Guides / Playbook
How to launch your first ChatGPT Ads campaign
A step-by-step setup for your first campaign: account, tracking, structure, creative and the first two weeks of optimisation.
Before you open Ads Manager
Decide what a conversion is. A form lead, a booked call, a purchase. If you can't measure it, don't launch yet. ChatGPT Ads gives you a pixel and a Conversions API: use both, so you're not relying on browser tracking alone.
Step 1: Create the account
Go to ads.openai.com and create an advertiser account for your business. Use the legal entity that pays the invoices. Add billing and confirm your business details.
Step 2: Install tracking
- Add the pixel to every page, and fire events on your key actions (lead, purchase).
- Send the same events server-side through the Conversions API, with an event ID for deduplication.
- Test with a real conversion and confirm it appears in Ads Manager before spending a euro.
If you already run Meta CAPI through a server container or a tool like Make, the pattern is the same. Reuse it.
Step 3: Structure campaigns by intent
ChatGPT matches ads to the conversation, not to typed keywords. So structure around the questions people ask:
| Campaign | Example user question |
|---|---|
| Comparison | "What's the best LED skin clinic in Malta?" |
| Problem | "How do I fix draughty old windows?" |
| Cost | "How much does laser hair removal cost in Florence?" |
Step 4: Write ads that read like answers
The ad sits under an AI answer. Copy that sounds like a banner feels out of place. Lead with the specific benefit, add one proof point, and make the next step obvious: book, compare, get a quote.
Step 5: Set budget and bids
Start with CPC bidding so you only pay for visits while you learn. Give each campaign enough budget to collect at least 20 to 30 clicks a week, otherwise you're optimising on noise.
The first 14 days
- Days 1–3: check delivery and tracking only. Don't change anything else.
- Days 4–7: pause the weakest ad in each campaign.
- Days 8–14: shift budget toward the campaign with the lowest cost per lead.
What good looks like
Judge the channel against your blended cost per lead from Google and Meta. Early results are often less efficient but higher intent. If lead quality is strong, it's worth scaling slowly.
Planning your first AI ads campaign?
We set up ChatGPT and Copilot campaigns with server-side tracking, so every euro ties to a real lead.
See the AI ads launch