ChatGPT Ads Launch in Israel, Reshaping Digital Advertising

OpenAI has officially launched its advertising platform, ChatGPT Ads, in Israel on September 16, making the country available for advertising campaigns. This expansion follows earlier testing in the United States and broader rollouts in Europe, India, the Middle East, and North Africa. The new advertising model operates differently from traditional search engine ads, appearing after users have received a complete AI-generated response to their queries.

Unlike Google Ads, where advertisements are often displayed immediately after a search query, ChatGPT Ads are presented separately below the AI's answer. This positioning means advertisers engage with users who have already articulated their needs, potentially specifying budgets, family situations, or preferences, and have received an initial explanation or recommendation. This shift moves advertising from targeting keywords to understanding a user's context within a conversational search.

Industry experts, like Ofri Tubul-Cohen, CEO of Whitebox, emphasize that this new advertising paradigm requires a fundamental change in creative strategy and landing page design. Advertisers can no longer assume they are the first point of contact. Instead, ads must build upon the information the AI has already provided, continuing the conversation rather than restarting it. This approach acknowledges that the user's journey begins before they encounter an advertisement.

While it is too early to determine if ChatGPT Ads will replace established platforms like Google Search, its rapid growth is notable. OpenAI reported that its advertising business reached an annualized revenue run rate of $1 billion less than 200 days after its launch, with tens of thousands of advertisers already utilizing the platform. This indicates a significant shift in the advertising landscape, prompting marketers to consider what users already know and have decided before seeing an ad, rather than just what they searched for.