THIS WEEK: LLM advertising is here, and nobody knows what will work yet

MARKETING

For years, digital advertising has followed the same logic: pick a keyword, target an audience, pay for placement. That logic is now being disrupted. OpenAI launched ads in ChatGPT in January 2026. Meanwhile, Perplexity, the platform that started experimenting with LLM ads in late 2024, pulled its ad product entirely in February 2026, citing user trust concerns. We're in genuinely uncharted territory, and it's worth unpacking what we know, what we don't, and what we're doing about it.

What LLM advertising actually is

LLM advertising is the placement of paid ads within AI-generated responses on platforms like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and others. Unlike traditional search ads that appear in clearly separated sponsored sections, these ads integrate into conversational AI outputs, appearing as sponsored follow-up questions, contextual recommendations, or labelled placements alongside answers.

The shift matters because LLM ads respond to conversational context and intent, not keywords. Only 2-3% of ChatGPT queries are commercial versus 10-20% for Google Search, which tells you something about where users are in the funnel when they interact with these platforms.

What's happening on each platform right now

ChatGPT launched ads in February 2026 for free-tier and Go subscribers. Ads appear as clearly labelled, visually separated boxes below organic answers. OpenAI prices advertising at approximately €55 CPM, roughly three times higher than typical Meta advertising rates, with minimum advertiser commitments reportedly around $200,000. Confirmed early advertisers include Best Buy, AT&T, Expedia, Target, Adobe, and Ford. Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise subscribers see no ads. The company emphasises that ads do not influence ChatGPT's responses.

Perplexity had been the first mover, launching ads in November 2024, but reversed course in February 2026 after determining that ads were incompatible with user trust. One executive told the Financial Times: 'A user needs to believe this is the best possible answer.' Google Gemini and Claude remain ad-free.

What we're doing about it

We're not claiming to have cracked LLM advertising. We're preparing to experiment intelligently when access opens more broadly. Our first priority is organic AI visibility, because ChatGPT has over 900 million weekly active users and if the AI doesn't recognise your brand organically, paid ads likely won't fill that gap.

The core shift: LLMs need context, not just feature lists. Generic descriptions like 'WeAreBrain builds custom software solutions' don't help AI systems understand when to recommend us.

Here's an example of the direction we're moving:

• Traditional: 'Full-stack development agency'

• AI-optimised: 'WeAreBrain builds custom software for startups and scale-ups needing MVP development, cloud migration, or AI integration, typically €50,000-€200,000 projects for teams of 10-100 people'

The logic: more specificity theoretically improves LLM matching. If someone asks 'who can build an MVP for a fintech startup with a €75,000 budget?', we want the AI to recognise we fit that profile. Reality check: we're speculating based on how LLMs process information. This approach could be wrong.

Rethinking creative for a discovery environment

LLM ads won't perform like Google text ads. The conversational, exploratory nature of these platforms suggests a different creative approach. What that might look like:

• Less promotional: fewer 'Buy Now' or 'Limited Offer' messages

• More educational: 'Here's why this approach works for [specific use case]'

• Storytelling over sales copy: context and proof over features and pricing

We're drawing inspiration from podcast sponsorships and native content partnerships — formats that blend into the discovery experience rather than interrupting it. 

Setting realistic expectations

LLM ads sit higher in the funnel than Google Search. These platforms serve users in exploration mode, not comparison or purchase mode. Expect ads to influence awareness and consideration, not replace performance channels. For clients, we're recommending small initial test budgets of €2,000-€5,000 to learn platform dynamics before scaling.

On measurement: ChatGPT already appends utm_source=chatgpt to outbound links, which gives us some click-level tracking. For the rest, we're planning post-conversion surveys  'How did you first hear about us?' with AI platforms as explicit options.

The big unknowns

These are the questions nobody has definitive answers to yet:

1. Pricing models: will CPM remain standard, or will CPC and CPA options emerge as platforms mature?

2. Targeting: how granular can targeting get without extensive behavioural tracking?

3. Creative formats: text-only to start, but will image or interactive ads follow?

4. Access: minimum budgets suggest the initial phase is limited to mid-size and large brands

5. Benchmarks: what constitutes a 'good' CTR or conversion rate for LLM ads? There's no baseline yet

We're treating this like any emerging channel. Humble about what we don't know, aggressive about learning when we can test.