Advertisers report 80% of ChatGPT ad traffic comes from new customers

A technology partner working with OpenAI has revealed that more than 80% of ad-driven traffic from ChatGPT comes from customers who are new to the advertiser.

This figure, buried within a broader announcement about ChatGPT Ads reaching a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate, suggests the platform is doing more than just generating clicks—it appears to be unlocking a pool of buyers that traditional advertising channels may not reach.

For small and medium-sized businesses, which now make up a "material share" of ChatGPT Ads' client base following the launch of Ads Manager in May, this statistic carries weight.

If the majority of traffic is from users who have never engaged with a brand before, then every ad dollar spent on the platform could be an investment in net-new customer acquisition—not just re-targeting the same audience.

The underlying data comes from a self-reported example by a technology partner, not from an independent audit, but it points to a pattern worth watching.

The way people use ChatGPT is central to this dynamic. Users arrive with specific, goal-oriented queries: picking enterprise software, planning a home renovation, or researching a job change.

They describe their needs, priorities, and limitations in natural language.

The ad system then uses the context of the ongoing conversation—and, where enabled, broader user history—to serve a relevant ad.

This is fundamentally different from a search engine query where a user types three keywords and sees a list of sponsored links.

Here, the ad is embedded inside a dialogue about decision-making, which OpenAI says is "clearly labeled" and kept separate from ChatGPT's own answers.

Our analysis suggests that the conversational format may lower the friction for discovery.

A user who is exploring options for, say, a customer relationship management tool might not know the right brand names to search for on Google.

In ChatGPT, they can describe their company size and pain points, and an ad for a lesser-known CRM could appear alongside the AI's recommendations.

The user is not actively searching for that brand; they are searching for a solution, and the brand becomes part of the solution set.

This explains why a high percentage of ad-driven visitors are new to the advertiser—they were not looking for the brand in the first place.

For businesses considering ChatGPT Ads, the implications are twofold.

First, the platform currently operates in over 40 countries, and self-service access just expanded to India, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

Second, the ad system supports cost-per-click and outcome-optimized bidding, along with tools like product feeds, geographic targeting, and custom audiences.

But the real edge may be in the quality of intent.

A user who is in the middle of a detailed conversation about a purchase decision is likely further along in the buying journey than someone casually browsing social media.

What should ordinary business owners and marketers do next? Start by testing a small campaign on ChatGPT Ads with a clear goal of measuring new customer acquisition, not just click-through rates.

Use the platform's pixel and Conversions API to track whether the visitors who come through are truly first-time buyers.

Compare the cost per new customer against other channels like Google Ads or Facebook.

If the 80% figure holds true for your vertical, the return on ad spend could be significant—one ecommerce advertiser cited by OpenAI reported a 3x return over 28 days.

But do not treat this as a replacement for existing channels. Treat it as an experiment that may reveal an audience you have been missing.

OpenAI has been deliberate about trust protections. Advertisers do not get access to private conversations, and users can control personalization.

The company's stated North Star is preserving user trust. For now, the platform is still young—less than 200 days old—and the data is promising but limited.

The next phase will bring more markets, new ad formats, and additional measurement tools.

For businesses of every size, the message is clear: the window to experiment with a new kind of customer acquisition is open, and the early signals suggest it is worth walking through.

Source: OpenAI official blog post, "A milestone in expanding access to AI," published on the company's website. Data and quotes attributed to OpenAI and its technology partners.