ChatGPT Ads Are Here—and the Minimum Buy Is $200,000

ChatGPT is quickly becoming a front door to information—and for B2B marketers, that means it’s also becoming a front door to demand. When an answer engine becomes a habit, it becomes inventory.

That’s why the first real signals of ChatGPT advertising matter right now. Not because every brand should rush to buy it, but because the pricing and positioning tell you exactly where OpenAI wants this channel to sit: premium, limited, and aimed at advertisers who can commit.

What happened: ChatGPT ads are arriving, and the bar is high

Three separate reports, plus an OpenAI statement, paint a consistent picture: advertising in ChatGPT is moving from “theoretical” to “real,” and OpenAI is treating it like a high-end media product.

First, PPC Land reported that “ChatGPT ads arrive as Threads expands global monetization.” That’s the clearest “this is happening now” signal in the set of verified claims.

Second, a separate report framed OpenAI’s intent on pricing: “OpenAI Seeks Premium Prices in Early Ads Push.” The key takeaway isn’t just that ads are coming—it’s that OpenAI is positioning early access as premium inventory.

Third, another report went further on the buying mechanics with this headline: “EXCLUSIVE: OpenAI Confirms $200,000 Minimum Commitment for ChatGPT Ads.” If accurate, that minimum commitment immediately defines who can test the channel in the near term.

Finally, OpenAI itself published: “Our approach to advertising and expanding access to ChatGPT.” Regardless of how any one ad product is packaged, the existence of an official statement on advertising and access is a strong signal that OpenAI is actively shaping how monetization fits into the ChatGPT experience.

What this means for B2B marketers (especially if you’re not ready to write a $200K check)

1) ChatGPT is being positioned as premium media, not self-serve PPC

A reported $200,000 minimum commitment changes the go-to-market dynamic. This doesn’t look like a typical “log in and launch a campaign” moment. It looks like an early access model where OpenAI can control:

• Which advertisers show up first
• How the ad experience feels to users
• What categories are represented (or avoided)

For B2B, the practical implication is that early inventory will likely skew toward brands that already buy premium placements elsewhere—either because they can afford it, or because they need to shape perception in high-intent environments.

2) “Answer engines” are now paid media environments—plan accordingly

B2B teams have spent the last year adjusting to ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Copilot, Perplexity, Brave, and Meta AI as discovery surfaces. The moment ads arrive in one of these environments, you have two parallel realities:

• Organic visibility (what the model chooses to cite, summarize, or recommend)
• Paid visibility (what the platform chooses to sell and how it’s labeled/placed)

You don’t need to assume anything about formats to act on this. Even without details, the reporting that ChatGPT ads have “arrive[d]” means you should treat the channel as a new line item that can influence how buyers encounter your category.

3) Premium pricing is a signal: OpenAI is protecting the experience

The report that “OpenAI Seeks Premium Prices in Early Ads Push” pairs directly with OpenAI publishing “Our approach to advertising and expanding access to ChatGPT.” Together, those signals suggest OpenAI is trying to thread a needle:

• Monetize without turning ChatGPT into a noisy ad feed
• Expand access while maintaining a product people trust and return to

For marketers, the takeaway is that this won’t behave like a bargain channel. If you’re used to testing new platforms cheaply, that may not be possible here—at least not at the start.

4) If you can’t buy, you still need to compete in the answers

A high minimum commitment means many B2B teams won’t be in the first wave. That doesn’t mean you’re out of the game. It means the competitive battlefield stays heavily organic for most brands—especially in answer engines beyond ChatGPT (Google AI Overviews, Copilot, Perplexity, Brave, Meta AI).

In other words: if a few well-funded competitors can pay to appear in ChatGPT, everyone else needs to win the surrounding ecosystem of answers, citations, and brand recall.

What to do right now (practical next steps)

1) Decide whether you’re an “early access” advertiser

Use the reported $200,000 minimum commitment as a forcing function. Have a direct internal conversation:

• Do you have budget appetite for a premium, early-stage channel?
• If yes, what business outcome would justify it (pipeline quality, category leadership, enterprise penetration)?
• If no, what organic plan ensures you’re still present when buyers use ChatGPT and other answer engines?

This isn’t about hype. It’s about acknowledging that the first door into ChatGPT ads may be expensive.

2) Build an answer-engine visibility plan that doesn’t rely on ads

Because the verified reporting indicates ads are arriving and priced at a premium, your safest move is to strengthen what you control:

• The clarity of your positioning (what you do, who it’s for, and why you’re different)
• The consistency of your messaging across the web (so answer engines have less ambiguity)
• The content that directly answers buyer questions (so you’re more likely to be surfaced when buyers ask)

This is Answer Engine Optimization in practice: making it easy for systems like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Copilot, Perplexity, Brave, and Meta AI to understand and confidently describe your brand.

3) Prepare your measurement expectations

With premium pricing and an early push, assume the first phase of ChatGPT ads (as reported) will be treated internally like a strategic test, not a performance channel you can instantly optimize. Align stakeholders on what “success” means before you spend.

4) Track OpenAI’s stated approach

OpenAI has published “Our approach to advertising and expanding access to ChatGPT.” Make that your reference point for how the company frames ads in the product. When the platform tells you how it thinks about advertising, it’s also telling you what it will prioritize—and what it will likely restrict.

Bottom line

ChatGPT ads are arriving, OpenAI is pursuing premium pricing, and a reported $200,000 minimum commitment means early access won’t be for everyone. Whether you buy or not, you should act now: treat answer engines as a primary discovery surface and make sure your brand is the one they can confidently answer with.