ChatGPT Ads Are Being Tested in the US. What That Actually Means for Australian SMBs

OpenAI has begun testing ads inside ChatGPT in the United States, with early reports suggesting a minimum commitment of around USD $200,000 for advertisers to access the beta (AdWeek, 2026). Predictably, that number has dominated headlines and sparked a familiar conclusion: ChatGPT ads will only be for big brands.

That conclusion is understandable, but incomplete.

The $200k figure tells us very little about whether ChatGPT ads will be accessible to small and medium businesses long-term. What it does tell us is that OpenAI now sees ChatGPT not just as a productivity tool, but as a high-intent discovery surface worth monetising (The Guardian, 2026).

And that shift matters for Australian SMBs, whether they ever run a ChatGPT ad or not.

The $200k Minimum Is a Filter, Not a Verdict

According to AdWeek, OpenAI is requiring large upfront commitments from advertisers participating in its initial ChatGPT ads beta (AdWeek, 2026). This is consistent with how new ad ecosystems are typically tested:

• Limited advertiser access
• High minimum spend
• Tight control over formats and placement

At this stage, OpenAI is still working through fundamental questions around trust, transparency, and user experience, particularly how ads should appear alongside AI-generated answers without undermining credibility (BBC News, 2026).

What has not been confirmed is whether this minimum spend will apply once ChatGPT ads expand to other markets like Australia, or once the product matures. As with most platforms, early pricing reflects testing conditions, not the final economic model.

For SMBs, this means the price tag itself is not the most important signal to pay attention to.

ChatGPT Is Already Operating at Massive Scale

The more meaningful context is the size and behaviour of the platform where ads are being introduced.

ChatGPT now has nearly 800 million weekly active users globally, making it one of the most widely used AI platforms in the world (Forbes, cited in provided notes). OpenAI’s platform is also ranked as the fifth most visited website globally, generating over 5 billion monthly visits (Semrush, cited in provided notes).

On top of that:

• ChatGPT processes over 1 billion queries per day (OpenAI, cited in provided notes)
• Users spend an average of nearly 13 minutes per day on the platform (Semrush, cited in provided notes)
• The majority of users are still on free or low-cost plans, which OpenAI has positioned as the primary environment for ads (The Guardian, 2026)

This matters because advertising is being layered onto an existing habit, not used to create one.

Why This Still Matters for Australian SMBs

1. Discovery Is Shifting Earlier Than Search

A growing number of people now use ChatGPT as a starting point, not a follow-up step. Users are asking broad, intent-rich questions before they ever reach Google or a brand website, a trend noted by both mainstream media and SEO analysts (BBC News, 2026; Previsible, 2026).

This has implications for Australia in particular:

• Australia already has high Google Search CPCs
• Many SMBs rely heavily on bottom-of-funnel intent
• Any upstream shift concentrates competition later in the journey

Even without access to ChatGPT ads, businesses are increasingly being evaluated earlier, inside conversational environments rather than search results.

2. ChatGPT Rewards Trust Signals, Not Just Visibility

According to industry research cited in your notes, ChatGPT recommendations are influenced by factors such as:

• Authoritative list mentions (41%)
• Awards and accreditations (18%)
• Online reviews (16%)
• Customer examples and usage data (14%)
  (First Page Sage, cited in provided notes)

This is very different from social or search advertising, where budget, bidding strategy, or creative volume can compensate for weak positioning.

In a conversational AI environment, clarity and credibility matter more than tactical sophistication.

For many Australian SMBs, especially in services, health, trades, and professional categories, this is not a disadvantage. It is a structural opportunity.

3. Free Users Are Where the Scale Is

Despite more than 10 million paid subscribers across Plus, Pro, and Enterprise tiers, the vast majority of ChatGPT usage still comes from free users (The Information, cited in provided notes).

OpenAI has explicitly framed advertising as a way to:

• Support free access
• Keep lower-cost tiers viable
• Expand global usage without raising subscription prices (The Guardian, 2026)

For SMBs, this suggests that:

• Being visible and relevant matters before paid access
• Authority will compound over time
• Early positioning affects future ad efficiency

In other words, ads will amplify relevance, not create it from scratch.

This Is Not an Advertising Urgency Problem

There is a growing narrative that businesses need to “prepare to run ChatGPT ads.” That framing misses the more important shift.

The real change is this:

Businesses are increasingly being assessed by AI systems before customers ever see an ad.

By the time ChatGPT ads are widely available, more affordable, and rolled out in markets like Australia, the system will already have learned:

• Which businesses are credible
• Which brands are interchangeable
• Which offers are worth surfacing

Ads will not override those judgments. They will reinforce them.

What Australian SMBs Should Focus on Now

Without chasing unconfirmed timelines or beta access, SMBs can focus on fundamentals that already matter in AI-led discovery:

• Strengthening reviews, authority mentions, and credible listings
• Creating content that answers real customer questions
• Ensuring brand consistency across platforms AI systems crawl
• Thinking in conversations, not just keywords

This prepares businesses for organic relevance today and paid leverage tomorrow, when the advertising layer matures.

Final Thoughts

The reported $200,000 ChatGPT ads beta is not evidence that SMBs are excluded. It is evidence that attention inside AI conversations is valuable enough to monetise.

ChatGPT ads will not eliminate small businesses.
They will eliminate businesses that are unclear, unproven, or indistinguishable.

For Australian SMBs, the opportunity is not about buying access early.
It is about becoming the kind of business that deserves to be recommended when access opens.

That shift is already underway.
The ads are simply catching up.

References

AdWeek. (2026). Exclusive: OpenAI Confirms $200,000 Minimum Commitment for ChatGPT Ads
https://www.adweek.com/media/exclusive-openai-confirms-200000-minimum-commitment-for-chatgpt-ads/

BBC News. (2026). ChatGPT ads and the future of AI monetisation
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgjn012k3do

The Guardian. (2026). ChatGPT ads set to boost OpenAI revenue
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/16/chatgpt-ads-in-revenue-boost

Previsible. (2026). ChatGPT Ads: What SEOs and Marketers Need to Know
https://previsible.io/seo-ai-news/chatgpt-ads/

Forbes. (2025). ChatGPT Weekly Active Users https://www.forbes.com/sites/martineparis/2025/04/12/chatgpt-hits-1-billion-users-openai-ceo-says-doubled-in-weeks/

Semrush. (2025). Global Website Traffic and Engagement Data

https://www.semrush.com/website/chatgpt.com/overview/

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT usage and query volume

https://x.com/OpenAINewsroom/status/1864373399218475440