OpenAI’s advertising business has crossed a US$1 billion annualised revenue run rate, less than 200 days after launching its first advertising markets, signalling the rapid emergence of ChatGPT as a new destination for brands seeking consumers at moments of active interest.

The milestone comes as OpenAI expands its advertising operations across Australia and New Zealand, where thousands of businesses have adopted the platform since its March launch.

Major advertisers using the service include AG1, Airwallex, Budget Direct, Kogan, L’Oréal Group, Luxury Escapes, Virgin Australia and Xero. Meanwhile, small and medium sized businesses are becoming an increasingly important part of the advertising base, particularly following the introduction of Ads Manager in May.

According to OpenAI, advertisers are increasingly attracted to the platform because ChatGPT can provide opportunities to engage consumers while they are researching products, exploring options or seeking solutions.

The company has also expanded its advertising capabilities to move beyond basic exposure. With conversion optimisation, advertisers can now optimise campaigns around specific business outcomes, alongside existing cost per click and cost per thousand impressions models.

In addition, OpenAI has introduced geographic targeting and custom audiences, allowing businesses to refine who they reach based on location and other audience characteristics.

The company has also strengthened campaign measurement through tools including the OpenAI Pixel, Conversions API and third party measurement integrations.

OpenAI’s advertising team said the expansion reflects growing demand from marketers for measurable results rather than reach alone.

For brands, this could position ChatGPT differently from conventional digital advertising platforms, as marketers seek to connect with consumers within environments where questions, research and purchase consideration are already taking place.

Luxury Escapes, for instance, said its early experience with ChatGPT advertising had shown promise for top of funnel engagement, particularly among users actively researching their next holiday.

Virgin Australia has similarly described the platform as a new environment for reaching consumers based on genuine intent, rather than simply transferring traditional advertising strategies to another digital channel.

At the same time, OpenAI says it is maintaining a clear separation between advertising and ChatGPT’s responses.

Ads currently appear only to users on ChatGPT’s Free and Go plans, while Plus, Pro and Enterprise subscribers remain ad free.

The company also says advertisers cannot access users’ conversations and that customer data is not sold to advertisers. Ads are clearly labelled, displayed separately from ChatGPT responses and do not influence the answers generated by the platform.

With its advertising business reaching a billion dollar annualised run rate in less than 200 days, OpenAI is rapidly establishing ChatGPT as a new player in the global advertising ecosystem.

More importantly, the development points to a broader shift in digital marketing, where brands are increasingly looking beyond traditional impressions and clicks towards opportunities to engage audiences when their interest and intent are already high.