm, Best Buy, and Enterprise Mobility.

That low incidence rate points to tightly controlled inventory and curated placements. Rather than flooding responses with sponsored content, OpenAI appears to be limiting exposure while it fine-tunes format, targeting, and user experience.

For marketers, this indicates that ChatGPT ads are not yet a performance channel at scale. Instead, they resemble a controlled beta environment with enterprise-level buy-ins and high entry costs.

The scarcity may also be strategic positioning. By limiting access to a curated mix of major brands and agency partners, OpenAI can shape advertiser expectations and protect user trust as it experiments with ad formats inside conversational AI.

Why the low ad frequency matters

A 0.8% appearance rate across more than 500 prompts is effectively negligible from a volume perspective. But strategically, it is significant.

First, it signals that OpenAI understands the sensitivity around monetizing AI assistants. Unlike social feeds or search results, ChatGPT is positioned as a trusted advisor. Over-commercialization risks eroding that trust.

Second, the low frequency suggests inventory constraints, which could keep pricing high and participation limited to well-funded brands in the near term.

Third, this controlled rollout gives OpenAI room to test how users react to ads embedded in conversational outputs. Relevance, disclosure, and placement will likely be under scrutiny from both users and regulators.

For B2B marketers and Media Directors, this phase is less about scale and more about learning how AI-native ad formats behave.

What marketers should know before testing ChatGPT ads

If your brand is considering conversational AI advertising, here are a few strategic considerations:

Treat it as an innovation budget line item

With a minimum commitment reportedly at US$200,000, this is a high-cost experiment. Frame it as R&D rather than guaranteed ROI.

Align creative to intent, not impressions

ChatGPT ads appear in response to prompts. That means creative must match user intent in a highly contextual way. This is closer to search advertising than social display.

Prioritize brand safety and clarity

OpenAI has emphasized that ads will be clearly distinct from organic responses. Brands should insist on transparency and understand exactly how their placements are labeled.

Measure influence, not just clicks

In conversational environments, influence may show up in brand recall or downstream conversion rather than immediate click-through rates.

Watch agency holding company activity

With Dentsu, Omnicom, and WPP already testing placements, competitive signals will likely emerge through large agency networks before the channel opens to mid-market advertisers.

The bigger shift: AI as a media channel

The appearance of ads from Best Buy, Expedia, and Enterprise Mobility inside ChatGPT marks a milestone. AI assistants are no longer just productivity tools or information engines. They are becoming media surfaces.

The cautious rollout suggests OpenAI is aware of the reputational risks tied to monetizing a trusted AI interface. For now, ad inventory is scarce, access is curated, and experimentation is tightly controlled.

But the signal is clear. Conversational AI is moving from utility to monetized platform. Marketers who understand how to operate in that environment early will have a learning advantage when scale inevitably follows.

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