Sponsored ads appeared in 47% of the ChatGPT conversations about video games and consoles that Comscore tracked in U.S. PC activity in June, up from 3% in March.

The figure comes from Comscore's Q2 2026 AI Intelligence Report, released on September 22. Over the same period, ad presence increased from 5% to 24% in toys and hobbies discussions, and from 9% to 22%% in books, music, and video.

Gaming Conversations Climbed Fastest

Ad presence in ChatGPT gaming conversations stayed between 3% and 4% through April. It then jumped to 18% in May and reached 47% in June.

Toys and hobbies grew steadily each month: 5% in March, 12% in April, 14% in May, and 24% in June. Books, music, and video followed a less linear path, moving from 9% in March to 12% in April, dipping to 8% in May, and rising to 22% in June.

What Comscore Actually Counted

Comscore's retail chart focuses on conversations rather than tracking individual users or ad impressions. It shows the share of ChatGPT conversations, classified by retail category, that include a sponsored ad. The source note on the slide states the data reflects U.S. PC activity only and is based on an opt-in panel.

The report has limits. It does not specify the number of conversations behind each monthly figure or detail how conversations are categorized. It also remains unclear whether a single sponsored ad anywhere in a conversation is enough for it to be counted.

The denominator raises another question. OpenAI's help center says ads may appear for Free and Go users and in logged-out sessions, while Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu accounts are ad-free. If conversations from ad-free plans sit in Comscore's base, the chart does not reveal the actual ad rate among conversations eligible to show ads.

Where the Series Falls in OpenAI's Ad Rollout

OpenAI began testing ads in ChatGPT on February 9, for logged-in adults in the U.S. on the Free and Go tiers. Comscore's retail series starts in March, a few weeks into that test.

On May 5, OpenAI began rolling out a beta self-serve Ads Manager and added cost-per-click bidding alongside the CPM buying offered in the pilot's first phase. June — the highest month in all three categories — was the first full month after the beta Ads Manager rollout began. Comscore does not link the two, and the chart cannot show whether new advertisers, more inventory, or another factor drove the jump.

How This Compares With Earlier Data

Comscore's September 3 report found that sponsored ads appeared in 6% of hotel-related ChatGPT prompts with source links in March. That number grew to 14% in April and 24% in May. Because this series only counts prompts with source links, it does not directly match the retail percentages.

In August, SEJ highlighted SE Ranking's ChatGPT ads report, which examined 50,006 commercial prompts collected on July 23 and found ads in 25.94% of them.

The two studies measure different things. SE Ranking analyzed how frequently ChatGPT displayed ads in response to prompts written by a vendor on a single day. Comscore's chart shows the frequency of user-initiated conversations that included an ad over time, across three retail categories in U.S. PC activity.

Across games, toys, and media, sponsored placements appeared in 22% to 47% of tracked June conversations, depending on the category. Until Comscore releases detailed conversation counts, the June increase should be treated as a preliminary observation.

Looking Ahead

On September 16, OpenAI introduced a new ChatGPT Ads app for U.S. Shopify merchants, with expansion to other ChatGPT Ads markets starting September 23. OpenAI notes that products are already integrated through the Shopify Catalog, so merchants can begin running ads immediately.

OpenAI is also experimenting with Sponsored Agents, now in a testing phase with a limited group of U.S. advertisers. When users click an ad, they can start a new conversation with a business-sponsored agent, separate from their original chat thread. Comscore's published methodology does not specify how these separate sponsored chats will be handled in future reports — a gap marketers should watch as inventory formats multiply.