ChatGPT ads expand to 89 countries as advertisers top 100,000

OpenAI said on Wednesday (Oct. 21) it is expanding ChatGPT ads to 26 more countries, bringing to 89 the number of markets where businesses can buy ad space in the AI assistant. More than 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns on the platform since testing began a little over eight months ago, the company said. Fourteen of the new markets are in Latin America, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru. Brazil is not on the list because ads have run there since August.

Ads began testing in the United States in early 2026. Brazil joined on Aug. 4 as the product's eighth country, according to CNN Brasil, and Mexico was also live before this round. When ads launched in Brazil, business magazine Exame reported that the country is among ChatGPT's three largest markets by weekly active users, alongside the United States and India. Beyond Latin America, the new phase includes Nigeria, South Africa, Serbia, Ukraine, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Pakistan, among other countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The reports reviewed do not include the full list of 26 countries.

The expansion is part of the company's push to diversify revenue. In August, OpenAI said its advertising business had reached an annualized revenue run rate of $1 billion, a 12-month projection based on current sales rather than money already collected. According to Reuters, the ad push comes ahead of a possible initial public offering. Company executives have signaled a 2027 debut, according to Times Brasil, a CNBC licensee, but no date has been officially announced.

What changes for businesses

For Brazilian companies that sell into neighboring countries, the main change is regional reach: the same platform now covers much of Latin America. Campaigns can be bought through technology partners or directly in OpenAI's Ads Manager, a self-serve tool in which advertisers build and track their own campaigns. The company says more than 1.2 billion people use ChatGPT each week.

The reachable audience has clear limits. Ads appear only to users on the Free plan and on Go, the cheapest subscription; Plus, Pro and Enterprise remain ad-free. When ads launched in Brazil, Exame reported that only users over 18 see them. OpenAI says ads are labeled as sponsored, kept separate from answers, do not influence generated content, and that conversations are not shared with advertisers. In August, CNN Brasil reported that advertisers receive only aggregate performance data, such as views and clicks.

The advertiser base has grown quickly: there were about 20,000 in late August, according to The Information, as cited by The Next Web, compared with more than 100,000 now. In the materials reviewed, OpenAI did not disclose average prices or how ads are billed, information that weighs on customer acquisition cost (CAC) and on comparisons with other paid media channels.

“Brazil will play an important role in building the future of ChatGPT ads.”

— Dave Dugan, OpenAI's head of global ads solutions, at the Brazil launch, to CNN Brasil (translated from Portuguese)

What to watch next

• New ad formats, campaign objectives, buying options and measurement tools, which OpenAI says it is developing
• Tests of business-sponsored agents, launched in September with select U.S. advertisers
• The AI tools for advertisers introduced in September and their arrival in other markets
• Disclosure of pricing and campaign results in Latin America
• Next steps toward a possible OpenAI IPO, which still has no official date