OpenAI Turns On Automatic Ad Changes for ChatGPT Ads by Default

By Elena Vasquez

OpenAI is switching on creative enhancements by default for all new and existing ChatGPT Ads campaigns starting Friday, Oct. 30, according to the company's help page. The feature lets the advertising system automatically change ads based on the conversation they appear in.

The consequences for advertisers are immediate. The ad a user sees may differ from the ad the advertiser built, and no one approves the variations in advance.

What can the system change?

With the setting active, OpenAI's ad system can rewrite or write new headlines and descriptions, translate ad text into another language, resize images to fit the ad format, and optimize the destination URL to send users to a relevant page on the advertiser's website. Variations can run without review or approval by the advertiser, and Ads Manager does not display a preview of every version.

The system builds variations from three inputs: the subject of the conversation or the user's interests, the existing advertisement, and the content of the ad's landing page. It may create versions ahead of time or during a conversation.

Any opt-outs saved at account level or campaign level remain intact.

How did we get here?

On September 16, OpenAI introduced AI-powered text customization as an optional feature. The company defined it then as adjusting titles and descriptions to match the conversation flow and translating ad copy into the user's preferred language. The Creative Enhancements page, as of October 30, also covers text, translations, image resizing and destination URLs — but does not specify how these options relate to the September setting.

An October 21 engineering post, which Search Engine Journal covered, revealed that OpenAI already writes a brief introduction for every ad. Those introductions sit separately from the advertiser's title, description, destination link and call-to-action. Unless advertisers opt out, the system can also modify those elements to fit the conversation.

What controls do advertisers have?

Advertisers can opt out of creative enhancements at any time through Ads Manager under "Manage settings." Account-level settings serve as the default. Campaign-level settings take precedence over account settings.

The help page treats enhancements as a single toggle. As of October 30, it offers no separate controls for text, translations, images or destination URLs.

What happens to tracking and reporting?

OpenAI's ad creation guide tells advertisers to add tracking parameters, such as UTM tags (URL fragments that identify traffic sources in analytics tools), directly to each ad's destination URL. The ChatGPT Ads basics page confirms static parameters persist on ad clicks. Ads Manager also lets advertisers append landing page query parameters at campaign, ad group and ad levels, with ad-level parameters taking precedence.

The gap: the Creative Enhancements page says the system may modify the destination URL, but as of October 30 it does not explain how tracking parameters carry over when the destination changes, nor whether advertisers can exclude specific pages from receiving paid traffic.

Reporting has a parallel gap. Ads Manager reports on campaigns, ad groups and ads, but neither the Measure Results page nor the Creative Enhancements page details a report showing each enhanced version individually. OpenAI states: "Changes over time do not, on their own, establish the effect of creative enhancements."

On iOS, the ad creation guide notes that using Share to copy a link reveals the full ad URL, because ChatGPT's in-app browser displays only the hostname.

What else is new in Ads Manager?

OpenAI launched a multi-image ad format in open beta on Oct. 26. Advertisers select "Multiple images" under Ad format; the option works with standard campaigns using Reach, Clicks or Conversions objectives, and single-image ads remain available.

A multi-image ad uses 4-6 square images at a 1:1 aspect ratio. Every image links to the same destination URL, and "Learn more" is currently the only available call to action. Neither the ad creation guide nor the Creative Enhancements page, both reviewed on October 30, says whether creative enhancements apply to multi-image ads. SEJ separately reported OpenAI's Oct. 5 test of visual ads shown during image generation inside ChatGPT.

What should advertisers do now?

Because the system builds variants from the advertiser's ad and landing page, pricing, promotions, product information and availability on that landing page must stay current. Advertisers should verify that ChatGPT clicks still carry their UTM tags and land on pages cleared for paid traffic.

OpenAI describes Ads Manager as a beta and plans to add more metrics, reporting views and insights over time. The creative enhancements setting can be changed at any point, so advertisers who turn it off now can still test it later once reporting catches up.