Per OpenAI’s official announcement, ChatGPT Ads opened in 31 new European countries on August 24, 2026 — the platform’s largest single geographic expansion to date. That brings the total number of active markets to 40.
Where Was It Available Before?
ChatGPT Ads started as a limited test in the US in February 2026. Self-service Ads Manager launched in the US in May 2026, and the program then expanded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea. The August 24 move adds 31 European countries on top of those nine markets in a single step.
Which European Countries Are Included?
OpenAI’s announcement didn’t publish a full country-by-country list, but the markets called out include Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Portugal. Türkiye was not part of this initial 31-country rollout; it was added in a separate update on September 16, 2026.
What Changes for Users?
- Ads only show for people on the Free and Go plans; Plus, Pro, and Enterprise subscribers remain ad-free.
- OpenAI says ads are clearly labeled and kept separate from ChatGPT’s regular answers.
- Advertisers don’t get access to user conversations, and OpenAI states that ads don’t influence the answers ChatGPT generates.
How Do Advertisers Get Access?
Initial access ran through OpenAI’s Ads Solutions team, agency partners, and technology partners. On August 31, 2026, OpenAI opened self-service Ads Manager to eligible advertisers across Europe, India, the Middle East, and North Africa. Türkiye was not in that expansion either. The September 16, 2026 update to the official availability page lists it as “Available” — the conditions are covered in ChatGPT Ads Opens to Advertisers in Türkiye.
September 2026 Update: Self-Service Access and New Tools
According to OpenAI’s announcement on expanding access, ChatGPT Ads reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate less than 200 days after launch. Tens of thousands of advertisers now use the platform.
The self-service expansion came with several additions to the ad stack:
- Ads Manager plugin: campaign creation, analysis, ad variant generation, and troubleshooting can be handled in natural language from inside ChatGPT.
- Custom audiences: members can be added or removed without rebuilding an audience. Identifier types can be mixed, and audiences larger than 5 million members are supported.
- Conversion measurement: the measurement pixel can now send hashed customer data such as phone numbers, names, regions, and postal codes. The Conversions API adds support for the Android advertising ID (GAID).
- Product feed reporting: carousel-card-level impressions and clicks are visible in Ads Manager.
OpenAI also said it is working on a conversion optimization model that considers both click-through and view-through conversions and is billed by impression.
Quick Take
ChatGPT Ads went from a single market to dozens in under nine months, a pace that stands out next to the multi-year geographic rollouts Google Ads and Meta ran. For European advertisers, the self-service question was answered on August 31. The open questions now are targeting depth and whether the upcoming impression-billed optimization model changes how the channel is bought. How the EU’s AI Act treats personalized advertising inside a conversational interface is also a topic likely to come into focus over the next few months.