ChatGPT ads pilot, 4 to 6 weeks
Get into the answers ChatGPT leaves you out of
ChatGPT gives shorter lists than the other assistants. If your brand isn't on its list, a sponsored card is the most direct way back into the answer. Our panel shows which buying questions ChatGPT answers without you. We run ads on those questions for 4 to 6 weeks and measure what changed.
Your ad account, your budget cap. You pay OpenAI directly, with no markup from mapou.
1.8
brand mentions per answer on ChatGPT
4.1
on Gemini, Claude and Grok, averaged
Across 5 categories in mapou's deep studies, September 2026 editions.
ChatGPT mentions fewer brands in every category we measure
We ask four assistants the same buying questions every month. ChatGPT consistently puts fewer brands in front of the buyer. Fewer slots means a brand that drops off the list has fewer ways back in, and ChatGPT is also the only one of the four where you can buy a placement today.
| Category | ChatGPT | Gemini | Claude | Grok |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit cards | 2.2 | 5.9 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| Streaming | 1.7 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| Live TV | 2.3 | 7.4 | 4.6 | 4.9 |
| Skincare | 1.0 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| Allergy medicine | 2.0 | 6.6 | 4.1 | 4.9 |
Brand mentions per answer: every brand name in each assistant's answers, divided by the number of answers. Source: the newest edition of each mapou deep study. Each category name links to its study. How the panel works.
How the pilot works
The panel tells us where to spend. The ads run where ChatGPT leaves you out. Then we measure both sides on the same questions.
- 1
Read
We pull your category from the panel and your workspace: the buying questions where ChatGPT answers without you, and who it names instead. You see the list before anything is bought.
- 2
Plan
We group those questions into 3 to 5 intent clusters in the AI Media Planner, ranked by commercial value, and write sponsored cards that match what the answer already says about the category.
- 3
Run
Campaigns run in your ChatGPT Ads Manager account for 4 to 6 weeks. We move spend between clusters each week inside the cap you set, and every change is logged.
- 4
Measure
Paid results come from the platform pixel and Conversions API. Your organic share on the same questions is read before launch and again at the end, so you can see both sides.
What you sign up for
A short, fixed test with a clear end. You keep the account, the data and the readout whether you continue or not.
- Length
- 4 to 6 weeks, live within 14 days of kickoff
- Scope
- 3 to 5 intent clusters, chosen from your category's panel data
- Ad account
- Yours. mapou works in it with manager access
- Media
- You pay OpenAI directly. No markup from mapou
- Budget
- You set a monthly cap. Raising it always needs your sign-off
- Reporting
- Live in your mapou workspace, a weekly summary, and a readout at the end
- Fee
- A setup fee and a monthly management fee, sized on the call
- After the pilot
- Keep going on a monthly retainer, or take the readout and stop
The panel stays independent
We publish what AI recommends and we sell campaigns to change it, so the line between the two has to be clear. Panel questions are fixed before each edition. Clients can't add, drop or reword them.
The panel reads answers through the model APIs, which carry no ads, so a paid card can never count as an organic recommendation. mapou is not affiliated with OpenAI. Read the method.
Questions brands ask first
Why ChatGPT and not the other assistants?
ChatGPT is the assistant where paid placement is live today. It is also the one that gives the shortest lists. In mapou's latest deep studies it mentioned fewer brands per answer than Gemini, Claude or Grok in every category we measured, so a brand that is left out on ChatGPT has fewer ways back in organically.
Do we need a ChatGPT ads account already?
No. If you don't have one, we help you open it in your name during the first week. The account and its billing stay yours.
What does the pilot cost?
A setup fee and a monthly management fee, sized on the call to the number of intent clusters and the length of the pilot. Media is separate: you pay OpenAI directly, with no markup from mapou. There is no published minimum spend.
Will ads change what ChatGPT recommends organically?
We don't claim that, and nobody can promise it. What we do is measure your organic share on the same questions before and after, next to the paid results, so you can judge the pilot on both.
Does running ads with mapou affect the panel?
No. Panel questions are fixed before each edition and clients cannot add or change them. The panel reads answers through the model APIs, which carry no ads, so a paid card can never count as an organic recommendation.
What if ChatGPT already names our brand often?
Then the pilot may not be worth it for you, and the read will show that. Sometimes the gap is in one product line or one set of questions rather than the whole brand. We'll tell you which it is before you spend anything.
Is mapou affiliated with OpenAI?
No. mapou is independent. We plan and manage campaigns in your ChatGPT Ads Manager account; OpenAI runs the inventory.
See where ChatGPT skips you
On a 30-minute call we'll show your category's numbers, the questions where ChatGPT names someone else, and what a pilot on them would look like. You keep the data whether you run the pilot or not.